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The "Unité de Recherches en Génomique Info" (URGI, UR1164) is an INRAE research unit from the plant breeding department. We both develop tools and acquire knowledge on genome structure, evolution and functioning.

URGI research

The research goal at URGI is to acquire a better understanding of genome structure, evolution and functioning to help researchers to interpret their data. A focus is made on transposable elements and repeats that appear today to be very pertinent to understand genome evolution and its functioning. Indeed, they play a major role to explain genome size and structure. Transposable elements, viewed for a long time as intra-genomic parasites, are also considered, today, to be at the origin of many essential biological functions such as the immune system, the centromeres, the heterochromatin or the telomerases. Knowledge and data gained are added to the information system increasing the value of deposited data.

The methods and tools developed by this research activity are proposed to the platform users.

URGI platform

The URGI unit host a bioinformatic platform that supports research activity on plant of agronomical interest for INRA.

• a complete environment for computer power and storage
• data portals to find and access dataset scattered in international Plant Data repositories federation: wheatis.org, Faidare. URGI develops and maintain the necessary softwares and host the infrastructure and service.  URGI is also involved in the related communities management.
• a centralized information system, GnpIS, that stores data from genetics to genomics (genomic annotation, genetic resources, genetic markers, QTLs, GWAS associations studies, polymorphisms and phenotypes. more... It enables scientists to mine genomic and genetic data, to extract valuable information on genes of agronomical interest and on genome structure and evolution. GnpIS store data from several species such as grape, wheat, maize, Arabidopsis, tomato, poplar, but also data of some trees (oak, maritime pine) and fungi (coming from the work of the BGF platform). 
• software tools and especially those developped by INRAE URGI. 
• training to user communities (public or private)
• The platform belongs to the "Institut Français de Bioinformatique" (IFB), which is the french node of the European Infrastructure of bioinformatics for Life Science, ELIXIR.
• The Platform is labelled by INRAE as a strategic platform since 2013 and at the national level by GIS IBISA, an entity that coordinates a national network of platforms in life sciences since 2009

The platform has a strong expertise in developing pipelines for plants and fungi such as annotation pipelines for genes and transposable elements and information systems.