Post on 30-Mar-2016
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From weevils to weeds,Biokinetics is revealing theeffects of our products
Syngenta scientists areintroducing new blood intothe elite stock of maize
Thanks to a dedicated Toxicologyteam, Thiamethoxam is now ableto fight pests
From flowers to mosquitoes, toherbicide resistance, read howSyngenta scientists are achievinggreat things
TheA toZof field testsApples are just one crop testedby our global field testing team
sciencematters
Keeping abreast of Syngenta R&D Summer 08
ScienceMagazine3.1:Science magazine 27/8/08 15:40 Page 1
The photograph shows a micropscopic picture of the meristem of Sorghumhalepense (Johnson Grass - a weed) taken by Jill Foundling at Jealott's Hill.
ScienceMagazine3.1:Science magazine 27/8/08 15:40 Page 2
Recently I met John Beddington, the UK Government’s Chief Scientific Adviser. He isresponsible for providing advice to policy makers and direction to the government onscientific issues. Top of his “worry list” were food security and energy security, relating tothe key drivers of climate change and population growth, as well as the development ofnew infectious diseases. It is interesting to see how these are so directly relevant toSyngenta science.
The food price crisis has been described as a wake up call to the world by JosetteSheeran, the head of the UN World Food Program. There is growing appreciation of theimportance of obtaining high yield from existing farmland, but in a sustainable way. Indeed,Jason Clay from the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) recently stated “..the answer isfor farmers to become productive…any thinking environmentalist would want to see moreintensification of agriculture.” While this is a really positive contribution to the debate, I amsure that not everyone shares this view. It does reflect their analysis of how to protect asmany of the wilderness areas and rainforests as possible while rising to the challenge ofdoubling agricultural production by 2050.
Another crisis facing the world is the curse of malaria in Africa, where a child dies every 30seconds from the disease. Syngenta science is at the forefront of finding solutions to helpprevent this terrible death toll and in this issue you can read about one of our projects,improving the effectiveness of anti-malarial bed nets.
Our business results show that our technology has never been in greater demand, andincreasingly key stakeholders are talking with Syngenta as a key contributor to setting thescientific direction for world agriculture. Syngenta Chairman Martin Taylor said recently:“Great financial results are built on millions of non-financial actions.” This issue of ScienceMatters covers a variety of topics where our science and scientists directly support ourbusiness in harnessing new scientific knowledge in the creation of new plant varieties andchemical technologies, in supporting our products in the market place through theinfluencing of regulators, the logistics of supply and technical support to growers.
Our science has never been more important, and the great news is that the best is yet tocome!
Mike Bushell
Our science hasnever been moreimportant
Science Matters Keeping abreast of Syngenta R&D Summer 2008
Contents
Biokinetics: it’s the weevil’s 04knees of a problem
Time to introduce some 06new blood into the elitestock of maize (corn)
Toxicology team ensure 08that ants don't win
Product Biology: the sun never 10sets on Syngenta field trials
A bouquet for De Lier 12
Steve Goff’s off to Arizona 14
Seven jumbo jet loads 16of children crash intomosquitoes every day
Herbicide resistance: an 18opportunity for Syngenta!
Syngenta Fellows Annual 20Conference 2008
Carolyn Riches goes 22Out and About
03
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Biokinetics is the study of everything that happens from the moment a pesticidemolecule lands on its target – be it plant, fungus or insect – to the instant it strikes thesite of action. Syngenta’s Dave Bartlett explains just what his group does and theproblems they have to overcome.
Biokineticsit’s the weevil’s knees of a problem
04 Science Matters Keeping abreast of Syngenta R&D Summer 2008
ScienceMagazine3.1:Science magazine 27/8/08 15:40 Page 4
The Biokinetics Group is a global
resource and works on all herbicides,
fungicides, and insecticides used on the
world's major crops. In addition, his
group has worked on such diverse areas
as turf grass, horticultural plants,
mosquito nets, shower curtains, and
even concrete blocks. The group works
across all phases of the business from
early-stage chemical synthesis, through
optimisation and development stages,
and finally to established products in the
marketplace. A key part of his work is
studying how Syngenta materials
compare with competitor molecules.
Dave: “The biggestdevelopment over the lasttwenty years has beenthe increase in analyticalsophistication both interms of the ability toquantify molecules and toidentify their metabolites.”
Visualisation has come on a long way
too, especially in terms of image
resolution and manipulation; Syngenta
was the first to use phosphor imaging
routinely as a method to visualise
radioactive molecules in plants as part of
the ‘selling story’ and this has been a
consistent feature in technical launches
for many of Syngenta’s products.
Dave: “We study all the parameters that
can influence how a pesticide behaves in
the time-frame of its biological effect, this
can mean from minutes to months.
There are many factors which influence
the way a pesticide works such as spray
retention, redistribution on the target after
spray, rain fastness, vapour movement,
uptake, translocation in and on the plant,
and the rate of degradation of the
molecule. All are quantified to establish a
picture ofwhywesee the effects thatwedo.”
But it’s not always that easy, as Dave
says: “We also need to explain why we
don’t see the effects we expect so see!”
The Biokinetics group operates in
controlled environment facilities such as
glasshouses, and, with increasing
frequency in the field, working with
product formulations using commercial
sprayers – and on farms as well, which
are the macro end of the process. At the
micro end, the group’s research involves
being able to observe what is happening
on the leaf, insect or fungal surface itself.
Microscopy is a fundamental part of
understanding the whole biokinetic
picture and the group use electron, light
and confocal microscopy techniques to
visualise events on and in the target.
Dave: “In the last five years we have
become increasingly involved in research
for the seeds, flowers and vegetable
businesses. We’ve even looked at the
way harvesting can be made easier, for
example making courgettes (zucchini)
easier to pick.” And it’s not just plants and
pests which they look at. They also carry
out visualisation of wood, tree trunks,
termite barriers, hairs and even the leg
joint of a weevil. Dave says that ant
colonies have also featured in their work.
Dave: “It is in the development and
marketing areas where I think we have
had most impact over the years and
where there have been some unique
opportunities to become involved with
global product launches and ‘key
influencer’ events, telling the biokinetics
stories behind how Syngenta’s products
deliver their effects.”
As Dave says, it’s all been about
“influencing the influencers” and one of
Syngenta’s biggest successes has been
in the story of the azoxystrobin based
products, especially Amistar®, Quadris®
and Heritage®. Along with plant
pathology, resistance biology, chemistry,
regulatory and environmental stories, this
was the first time that a concerted
science platform had been taken out to
the wider world and been presented by
the scientists themselves.
SowhatwouldDave like to see in the future?
