MONHEIM, Germany, & Research Triangle Park, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Bayer CropScience AG and Precision BioSciences Inc. announced today that both companies have successfully inserted a gene into a specific desired location in cotton using Precision’s Directed Nuclease EditorTM (DNE) technology. This significant technical achievement will mean that Bayer can deliver more precise, innovative solutions sooner to farmers and has triggered a milestone payment to Precision. Further details were not disclosed.
Scientists at Bayer CropScience used an enzyme known as a DNE engineered meganuclease produced by Precision to target the insertion of a transgene near an existing transgene in a plant line. This approach could reduce the time required to produce a new plant characteristic and removes complexities associated with current product development methods. This is the first known report of a site-specific insertion using an engineered nuclease in cotton.
Precision’s DNE technology, which is based on the production of DNA-cleaving enzymes called engineered meganucleases, enables crop researchers at Bayer to delete, insert, or otherwise modify genes at user-defined sites within plant genomes. By facilitating the direct introduction of value adding traits into plant species, the technology can streamline product development and reduce the time it takes to get a product ready for the market.
Precision BioSciences and Bayer CropScience are developing additional DNE-engineered meganucleases for use across the company’s crop platforms.
Dr Johan Botterman, Head of BioScience Product Research at Bayer CropScience, said: ”This technology milestone is a world first and delivers enormous capacity for Bayer to precisely target and more efficiently deliver significant benefits in key crops to farmers globally. And this is just the beginning.”
“We are thrilled to announce this important achievement with Bayer CropScience, an established innovator and leader in global agribusiness,” said Derek Jantz, Vice President of Scientific Development at Precision BioSciences. “We are looking forward to continuing our successful relationship with Bayer CropScience to develop next-generation agricultural products.”
About Bayer CropScience
Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of health care, nutrition and high-tech materials. Bayer CropScience, a subgroup of Bayer AG with annual sales of EUR 6.830 billion (2010), is one of the world’s leading innovative crop science companies in the areas of crop protection, non-agricultural pest control, seeds and traits. The company offers an outstanding range of products and extensive service backup for modern, sustainable agriculture and for non-agricultural applications. Bayer CropScience has a global workforce of 20,700 and is represented in more than 120 countries. This and further news is available at: www.press.bayercropscience.com.
About Precision BioSciences
Precision's mission is to utilize its engineered endonuclease technology to become the world leader in the field of genomic molecular biology. Precision’s proprietary Directed Nuclease EditorTM (DNE) technology enables the production of custom genome editing enzymes that can insert, remove, modify, and regulate essentially any gene in mammalian or plant cells. Precision BioSciences has already produced hundreds of custom endonucleases for partners and internal development that can precisely alter naturally occurring sequences within genomes. Precision has successfully partnered its DNE technology with several of the world’s largest biopharmaceutical, agbiotech, and animal research firms. Internally, Precision is developing applications of DNE in biological production and human therapeutics. For additional information, please visit www.precisionbiosciences.com.
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