From weevils to weeds, Biokinetics is revealing the effects of our products Syngenta scientists are introducing new blood into the elite stock of maize Thanks to a dedicated Toxicology team, Thiamethoxam is now able to fight pests From flowers to mosquitoes, to herbicide resistance, read how Syngenta scientists are achieving great things The A to Z of field tests Apples are just one crop tested by our global field testing team science matters Keeping abreast of Syngenta R&D Summer 08 ScienceMagazine3.1:Science magazine 27/8/08 15:40 Page 1
The A to Z of field tests. Articles include: What is biokinetics, Introducing new blood into the elite stock of maize, Toxicology team ensure that ants don’t win, Our De Lier flower facility, · Product Biology: How to make every field trail count, How Syngenta is helping to fight back malaria, Herbicide resistance: a threat for agriculture, an opportunity for Syngenta, Syngenta Fellows Annual Conference 2008 Fellow interview: Steve Goff
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Transcript
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
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!
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
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
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
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
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.
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
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
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
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.’
15Science Matters Keeping abreast of Syngenta R&D Summer 2008
sm
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.
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
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
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!
“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
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
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
de-inkedwaste fiber and only 20 percent virgin totally chlorine free fiber sourced from
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Science Matters Keeping abreast of Syngenta R&D Summer 2008