Dave: “The biggest advance would be an
ability to visualise chemical localisation at
a cellular and sub-cellular level. Ideally we
would do this without using radio-labelled
molecules, and to do this with the same
‘point-and-shoot’ ease and sensitivity
that we can with radioactively labelled
materials in whole tissues. There are
techniques out there, but nothing that
works in the timeframe we need to work
in – yet.”
In 1979 Dave Bartlett graduated from the
University of Bath, UK, with a degree in
applied biology and went to work for the
Soil Science group at ICI. In 1985 he
moved to the US to work with ICI
Americas carrying out regulatory studies
on the compounds which were eventually
marketed as Force®, Karate® and Cultar®.
Then in 1990 he came to Jealott’s Hill,
joined Exploratory Plant Sciences (Plant
Physiology section), and set up what
became the Biokinetics Group.
05Science Matters Keeping abreast of Syngenta R&D Summer 2008
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There’s exotic maize and elite maize. The former varieties are the uncultured ruffians strongand sturdy but of doubtful ancestry, the latter are the aristocratic wealth-producing varietiesthat we rely on for food and increasingly for bioethanol. The US Energy Independence &Security Act, which was signed at the end of 2007, has set an ambitious target of 220billion litres (60 billion US gallons) of bioethanol to be produced annually by 2030. Alreadythere are more than six million cars on the roads in America which are able to run on E85,the fuel that is 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline, and more and more gas stations are nowproviding it – and not only in the Midwest where most of it is made. Production has beenhelped by allowing bioethanol plants to be governed by the same laws as distilleries andnot be classed as chemical plants with all the restrictions that implies.
Syngenta’s part in the drive to make the US less dependent on imported fuel is to makeUS maize more efficient and to require less water. That’s what John Arbuckle is workingto achieve and there are plenty of wild varieties of maize, technically referred to as ‘landraces’ from which to choose. Cultivated maize is having some of its alleles replaced bythose from older native strains. This approach is complementary to conventional genetic
modification in that it is not introducingalleles from different species into the genepool, but merely transferring from maizeto maize beneficial traits that have beenmissed down the centuries of selectivebreeding.
The initial list of 300 potential allelicdonors was narrowed down to 134based on the genotypic data using SSRs(simple sequence repeats) and genesequences. From these, 65 diverseinbreds and 69 individual representativesof land races were selected for platformdevelopment, based on moleculardistances as well as on the authoritative
There’s always a danger when the elite mate with the elite that their offspring lacksomething. Introducing tougher genes from peasant stock is what’s needed andthat’s what John Arbuckle is trying to achieve for maize, which is a major US sourceof food and bioethanol.
Time to introducesome new bloodinto the elite stockof maize (corn)
06 Science Matters Keeping abreast of Syngenta R&D Summer 2008
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classification of races of corn publishedin 1988 by Major Goodman and WilliamBrown.
The key thing in the area of molecularmarker development and precisionbreeding is to take small segments ofDNA from land races and put them intothe elite breeding pool, without bringingother traits with it” is how John explains it.“Advances of the past 15 years havemade this possible.” Kinase, thephosphate transfer enzyme, is a case inpoint. In the current pool of cultivatedmaize there is much less than in the landraces. For one specific kinase typre
called the shaggy-like kinase, - we see 8alleles (variants) of this kinase in our elitegermplasm. However when we surveylandraces and non-elite material we findat least 10 additional variants of thisspecific kinase.
By breeding, we are re-introducing somekinases from landraces and non-elitematerial and some are indeed better thanthose in existing elite lines.
The domestication of maize started inMexico and then spread both north andsouth with native people selectingdifferent aspects to improve the crop fortheir own needs. In the US there wasparticularly strong selection and a lot ofthe genetic diversity of the wild specieswas lost. Maize has 10 chromosomesand there are centimorgan mapping unitsacross all these chromosomes giving atotal of 2,500 centimorgans. It is nowpossible to transfer a single centimorganfrom an exotic to an elite strain and testwhat effect it has.
Climate change is being felt in the USAwhere farmers are now having their waterfor irrigation rationed. They can offset thisto some extent by being more efficient inthe way that they use it. Maize can copewith drought but not at the critical time ofyear when the plant is in the juvenile andreproductive phase. No rain in thesecond half of July and a farmer standsto lose more than half his crop, threequarters in really bad times. A more
permanent solution would be to grow avariety of maize that is more droughttolerant. However, improving droughttolerance must not compromise otherbeneficial traits. Resistance to localdiseases and standability are also beinginvestigated. Without good standability acrop may be impossible to harvestbecause much of it is laying flat on theground.
This year Syngenta is testing acommercial line that contains targetedalleles from exotic germplasm thatconfers yield stability under droughtstress. “Such maize is the high profiletarget that we are aiming at” explainsJohn. Approaching old questions withnew ideas is how John sees things, inthis case bringing together allelic diversity,molecular markers, and genomics. “Iwant to get people thinking beyondtraditional breeding methods and to thinkin terms of these concepts.”
There is every indication that he and hiscolleagues will succeed.
The Syngenta Native Traits people involved
with John are S. Gandhi, , T. Williams, Aaron
Rasor, A. Josue, M. Li, N. Martin, V. Kishore, A.
Gutierrez, R. Bensen, C. Zinselmeier, H.
Caton, and Lynn Senior. The Syngenta
Molecular Marker researchers are K. Kust and
R. Burr. The Syngenta Applied Genomics
people are M. Dunn, S. Muncie, T. Zhu, C.
Chilcott, and J. Clarke
John Arbuckle went to college at Southern
Illinois at Carbondale and then to Illinois State
University where he learned all about corn
genetics before going to work as a molecular
geneticist at Pioneer Hybrid, now part of Du
Pont. In 1999 he joined Syngenta (then
Novartis) and was brought in to build up the
molecular marker section. In 2005 he was
given the opportunity to investigate native traits
and asked to build up the new group. He is
now head of the native traits corn and soya
section of the Traits and Technology Group
based at Stanton, Minnesota.
07Science Matters Keeping abreast of Syngenta R&D Summer 2008
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Trevor Green, who recently retired from Syngenta after a distinguished career in
Investigative Toxicology, led a three-year project which solved the scientific puzzle of why
thiamethoxam could cause cancer in mice and yet not have the same effect on rats or
humans. The other team members were Timothy Pastoor, Alison Toghill, Robert Lee, Felix
Waechter, Edgar Weber, James Noakes, Mervyn Robinson, Sara Lloyd, Richard Peffer
and Patrick Rose. Together the group opened new doors for thiamethoxam. The
mechanistic research effort was undertaken to try and understand the human health
implications of the mouse liver effects, and to provide regulators with scientific data that
would allow them to move away from conservative default assumptions.
