Innovative Genomic Solutions
Broader Industry Expertise
60 Years of Experience in Commercial Agriculture
"Kayagene is our most trusted supplier of stable Hemp seed genetics."
Leading the Industry
Our experience in plant breeding technologies drives our innovation roadmap.
We’re at the forefront of breeding and developing Hemp varieties that are stable, productive and tailored to meet customer’s needs.
R&D Focused
We focus on breeding and genetics, so you don’t have to.
Let’s face it, the continued lack of stable genetics in the market is an obstacle for the industry at-large. In order to deliver improved varieties, we place significant investment and resource towards research and collaboration with our partners.
Defining Important Breeding Markers & Traits
Evolution in breeding technologies will aid in creating appeal and versatility of the crop at large.
Kayagene is continuing its path into the future, as a leader in Hemp breeding, utilizing a suite of proprietary genomic tools for advancing breeding.
Kayagene is pleased to announce the completion of a milestone in their strategic reseach collaboration with NRGene.
This ongoing collaboration was initiated over 2 years ago, beginning with genomic assembly of several of Kayagene’s Hemp breeding lines, using NRGene’s DenovoMAGIC™ technology.
The companies have successfully mapped several key genes including the autoflowering gene, which is a highly desired trait and of great interest for the hemp industry. NRGene estimates, that following the development of DNA markers for the autoflowering trait, it is now possible to integrate this trait into any Hemp variety within 12 to 18 months.
Hemp plants are typically photoperiod dependent, meaning the plants start flowering only when day length becomes shorter and approaches 12 hours. However, hemp plants harboring the day-neutral or “autoflower” gene, flower automatically when they are 3-4 weeks old, no matter the day-length. Thus, varieties with this trait can be grown year-round in greenhouse or fields without the necessity to manipulate day-length, which is cost-efficient for multiple flower or seed harvests.
“Our efficient genomic capabilities enabled the rapid and accurate mapping of the autoflower trait and the identification of linked DNA markers.” Said DR. Gil Ronen, NRGene’s CEO & Co-Founder. “Using these markers, Kayagene can now reduce, by 50%, the time required to incorporate the autoflower trait into their proprietary elite Hemp varieties.”
Trait mapping and marker-assisted breeding are vital in a competitive market because it accelerates the time to market for unique and improved varieties harboring those key traits. The use of molecular markers enables rapid and accurate selections and reduces the presence of deleterious genes introduced by traditional breeding methods.
Frequently Asked Questions
Genomics is the study of the entirety of an organism’s genes, known as the genome. By analyzing the complete sequence of DNA making up an organism’s genome scientists can develop useful tools for plant breeders. These tools, known as genomic tools, are leading a new revolution in plant breeding by facilitating our understanding of how a genotype relates to a phenotype.
Cannabis sativa L. has been under studied and underutilized as a crop because of its illicit history. While other crops progressed along with advances in technology and improved breeding techniques, Hemp has not. Utilizing genomic tools will allow breeder to advance this crop into the future and meet the needs of large-scale production.
No, although GMO techniques utilize our understanding of the genome and the ways that genes function. Genomic tools are not the same as GMO.
In plant breeding a molecular marker is a type of genomic tool used as a unique identifier for a specific location within the genome. A molecular marker associated with a specific phenotype allows the plant breeder to know the phenotype of a progeny without having to phenotype the plant.
In order to remain focused on what we do best, research and development, we are licensing and selling our varieties through seed dealers. Contact us to find out more.