Martek, Columbia, MD, and the Torrey Mesa Research Institute (TMRI), La Jolla, CA, a wholly owned subsidiary of Syngenta, have initiated a joint research and development project to find and characterize genes from microalgae. The project will focus primarily on the DHA pathway. Under terms of the agreement, there are cross-royalty arrangements and Martek retains exclusive worldwide commercialization rights to use the genes in microbial production of DHA, while TMRI retains exclusive worldwide commercialization rights to use the genes in any agricultural crop species.