So impressed was the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) by the rigor of the
team’s research that it reclassified thiamethoxam as ‘not likely’ to be carcinogenic in
humans. This simple change in wording has a major positive impact for Syngenta, because
Toxicology teamensure that ants don't win
Science Matters Keeping abreast of Syngenta R&D Summer 2008
it has resulted in a much wider ability to
register and sell products containing
thiamethoxam in the US, Canada and in
other regions.
Thiamethoxam can cause liver cancer in
mice because of two metabolites. The
first of these, in which the methyl group
on nitrogen has been lost (CGA330050),
affects cholesterol biosynthesis and
causes mild liver dysfunction, which
appears within 10 weeks. Decreased
cholesterol level in plasma was one of the
Thiamethoxam is a broad spectrum insecticide ideal for use against crop pests, turfpests, and ants. However, this new insecticide was initially classified by the EPA as a‘likely’ human carcinogen. Today it is rated as ‘not likely’ thanks to world class researchby a dedicated Toxicology Team – as Richard Peffer (Senior Toxicologist, Greensboro)explains.
08
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earliest effects of thiamethoxam in mice,
and it did not occur in rats. A second
metabolite (CGA265307), in which ring
opening has occurred, inhibits the
enzyme iNOS (inducible nitric oxide
synthetase).
Trevor Green noted the structural
similarity of the major mouse metabolite
CGA265307 to known inhibitors of iNOS,
and this insight led the team to do
specific in vitro experiments that
demonstrated its potency for inhibiting
this regulatory enzyme. When iNOS is
inhibited, it no longer signals a cell to turn
off the normal process that removes
damaged cells (apoptosis), and so mild
liver dysfunction spreads to become
more pronounced liver damage. In
response to the hepatotoxicity, which can
be seen as increased necrosis of cells by
20 weeks, cell proliferation accelerates as
the liver tries to replace damaged cells
and maintain normal function. The rapid
rate of cell division enhances the chance
of a spontaneous mutation occurring and
of these transformed cells surviving in
liver tissue. This results in an increase in
mouse liver tumors after more than one
year of high-dose treatment.
A second critical revelation from the
team’s research is that species
differences in metabolism produce
differences in effects. In rats and humans
the same metabolites form as in mice,
but in such small quantities that liver
dysfunction and other changes that lead
to cancer do not occur. A different
metabolic pathway is more dominant in
rats and humans, as illustrated in the
figures below. The team even
demonstrated that CGA265307
treatment of mice for up to 20 weeks by
itself did not produce the liver damage
that occurs in mice with thiamethoxam; it
took the 1-2 punch of both CGA330050
and CGA265307 to generate the mouse
liver effects.
Science Matters Keeping abreast of Syngenta R&D Summer 2008
Team member Tim Pastoor, Principal
Science Advisor in Greensboro, had
earlier participated in an ILSI (International
Life Sciences Institute) work group drawn
from industry, academia, and
government, which provided a road-map
or “framework” on how to evaluate
animal mode-of-action data and its
relevance to humans. In 2003 the group
published its framework document (Meek
et al., 2003) which is now in use by the
EPA, academic, and industry
researchers. This framework document
provided the lens through which some
highly detailed biochemistry could be
viewed and evaluated.
The mode-of-action data for
thiamethoxam produced by Trevor Green
and the research team fit into this new
framework just like a hand into a glove.
Syngenta has always set the bar high in
terms of the level of science needed to
understand what’s happening with our
products. This has allowed us to provide
the EPA with the scientific certainty to
move away from restrictive assumptions
about our products, while establishing us
as a leader in the areas of investigative
toxicology and mode-of-action research.
The thiamethoxam mode-of-action work
was carried out in the in the UK at the
Central Toxicology Laboratory at Alderley
Park, in Switzerland at the Biochemical
Toxicology section in Basel and in the
USA in the Human Safety Group at
Greensboro. This group’s novel results
with thiamethoxam, and their use of the
ILSI Framework to critically evaluate the
mode-of-action and its relevance to
humans, can be read in three landmark
papers in the journal Toxicological
Sciences published in 2005. As a final
icing on the cake, the team won the
prestigious "Best Paper" award from the
Society of Toxicology for this series of
papers, chosen from a list of 300
nominated papers!
If you’d like to know more about the
group’s research consult the following
papers:
Trevor Green, Alison Toghill, Robert Lee,
Felix Waechter, Edgar Weber, and James
Noakes, ‘Thiamethoxam induced mouse
liver tumors and their relevance to
humans. Part 1: Mode of action studies in
the mouse’, Tox. Sci. 86, 36-47 (2005).
Trevor Green, Alison Toghill, Robert Lee,
Felix Waechter, Edgar Weber, Richard
Peffer, James Noakes, and Mervyn
Robinson. ‘Thiamethoxam induced
mouse liver tumors and their relevance to
humans. Part 2: Species differences in
response’, Tox. Sci. 86, 48-55 (2005).
Timothy Pastoor, Patrick Rose, Sara
Lloyd, Richard Peffer, and Trevor Green,
‘Case Study: Weight of evidence
evaluation of the human health relevance
of thiamethoxam-related mouse liver
tumors’, Tox. Sci. 86, 56-60 (2005)
Meek,M.E., Bucher, J.R., Cohen, S.M.,
Dellarco, V., Hill, R.N., Lehman-
McKeeman, L.D. , Longfellow, D.,
Pastoor, T., Seed, J., and Patton, D.E., ‘A
Framework for Human Relevance
Analysis of Information on Carcinogenic
Modes of Action’, Critical Revs in
Toxicology, 33, 591-653 (2003).
sm
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Klaus Gehmann is a man with a mission: to make every field trial count. Achieving itwould ensure Syngenta seeing the successful launch of more new products in the yearsahead. Klaus also seeks to achieve an equally challenging objective: for Syngenta tooutperform its competitors and be nothing less that the best.
It’s Klaus’s job to oversee the technical development of new products and this involves field
studies. Syngenta carries out more than 10,000 trials every year and there are so many
variables that unless there is total control, the findings could be irrelevant. The ideal is to
produce the technical profile of a particular product, ensure it delivers what the customer
requires, and ultimately to gain a competitive advantage for Syngenta. Recent successes
include the fruit and vegetable fungicide mandipropamid sold under the brand name of
Revus®, the cereal herbicide pinoxaden (Axial®), and the broad spectrum insecticide
chlorantraniliprole (Durivo™). This last one has been developed in co-operation with DuPont.
These innovations followed from a relationship between Syngenta and the growers and
were successful because of the close interaction between the two. Klaus: “Closing the
loop from the market to Research & Development is of utmost importance for successful
innovations delivering value to the
customer. This is our role in Global
Product Biology. However, we would fail
miserably without competent field
scientists who are in the middle of the
grower and influencer communities, and
who sense the opportunities.”
