New Persephone Technology to Be Demonstrated at Genome Conference

THOUSAND OAKS, CA - Dec 21, 2015 - Ceres, Inc. (NASDAQ: CERE), an agricultural biotechnology company, today announced that its genomics team will demonstrate new features of its Persephone software technology at the upcoming International Plant and Animal Genome Conference in San Diego, Calif.

Persephone makes it possible for researchers to organize, store, access and explore a diverse array of DNA-related information in much the same way online mapping programs allow users to explore geographic regions and locations. Today, hundreds of life scientists around the globe use Persephone, with more companies and scientists expected to convert from older tools

For 2016, Ceres has introduced a new data management application, named PersephoneShell, which automates most aspects of the data importing, updates and deletions for numerous file formats. The company has also introduced a more powerful export engine capable of exporting a diverse array of genomics information in different formats.  

Tim Swaller, Ceres Vice President of Genomics Technologies, noted that Persephone was designed from the beginning with large, rapidly growing datasets in mind, including whole genome samples. “Despite the growing size of genomics data files, we continue to increase the speed and performance of Persephone,” he said.

Other new software features include an optimized drag-n-drop file option that provides a quick view of data without the need for loading the data into the database, new data management and visualization options for full trait ontologies and a new streamlined QTL interface. The Persephone team has also increased its online documentation support system.

In addition to crop research, Ceres markets Persephone to companies and institutions in the human and biomedical fields, where DNA-related information is analyzed and used in a similar manner to plants. The Persephone platform can be installed either within a customer's own IT infrastructure or in the cloud using Amazon Web Services. Ceres also offers a free demo software system that customers can install and evaluate at www.persephone.net.

“We believe that Persephone can become the common denominator to visualize genetic information across hundreds if not thousands of full genome samples from a myriad of public and private sources,” said Swaller.

About Persephone
Persephone is a genome visualization technology marketed by Ceres, Inc. The technology allows researchers to store, access and explore DNA databases in much the same way online mapping programs allow users to explore geographic regions and places. Driven by dramatically lower costs, DNA sequencing is one of the most commonly used technologies in biological and medical research laboratories. Persephone has been designed to more fully utilize what has become an overload of data by enabling the rapid and easy visualization of large amounts of genomics data by experts and non-experts alike. Persephone is a registered trademark of Ceres, Inc.

About Ceres

Ceres, Inc. is an agricultural biotechnology company that develops and markets seeds and traits to produce crops for animal feed, sugar and other markets. The company’s advanced plant breeding and biotechnology technology platforms, which can increase crop productivity, improve quality, reduce crop inputs and improve cultivation on marginal land, have broad application across multiple crops, including food, feed, fiber and fuel crops. Ceres markets its seed products under its Blade brand.

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