Paradigm Genetics, Inc., a functional genomics company, today announced that it has increased the average weekly gene function discovery throughput rate of its GeneFunction Factory to 150 genes per week.

"Paradigm's goal for 2000 is to clearly elucidate the function of 200 genes per week, and to date we have reached 75% of that throughput capability,'' said John Ryals, Ph.D., CEO and President of Paradigm Genetics." Due to our constantly increasing research productivity, we are constructing a new facility that is expected to be completed by the end of this year. This facility will allow us to expand our capabilities even further.''

Paradigm's GeneFunction Factory simultaneously studies the functions of many genes in selected plants and fungi at the same time. Paradigm designed its Factory to be an integrated, rapid, industrial-scale laboratory through which Paradigm discovers and modifies genes, understands the consequences of the modifications and reliably determines gene functions. The resulting gene function information is stored and annotated in the FunctionFinder(TM) bioinformatics system, which is a computer system that helps Paradigm and its collaborators analyze the large volumes of complex data generated from the study of genes.

Dr. Ryals added, "We reached this internal milestone of 150 genes per week by enhancing our efficiency and increasing the capacity of our FunctionFinder(TM) bioinformatics system, which processes huge quantities of annotated data. We have made the determination of gene function a high- throughput process in a similar way that scientists working on the Human Genome Project made gene sequencing a high throughput process.''

Paradigm is initially employing the GeneFunction Factory to determine the function of essentially every gene in the model organisms Arabidopsis thalania, rice and multicellular filamentous fungi. Arabidopsis and rice, which are efficient research tools amenable to the collection of large numbers of measurements, are being studied to develop novel products in the crop production, nutrition, human health and industrial product markets. Paradigm recently announced (June 27, 2000) that its fungal program successfully completed alterations or knock-outs in all of the genes of the rice blast fungus, Magnaporthe grisea, which significantly damages rice crops worldwide, and completed alterations in 70% of the genes of the pathogen Septoria tritici, which causes serious damage in wheat.

Paradigm Genetics is industrializing the process of gene function discovery for four major sectors of the global economy: nutrition, crop production, industrial products and human health. The company has designed the GeneFunction Factory(TM)- an integrated, rapid, industrial-scale laboratory through which it discovers gene function. Paradigm and its strategic partners intend to develop novel products using information developed with the GeneFunction Factory(TM). Paradigm's GeneFunction Factory(TM) is based on a state of the art phenomics platform integrated with metabolic profiling and gene expression profiling technologies. The backbone of the GeneFunction Factory(TM) is the company's proprietary FunctionFinder(TM) bioinformatics system, used to collect, store, analyze, and retrieve information. For more information visit
www.paragen.com. 

Company news release
N2878