Indeed the scientists responsible for the
field tests are the key players in the game
and the success of Syngenta's technical
development rests on their skills. It is up
10 Science Matters Keeping abreast of Syngenta R&D Summer 2008
Product Biology:
the sun neversets on Syngentafield trials
ScienceMagazine3.1:Science magazine 27/8/08 15:40 Page 10
to them to perform the tests correctly and
to capture the data coming from them.
The field scientists need to know the
agricultural crops and their agronomics,
and understand the biology of the target
organisms. They need to be experts in
trial design and application technology,
know how to assess crop tolerance,
biological efficacy, and yield. And of
course it is the last of these which is the
main concern of the farmer.
Klaus: “We are proud tohave a superb field force inour key countries. Theyknow how to make ithappen and have the‘can-do’ attitude whichmakes all the difference.Experienced colleaguestrain newcomers from newgrowth markets such asIndia, China and Russia.”
Although the field trials are important they
also depend very much on their careful
planning beforehand and on the
gathering and processing of data when
they have been completed. There are
four interlinked phases that Global
Product Biology sees as the key to
successful field trials: (1) upfront planning;
(2) conducting the trials; (3) analysing and
documenting the experimental results;
and (4) sharing the information and
building corporate knowledge.
Even the best field work will be valueless
if the trial protocol or the experimental
product samples arrive too late so that it
is not possible to conduct the trial at the
most appropriate time. Also any trial
whose results are not properly analysed
is a wasted trial because it does not add
to the Syngenta pool of knowledge.
At the planning stage one obvious piece
of information to be aware of is whether
something has already been tested.
There is little to be gained by retesting
product concepts which have already
failed in the past – and that’s why the
corporate archive – or as Klaus puts it
‘corporate memory’– is so important. The
field scientists capture the data with
hand-held mini-computers while actually
in the experimental plots. This information
is then uploaded to the global database
at Basel where it can be analysed within
a few days by Syngenta staff around the
globe. This may be critical to gaining
competitive advantage because speed
really can matter. Finally comes the all-
important phase of drawing the right
conclusions, documenting them, making
recommendations, and elaborating the
various options for marketing.
Klaus: “Our field resource is precious and
an asset to Syngenta. To maintain its high
quality it must not be overloaded with
unnecessary work. All of our technical
development needs to work seamlessly
together. Most recent successes show
that we are well positioned, but we must
do even better, and to continue to keep
ahead of our competitors”
Planning field tests definitely requires a
global perspective because it
encompasses both the Northern and
Southern hemispheres. The sun literally
never sets on Syngenta field trials.
Klaus Gehmann joined Ciba-Geigy in
1987. He had trained as an agrobiologist
and did his PhD in Agricultural Sciences
at the University of Stuttgart-Hohenheim,
Germany, specialising in crop protection
for vines. In 1996 Klaus moved to Brazil
as Head of R&D. In 2002 he became
Head of Global Product Biology, and is
based in Basel, Switzerland.
11Science Matters Keeping abreast of Syngenta R&D Summer 2008
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Marc Moerkerken holds a management position in the Global Supply Cjain Flowersand is based at a remarkable facility at De Lier in The Netherlands. There theplanting, germinating, and transplanting of flowers has been automated, and itsbusiness has grown by 10% per year for the past 10 years. Their secret weapon isthe Xtray®.
What Syngenta did in 1999 was to revolutionise the industry by introducing the Xtray®,
thereby not only introducing automation but also increasing efficiency, and it came with
environmental benefits. In place of traditional seed trays, which were used only once and
then discarded, Syngenta now has returnable plastic trays made of polypropylene which
will last for ten years. Instead of the previous ten types of tray there are now only four
types, with between 72 and 480 compartments (cells), and all are of a standard size of 30
x 50 cm. Every Xtray® has a unique number. This is in the form of a bar code which is
scanned in at the distribution center and scanned out when the tray is returned and
cleaned for re-use.
Leo Eland is the process engineer in Marc’s team and a key player in developing the Xtray.
These were designed to be strong and be unaffected by UV. Each tray will on average be
sent out once or twice a year. Customers
return them to Syngenta where they are
cleaned and disinfected with a hydrogen
peroxide solution, to remove all
pathogens before being used again. The
company has around two million Xtrays
in total and they ship out three and a half
million trays a year containing around one
billion plants.
Part of the company is a purpose-built
distribution facility at Maasland, a few
12 Science Matters Keeping abreast of Syngenta R&D Summer 2008
A bouquetfor De Lier
ScienceMagazine3.1:Science magazine 27/8/08 15:40 Page 12
kilometres south of De Lier. This was
opened in 2005 and its manager is Ron
Koene. Marc: “Ron did a magnificent job
when this was set up and the challenge
was to relocate the distribution operation
from De Lier without jeopardising
customer deliveries. Thanks to Ron and
his team the move went without a hitch
and all within the regulations laid down by
The Netherlands government and the
local municipality.”
As you might expect, young plants
production is a very seasonable business
and the company has to rent greenhouse
space at the peak time of year, and
indeed 80% of the plants they are
producing are then located off-site. From
the production sites the Xtrays are taken
to the distribution centre.
Within the Syngenta main plant, the filling
and sowing are fully automated and there
are six production lines. After sowing, the
Xtrays go to the greenhouse or are
stacked in a climate chamber. (The trays
have been designed for stacking and are
strong enough to bear the weight.) This
stacking is again another benefit over the
older system because it saves so much
space. The trays are left for up to a week
for the seeds to germinate. After that
they are further grown on in the
glasshouse. They are then inspected to
see how successful the germination has
been. This is also fully automated and is
done by counting the number of green
pixels the machine detects on its image
of the cell. Plugs which fail to meet the
grade are replaced. A second process is
to transplant the seedlings to larger cells
and again this is automated.
Marc: “We had some teething problems
with the machine because we were one
of the first companies to adopt this
technology. In fact it is a three-in-one
machine that combines transplanting,
gapping and sorting, which makes it very
versatile. It can also accommodate
certain products (mainly begonias and
cyclamens) that were not suitable via the
automatic gapping lines because those
products have leaves which may bend
over on to an adjacent cell of the Xtray®.
The counting machine would then
register that cell as the one that has
successfully germinated and the cell
which has the successful plant would be
rejected.”
As befits its position as the world’s
leading flower producer, Syngenta is
gearing itself up to be a ‘lean’ player,
producing the highest quality young
plants in the most efficient manufacturing
plant in Europe. Thanks to the invention
of the Xtray® it has greatly reduced the
amount of waste packaging that was
previously needed to supply the many
businesses it serves. Next Spring when
you are buying a magnificent pansy –
which is when most of these plants are
sold – then say a prayer of thanks for the
wise men of De Lier.
