Nova Sunny Debut at PAG 32 in San Diego

We are excited to share our experiences from the Plant and Animal Genome Conference (PAG 32) held in San Diego this January. This year marked our inaugural participation as exhibitors, and the sunny Californian weather provided the perfect backdrop for an unforgettable event.

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At our stand, we conducted live demos of KnetMiner Nova, showcasing its latest features to a diverse audience. Attendees had the opportunity to engage with the platform through interactive sessions and even participated in some fun KnetMiner-themed games. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with many expressing enthusiasm about the platform’s potential to accelerate research and discovery.

We ran an interactive voting session to hear directly from the community about which species they would like to see prioritised in future KnetMiner developments. The response was fantastic, with a diverse range of votes cast for both plants and animals.While the final count initially appeared to be evenly spread across the board, a closer look revealed a clear favourite: soybean! Its importance as a major crop in global agriculture clearly resonated with attendees.

Other species that garnered interest included:

• Apple

• Watermelon

• Clementine

• Cotton

• Wild soybean

• Silkworm

• Red flour beetle

• More Wheat rust

• Pig

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It was fascinating to see such a broad interest in both plant and animal species, and the enthusiastic participation highlighted the diverse research priorities within the genomics community.

Thank you to everyone who took part in the voting

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Keywan's KnetMiner Talk

Our CEO delivered an engaging talk during the Wheat Genomics to Breeding session, titled “KnetMiner: Advancing Wheat Gene Discovery with AI-Powered Knowledge Graphs.”

The hall listened intently as Keywan introduced the fundamentals of knowledge graphs and their transformative role in managing the vast volumes of data accumulated by researchers over the past century.

The 20-minute presentation highlighted the capabilities of the KnetMiner web app, culminating in a compelling use case focused on DELLA genes.

The talk sparked great interest, drawing many curious attendees to our stand afterward for further discussions and demos.

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Beyond the exhibition hall

PAG 32 offered a plethora of insightful talks and workshops. We were particularly impressed by the discussions on pan-genome studies, which highlighted the advancements in handling complex plant genomes, as well as the talks around AI in various aspects of Wheat research.

The conference also provided a valuable opportunity to reconnect with long-standing friends and colleagues, and forge new relationships within the international wheat community.

Reflecting on our first showcase at PAG, we’re grateful for the warm reception and the chance to contribute to the vibrant genomics community. We’re already looking forward to future events and continuing our mission to empower researchers worldwide.

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