New Orleans, LA – Genedata, a leading provider of advanced software solutions for industrial biotechnology, life science, and drug discovery research, today announced its participation in the Integrated Phenotype-Genotype (IPG) project. IPG is an industry-led research consortium of companies in the biotechnology industry, including Evonik Industries and GATC, as well as the Bielefeld University Center of Biotechnology. The project is co-funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).

Consortium members will contribute intellectual property and respective technologies to develop a high-throughput phenotype-genotype platform, which will identify complex genetic effects positively influencing biotechnologically relevant production phenotypes. Genedata Selector will be used for data analysis and management of these production strains and processes. The software will be featured in poster sessions at the Society for Industrial Microbiology (SIM) Annual Meeting (New Orleans Sheraton; July 24 – 28).

“Correlating the productivity of our proprietary microbial production strains with their genotypes in the IPG project is extremely challenging, in particular matching the synergistic combinations of mutations against a high background of random mutations,” said Stephan Hans, senior scientist, Evonik Industries. “Genedata Selector identifies these genomic changes and isolates non-beneficial or even detrimental mutations, which is of critical importance. Now, our strain development groups can systematically identify hidden metabolic bottlenecks in our biotech production which in turn will help us to increase biotechnological productivity at Evonik Industries.”

The IPG integrates two complementary high-throughput (HT) platforms: HT phenotyping and HT genotyping. The platform is based on Genedata Selector, a specialized data analysis and management system that supports industrial biotechnology strain optimization and next-generation sequencing technologies. Genedata Selector enables large-scale, cross-strain comparisons by systematic identification of mutation hot spots that pinpoint novel targets for de-bottlenecking and advance metabolic engineering of industrial production strains. The platform uses parallelized, multiplexed phenotype assays to support the systematic processing, storage, and mining of large volumes of data. The IPG platform’s main applications are in industrial biotech strain and process development.

“The IPG project deepens our commitment to and support of the industrial biotechnology market,” commented Dr. Othmar Pfannes, CEO of Genedata. “Genedata Selector and the IPG platform address the growing global need for bio-based products and sustainable production processes, and we are honored to contribute to collaborative research that drives innovative solutions for the white biotech market.”

About Genedata

Genedata transforms data into intelligence with a portfolio of advanced software solutions for drug discovery and life science research, which spans target, lead, and biomarker discovery. Used by a majority of the world’s top 50 pharmaceutical companies and leading research organizations, Genedata Phylosopher®, Genedata Screener®, Genedata Expressionist®, Genedata Analyst™, Genedata Selector™, and Genedata Biologics™ make research data accessible and understandable, enabling scientific discovery that fights disease and improves health worldwide. Founded in 1997, Genedata is privately held, with offices in Switzerland, Germany, Japan, and the US. www.genedata.com