Marc Moerkerken completed a degree in
business administration at the Erasmus
University Rotterdam in 1998, after which
he became a supply chain consultant
before joining Syngenta in 2003 as
project manager for the Young Plants
Supply Chain. In early 2004 he was
promoted to the Global Supply Chain
(Flowers) and later that year to his current
position in the company which is now the
world leader in the flower industry. That
came as a result of Syngenta buying
Fischer Flowers, which specialises in
geraniums and poinsettias. The
combined company now supplies more
than 3,000 genetic varieties of plant, and
it’s Marc’s job to see that the merger
blooms into a successful hybrid.
13Science Matters Keeping abreast of Syngenta R&D Summer 2008
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Steve Goff’soff to Arizona
14 Science Matters Keeping abreast of Syngenta R&D Summer 2008
ScienceMagazine3.1:Science magazine 27/8/08 15:40 Page 14
Steve did his PhD in molecular genetics
at Harvard in 1985, then worked with
Biogen S.A. Geneva, before moving to
Tuft’s Medical School. He switched his
research focus in 1987 to gene
expression in plants at the Plant Gene
Expression Center at the USDA and
University of California Berkeley.
Steve was awarded“Research Leader of theYear” by ScientificAmerican in 2002 for hiswork on sequencing thegenome of rice, whichwas the first crop plant tobe sequenced.
He was also very interested in human
flavour perception and he has written 50
original research papers and filed even
more patents. In 2003 when Syngenta’s
Torrey Mesa Research Institute (TMRI) in
San Diego closed, Steve moved to
Syngenta Biotechnology Inc (SBI), North
Carolina, to become a Senior Syngenta
Fellow. His group’s efforts were focussed
on the science at the intersection of plant
and animal biology. In the August 2004
issue of Scientific American, he co-
authored the cover article with John
Salmeron entitled “Back to the Future for
Cereals.”
Now Steve has a faculty position at the
University of Arizona as the Director of
Community Interactions for the NSF-
funded iPlant Collaborative. The $50
million project is designed to develop
computational tools and cyber-
infrastructure to solve the major research
problems in plant biology – the so-called
Grand Challenges.
“Steve’s new position will give us insights
into how Syngenta can collaborate and
benefit from the exciting advances being
made at the University of Arizona and the
broader NSF initiative with which it is
associated.” says Martin Clough, Head of
Biotechnology R&D.
Steve gave a farewelllecture on 29 April 2008 atthe SBI Science Forum.His talk was entitled‘Recent Learnings fromGenomics: What we’velearned about genes andwhat opportunities theselearnings create.’
During it he reviewed recent literature
findings and discussed why it is so
difficult to associate genes and the traits
they cause. He went on to describe
some recent developments in genomics
and plant science that will impact
Syngenta's delivery of both Transgenics
and Native Traits products, and will be of
interest to the scientists trying to
understand the mode-of-action of
Syngenta's chemical products.
After his lecture, Steve was joined by his
co-workers in a celebration of his
contributions to Syngenta and his 16 year
tenure with the company. Erik Legg,
Group Leader for Integrated Genome
Biology, paid tribute to his work: “While I
am sad that we are losing Steve and his
ability to consolidate data, ideas, and
thoughts, we will continue to strengthen
our relationship with public sector
scientists through him. Syngenta will
continue to offer support which facilitates
the interaction and collaboration between
our company and academics.”
Steve was clearly moved: “I'd like to
thank you all for the exciting years at
Ciba, Novartis, TMRI, and finally back at
SBI. It's been a wonderful learning
experience, and I have had opportunities
to interact with a lot of very bright people
with widely different perspectives. I wish
you all the best of luck for the future, and
I'd be happy to host your visit to the BIO5
Institute at the University of Arizona in the
next five to ten years. We'll be working on
software for plant genomics and
addressing the Grand Challenge
questions in Plant Sciences. Some of
these should be very useful for
companies like Syngenta, and I hope to
be able to come back and describe
progress on this NSF-funded effort in the
future.”
Readers who would like to contact Steve
can reach him at his personal e-mail
address stephenagoff@yahoo.com or at
Arizona sgoff@email.arizona.edu and it
you’d like to read his last seminar you can
download it from the Syngenta database.
15Science Matters Keeping abreast of Syngenta R&D Summer 2008
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On 30 April 2008, and after 16 years at Syngenta, Senior Fellow Steve Goff retiredto take up a faculty position at the University of Arizona. During his remarkableresearch career Steve made some ground-breaking contributions to the science offlavour and plant genomics.
ScienceMagazine3.1:Science magazine 27/8/08 15:40 Page 15
When it comes to pathogenic diseases nothing exceeds malaria both in the number ofcases every year and the numbers who die. Syngenta is playing an active role in fightingback, thanks to a rather neat way we have discovered of making bed nets much moreeffective.
It’s the job of those in the Formulation Development Section to take the raw activeingredients such as fungicides, herbicides or insecticides which are made by the syntheticchemists and turn them into the products that people can use. And it’s not only bulkpurchasers who are their customers, some buy Syngenta products for personal protection,and that’s what Icon®Maxx is all about.
Malaria is probably the world’s worst killer disease andthe World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that 300million people a year suffer from it.
Every day the number of children actuallydying from malaria would fill seven jumbojets, such is the terrible toll this diseasetakes.
Lesley Silverthorne’s project was todesign an insecticide which could beapplied to mosquito bed nets to providelong-lasting protection against theseinsects. Previous products of this typetended to be washed off when the bednet was laundered and people would
16 Science Matters Keeping abreast of Syngenta R&D Summer 2008
Seven jumbo jet loads of children crash into
mosquitoesevery day
ScienceMagazine3.1:Science magazine 27/8/08 15:40 Page 16
then forget to reapply more. Thechallenge that Lesley’s team faced wasto devise a formulation which was wash-fast, which retained its activity for longperiods, and which was easy to apply bythose who purchased the insecticidal kit,or who were given it by their governmentor aid agency along with a bed net.
Lesley: “We provide Icon®Maxx userswith an outer bag into which they canmeasure the correct volume of water andinto which they then dilute the Icon®Maxxbefore immersing their bed net andsoaking it for at least 30 minutes. It canthen simply be left to air dry and this issufficient to allow the binder to stick thecapsules to the netting.”
So how long does an application have tolast? Lesley: “A typical net would last thehouseholder for up to three years. Duringthis time they can wash the net if itbecomes dirty but the capsules willremain attached even if the nets arewashed with the aid of a detergent.” TheWHO has approved Icon®Maxx afterbed nets treated with it successfullypassed their test of still being active after20 washes. Competitor products failed tosurvive this stringent test.
The challenge was to find a way ofbonding the insecticide to the net butensuring release of the insecticide in a
controlled manner. Lesley: “This was aparticularly tricky challenge. If you boundthe active ingredient too tightly to the netyou could lose the knock-down effect.”
The answer was toencapsulate theinsecticide in a polyureashell and then stick theminute capsule to the bednet fibres with a binder.
In the research phase Syngenta scientistsin the UK and Switzerland looked at morethan 60 binders and various bed netfibres including nylon and cotton. Theformulation chemistry was done atJealott’s Hill, UK, by David Barnett andBeverley Mason, and the biologicaltesting was done at Stein, Switzerland,by Andy Bywater. The aim was tobalance insecticide release with long termactivity and an ability to survive laundering– and they did it.The capsules are formed byincorporating isocyanate precursors,polyphenyl isocyanate and toluenediisocyante, into an emulsion systemcontaining the insecticide within the oilphase. The isocyanates react first withwater at the emulsion droplet surfaceforming amino groups which then go onthe react with other isocyanate groups togenerate polyurea linkages, effectivelycreating a shell around the capsule withthe insecticide inside.
The attachment of these minute capsulesto the net fibres is a more physicalbonding process. The binder is basicallyan ethyl vinyl acetate film-formingcopolymer. The key is to use the rightpolymer at a specific rate to ensure thattreated nets can be simply air driedwithout the need for curing with theresulting treatment being wash fast andthe capsule contents are still bioavailable.
The active agent inIcon®Maxx is λ(lambda)-cyhalothrin (a fluorinatedpyrethrin) which is a veryeffective insecticide andso application rates canbe kept low.
Cyhalothrin is active at a very low leveland there need only be 50 mg per squaremetre of the net to be effective againstmosquitoes. Tests were also carried outto show that even if a child chewed itsmosquito net then its health would not beat risk.
Now, after her maternity leave, Lesley hasreturned to the Formulation DevelopmentSection at Jealott’s Hill to work on newproducts. Needless to say she has fittedher babyAmelia’s pramwith amosquito net.
Lesley Silverthorne has a degree inchemistry and is a graduate of the RoyalSociety of Chemistry. She joined ICI atJealott’s Hill in 1987, relocated to Kent for10 years and then returned to Jealott’sHill in 2002 as a member of theFormulation Development Section, whichis headed by David Sadler. It’s there thatshe and her team have waged waragainst diseases like malaria by forging anew weapon to defeat mosquitoes:Icon®Maxx. This was launched at the endof 2007 and sales are already exceedingexpectations.
17Science Matters Keeping abreast of Syngenta R&D Summer 2008
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When a weed shows resistance to an important herbicide, Syngenta’s dedicatedlabs employ a wide variety of latest technologies to discover the secret of itsdefence. Better ways can then be found to defeat resistance so that it is containedand food production is not threatened.
18 Science Matters Keeping abreast of Syngenta R&D Summer 2008
a real threat for agriculture but an opportunity for Syngenta!
ScienceMagazine3.1:Science magazine 27/8/08 15:41 Page 18
Herbicide resistance weeds are a serious
threat to agriculture and food production.
Syngenta was quick to recognize this and
has invested significantly in better
understanding and managing resistance.
Scientists from the resistance research
team at Jealott's Hill have developed an
array of scientific methods for uncovering
the mechanisms by which weeds eveolve
resistance. These have lead to the
development of new techniques to detect
resistance in the field. Using their
scientific results they have empowered
the technical and sales team to manage
resistance in a competitive manner.
Deepak Kaundun did his PhD in
biochemistry at the University of Lyon,
France, followed by further research at
public institutions in France, South Korea
and Japan, before coming to Jealott’s Hill
in 2002 as their technical specialist in
charge of herbicide-resistance. His
colleague, molecular biologist Richard
Dale, did his degree in genetics at Leeds
University, UK, before joining Syngenta’s
Bioscience Department.
They are members of a remarkable team
with skills across diverse areas of
science, dedicated to finding ways to
attack the forces of herbicide-resistant
weeds which march across the fields of
the world’s key grain crops. They are really
making a difference in understanding and
combating resistance thanks to what
Deepak calls their holistic approach,
which brings together the science of
biology (both field and glasshouse),
biochemistry; molecular biology,
physiology, biokinetics, genomics and
genetics (both quantitative and
population). Deepak views herbicide
resistance as a real opportunity rather
than a threat for Syngenta. “We can
leverage the sophisticated technological
platforms across the company for a
better understanding of herbicide
resistance and have a wide portfolio of
herbicides that can be used for delaying
and overcoming resistance.”
Resistance is a fact of life. It occurs
worldwide where herbicides have been
used extensively. For example in Australia
it’s rye grass and in the UK there is black
grass. These and other weeds have
evolved to become resistant. Lack of
diversity in farming methods and overuse
of previously highly effective herbicides
have allowed plants with a slightly
different segment of their genome to
survive. Thereafter their progeny will
cross and further spread across and to
adjoining fields.
So what happens when afarmer discovers a weedthat has survived aherbicide treatment inhis field?
The first step is for seeds from the
suspect plants to be collected and sent
for resistance confirmation under
controlled glasshouse conditions at
Jealott’s Hill. This has to be done
because the weeds might just have
survived due to sub-optimal spraying
conditions in the field. However, if the
plants remain healthy the next step is to
develop a solution based on mixtures
and sequences of existing herbicides.
Simultaneously Richard will take a
sample of leaf and extract the DNA. He
then compares its gene sequence with
the DNA of a known herbicide-sensitive
plant and finds where it differs. Very often
the difference should point to the cause
of resistance.
DNA based methods arethen developed for theearly and unambiguousdetection of resistance,thus limiting its spread inthe field.
Thanks to their deep understanding of
herbicide resistance mechanisms they
have generated some unique weed lines
for screening new herbicides in research
that would overcome resistance.
The group’s work is also of the highest
scientific calibre and has been published
in peer-reviewed international journals.
Their robust and unambiguous DNA
based methods for the early detection of
herbicide resistance are used by both
Syngenta scientists and by academic
collaborators worldwide.
Deepak: “I see myself as the link between
the scientists at Syngenta and the
growers. We make sure that each and
every one of our experiments is designed
for the mutual benefits of Syngenta and
its customers. Once we have confirmed
resistance in a weed and understand its
mechanism we are in a better position
once again to protect crops. In so doing
we can demonstrate Syngenta’s
capabilities in a competitively
advantageous way.”
As Iain Hamilton, Field Technical
Manager, indicates: “Scientific support
was of significant help in the launch of
Axial® on the UK market, demonstrating
to potential clients that this was a
herbicide that was different from those of
our competitors. We have the ability to
give advice and support to growers and
advisers about how to tackle difficult
grass weeds in the field and that’s a real
bonus for us.”
19Science Matters Keeping abreast of Syngenta R&D Summer 2008
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Ashley Collins, based at Syngenta Biotechnology Inc., North Carolina, reports on oneof the highlights of the Syngenta Year.
20 Science Matters Keeping abreast of Syngenta R&D Summer 2008
SyngentaFellows AnnualConference 2008
ScienceMagazine3.1:Science magazine 27/8/08 15:41 Page 20
The Fellows’ Annual Conference was
held in April in Zurich, Switzerland and
included a colloquium devoted to Applied
Crop Enhancement (ACE) which was
held at the Syngenta site at Stein. The
focus was on improving networks, both
internally and externally, the better to
drive technology and scientific progress
within the company.
“With technicalleadership, know-howand expertise, theFellows aim to influencethe future of theirfunctions and overallbusiness”, explainedDavid Jackson, FellowsCore Team Member.
The ACE colloquium saw a full program
of speakers, themed workshops, and the
awarding of science prizes, all of which
combined to create an atmosphere of
sharing, brainstorming, and celebration
for the 80 participants.
Lynn Senior, SBI-based program leader
for yield and yield components, kicked off
the day’s lectures. Her talk, which
focused on how to better characterise
the vigour effect of thiamethoxam using
a combination of genetics and genomics,
set the theme for the day which was
devoted to the linkage of classical
genetics with chemical genetics. Lynn’s
lecture was followed by several external
speakers from local universities including
Ghent University, The Free University of
Berlin, The Max Planck Institute for Plant
Breeding of Cologne, and ETH Zurich.
“It has been great to see that the link
between seeds and crop protection has
been reiterated through the scientific data
presented by both our internal and
external speakers,” said David Lawrence,
Head of Global Research and
Development. “Syngenta now has the
challenge to utilise the potential of the
ACE program to deliver solutions to our
customers.”
After lunch there was a brief question and
answer session, and later the attendees
divided into small groups focusing on
idea generation in five key areas for ACE
improvement. These areas included:
vigour; maturity management; soil
nutrients; abiotic stress; and quality
enhancement. Each group narrowed
their suggestions and ideas for the next
steps down to five; and shared their
findings with the group in a plenary
session. The ACE group, with Fellows
involvement, will now deep dive into the
findings and identify projects of most
interest to Syngenta.
The Colloquium also saw the
presentation of awards to the 2007
Science and Technology Prize winners.
David Lawrence praised the three
recipients: Gabriel Scalliet and Olivier
Loiseleur of Stein, and Judith Bowler of
Jealott’s Hill. Each winner delivered a
summary of their work.
Gabriel: “It is veryrewarding to get thisprize because it showsthat science makes adifference to thecompany. Innovationmakes a difference.”
The next day, the Fellows spent time at
ETH, Switzerland’s top university, to
strengthen their co-operation and
networks, and to hear presentations from
professors and researchers. Pat
Mulqueen, Senior Syngenta Fellow and
2007 Core Team Chairman, was
particularly impressed: “The visit to ETH
allowed us to meet key researchers. For
me, the particularly exciting talks were by
Professor Starke on nanoparticle
technology (using inorganics such as
calcium phosphate as a model) and
Professor Seeburger and his students
about precisely constructed polymeric
sugars in defining adhesion to
substrates.”
The Fellows spent the final day learning
how to better understand the importance
of networking. External consultant, Ray
Smith, laid out the foundations of
effective networking: mutual trust, mutual
objectives and mutual interests. In small
group sessions the Fellows focused on
their main areas of improvement for this
year which they identified as networking,
behaviour, brand and innovation.
“The Fellows communityhas been given challengesto deliver more throughnetworking acrosstechnical and businesssilos” says Mike Bushell,head of ExternalPartnerships at Jealott’s Hill.
“A pilot training and development
program is being developed around the
Technology Foresight networks on
Epigenetics and Measurement, and
Modelling, assisted by Ray Smith and his
New Game Plan group. If it is successful,
more projects could follow.”
21Science Matters Keeping abreast of Syngenta R&D Summer 2008
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Our intrepid reporters, Carolyn Riches and Ashley Collins have been trackingdown some more interesting things which Syngenta people have been involved in.With thanks to Sirku Ploetner.
22 Science Matters Keeping abreast of Syngenta R&D Summer 2008
Out and About
Gowith the flow-reactor“Upgrading the H-Cube to link with aredundant liquid handler is a major leapforward!” exclaims Gavin Bluck, Jealott’sHill Research Chemist. The H-Cube is akey piece of technology for performinghydrogenation reactions. Using a flow-reactor, it generates its own H2 in situ byelectrolysis of water. “We’ve discoveredand optimised conditions for reactionsthat weren’t successful by 'conventional'methodology.”
The unit is able to perform multiple small-scale (i.e. less than 0.5 mmol) reactionsunattended which he says is great forrapidly investigating optimal conditionsand it frees up time for other tasks - oreven coffee!
Flexibility has been maintained to copewith large-scale field-trial syntheses. Onthe day that Gavin first plumbed the H-
Cube into the liquid handler, he had arequest to hydrogenate several litres of akey intermediate. “Within a couple ofminutes, I‘d transformed the unit intobeing able to cope with large-scaleprocess work…and then I was off!” saysGavin.
Global‘webinars’captureReach-outenergyHow can you disseminate information onimportant Syngenta projects to interestedglobal parties, and at the same timecapture their ideas? A ‘Reach-out’ eventis the answer. Franz Doppmann and hisDevelopment team have harnessedinternet seminar (or ‘webinar’) technologyto enable live internet broadcasting. Anynumber of people can join the ‘giant net-meeting’ via their PC and phone. At theend of the broadcast a Q&A takes place,with global participants posing questionsvia e-mail or over the phone. A follow-upReach-out event captures thoughts,ideas and energy while still fresh in themind. Attendees may also spend acouple of daysworking on issues that arose.
Jealott’s Hill Weed Control Group Leader,Mark Spinney, is clearly impressed: “Frommy desk, I’ve connected with both SeniorManagement and the span of our globalorganisation, as well as gaining criticalinformation about some of our mostexciting new products, such as Invinsa®.”
Webinars now feature regularly and areopen to all employees in Syngenta R&D.For more information on when these willtake place, put the link below into
mySyngneta or contact Cornelia Maier.http://ts1.pro.intra/sites/GCPDCentralR/Development%20Conference%20Library/Forms/By%20Linked%20Event.aspx
Employee exchange is a ‘Goa’Goa Team Leader, Mangala Govenkar,has completed her nine weeksecondment to Jealott’s Hill/Stein as partof a training programme for chemists.Mangala immersed herself in a researchproject, having hands-on experience inthe labs and greenhouses – somethingno amount of teleconferences and e-mails could offer. “I’ve enjoyed thechemistry discussions and meeting alarge number of scientists across alldisciplines,” says Mangala.
Such exchanges have proven invaluablein linking colleagues in Europe and Goa.“It was good for us to build a relationshipwith a key project member,” says Chris
ScienceMagazine3.1:Science magazine 27/8/08 15:41 Page 22
Mathews, Group Leader (JH). “This willenhance her team’s ability to work moreeffectively, encouraging still greater inputinto this and future projects.”Secondments for Goa employees haveprimarily been for those needing closeinvolvement with projects - furthersecondments to Stein are planned fortwo more Goa Chemistry Team Leaders.
Also this year, a Jealott’s Hill / Steinexchange took place between OlivierProvoost and Mario Juerg. Chemists’self-nominated and candidates wereselected by their managers. Rob Lind,Team Leader, Bioscience (Jealott’s Hill)has also completed a secondment inStein. If you’d like to take part in anemployee exchange, your line managercan provide guidance.
In a flash…Ultra Thin Client (UTC) technology isgoing on a two month trial at Jealott’s Hillfrom June. A UTC is like having your PCin your pocket and the ability to log-onwherever you happen to be on site. Thescientists trialling the technology will beable to immediately log-on to a centralserver by inserting an access card into abox next to a monitor. The screen isrecalled exactly as when they were lastlogged-on - instant working, in a flash!
The Discovery Biology Group and twoproject teams will be trialling the UTCs.With monitors taking up less desk space,office layouts have been designed forinteraction and space efficiency. This fitswith the project room way of workingalready in place at Jealott’s Hill: key
project members temporarily locate inone room, ‘hot desks’ are available forperipheral members and informal coffeesessions enhance the flow of new ideas.Jim Mills, Jealott’s Hill Biology Technician:“Having a base in several buildings, I’mlooking forward to being able to log-onstraight away”. For more information,contact Derek Scuffell, UTC Project Lead.
It’s good to talk…"The Stein Interaction Centre has alreadyinfluenced our ways of working bycreating numerous spontaneousopportunities for networking andknowledge sharing,” says Mafalda Nina,Research Computational Chemist (Stein)speaking of the new facilities at our Swiss
research site. Syngenta officially openedthe Interaction Centre on April 10th,thereby reinforcing Stein's position asone of five main Syngenta research sitesworldwide, specializing in fungicides andinsecticides.
High-quality materials, lots of natural lightand the well-planned integration of open-air and indoor areas all contribute to anatmosphere ideally suited to innovation.It has also enabled chance interactionswhere colleagues from Biology,Chemistry and Patents often discussproject details outside of formalmeetings. “These opportune momentshave enabled me to quickly answerquestions with my Biology colleagues,saving time in making phone calls andemailing,” continues Mafalda.
The Interaction Centre with its auditorium,meeting rooms and offices also providesa fine location for scientific exchange andcelebrations (internal and external).Upcoming events planned for the Centreinclude visits from UK distributors, Swissagronomy advisors and Syngenta Salesand Marketing.
Hoorah for Project FuwaProgress of the Syngenta Biotech ChinaSite (SBC), known as ‘Project Fuwa’, is infull swing. With the Land PurchaseAgreement signed on April 10th, SBC islooking forward to what the future 21,500m2 building will add to Syngenta’sResearch and Development program.
Currently, SBC is run in a leased facility. InSeptember of this year, temporarylaboratory spaces will be set up andready to use. Additionally, recent campusrecruiting events have proven to be verysuccessful. For the fifteen open positions,over 800 resumes were received.“Syngenta is creating a very positiveimage of itself. We’ve been able to deliver
the message that we’re committed inChina. People like Syngenta, and want towork for Syngenta”, says Liang Shi,Group Leader for the Transformation andAnalysis Group. “It’s our hope that SBCand SBI will become closely connected.We hope to foster an open culture andgood collaboration between the sites.”
Mini-Chromosomes Could YieldMega ResultsThrough the partnership of Syngenta andChromatin Inc., we are now able to testChromatin’s gene stacking technology of“mini-chromosomes”. Mini-Chromosomesare developed using select elements froma crop’s existing chromosomes, includingthe centromere, which provides geneticstability and can help to ensureinheritance of the mini-chromosome. Thistechnology can offer Syngenta a newway to develop stacked traits and speedthe time from development tocommercialisation. While this newtechnology is very exciting for Syngenta,it will not replace our current methods:molecular stacking or traditionalbreeding. “We will evaluate thistechnology in combination with our owninnovative research programs. Mini-Chromosomes will give us the ability toenhance our product speed to themarket and potentially increase thenumber of traits that can be stacked intoone variety” says Roger Kemble, Head ofCrop Genetics Research.
23Science Matters Keeping abreast of Syngenta R&D Summer 2008
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Writer John Emsley is author of several popular science books which deal with
everyday chemicals including TheConsumer’s GoodChemical Guide, whichwon the
Science Book Prize in 1995 and this has been translated in all major languages. His
latest book in the series is Better Looking, Better Living, Better Loving published by
Wiley-VCH.
Editor-in-Chief: Dr Dave Lawrence
Editors: Dr. Stuart John Dunbar, Dr Alison Craig
Written by Dr John Emsley
Printed by Geerings Print Limited
ScienceMatters is publishedbySyngenta, Jealott’sHill International ResearchCentre,
Bracknell, Berkshire, RG42 6EY United Kingdom. Main contact for comment and
future content is Mike Bushell.
Trademarks indicated thus ® or TM are the property of a Syngenta Group Company.
The Syngenta wordmark is a trademark of Syngenta International AG
© Syngenta International AG, 2008. All rights reserved.
Editorial completion May 2008.
Science Matters is printed on 9lives80 which is produced with 80 percent recovered
fiber comprising 10 percent packagingwaste, 10 percent bestwhitewaste, 60 percent
de-inkedwaste fiber and only 20 percent virgin totally chlorine free fiber sourced from
sustainable forests.
Cautionary statement regarding forward-looking statementsThis document contains forward-looking statements,which canbe identified by terminology such as “expect”,“would”, “will”, “potential”, “plans”, “prospects”, “estimated”, “aiming”, “on track”, and similar expressions.Such statementsmay be subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materiallyfrom these statements. We refer you to Syngenta’s publicly available filings with the US Securities andExchange Commission for information about these and other risks and uncertainties. Syngenta assumes noobligation to update forward looking statements to reflect actual results, changed assumptions or otherfactors. This document does not constitute, or form part of, any offer or invitation to sell or issue, or anysolicitation of any offer, to purchase or subscribe for any ordinary shares in Syngenta AG, or Syngenta ADSs,nor shall it form the basis of, or be relied on in connection with, any contract therefore
Science Matters Keeping abreast of Syngenta R&D Summer 2008
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