Phytoform utilizes gene editing to accelerate changes that might naturally occur through traditional breeding methods.
The Plantik process grows high-heat-tolerant tomatoes in a fraction of the time it would take to do through traditional breeding.
“Now we’ve got a much more structured approach and good clarity on our verticals (gene editing, ag biologicals, tech platforms, decision science), we feel comfortable making investments early,” says Dr. Tom Greene.
The startups, whittled down from 500+ applicants, will pitch in front of investors, startup ecosystem enthusiasts, and program partners Boortmalt and Surcos.
“What’s really exciting about gene editing is precision and speed,” says Corteva chief technology and digital officer Dr. Sam Eathington.
Agriculture-related gene editing startups have raised over $2.7 billion since 2012.
From seaweed to selective breeding, multiple approaches are being tested to cut methane emissions from belching ruminants. But could editing the genes of the microbes responsible for the problem change the game?
“We had the human genome project,” says Dr. Claus Felby. “This is the planetary genome project… we are mapping everything in a given ecosystem.”
“It was probably around 2013 or 2014 when I was at Monsanto that it became really clear that CRISPR was going to matter” for plant breeding, says Pairwise cofounder and CEO Dr. Tom Adams.
There is “definitely a holy shit moment when you speak with breeders about what we’re doing,” says Friedberg.
Right now, a handful of microbial workhorses do the bulk of the work in biomanufacturing. But do we need to domesticate a new generation of hosts for the next generation of bioproducts?
Insect breeding and rearing/processing require very different skillsets, claims FreezeM, which supplies insect farmers with neonates in a state of ‘suspended animation.’
The capital injection will also help advance work to develop Cavendish bananas engineered to resist the devastating fungal disease Fusarium wilt.
Channeling his farm upbringing and biotechnology studies, Kyle Mohler founded Insignum to help farmers better detect stress signals in crops.
UK researchers say vitamin B12 holds ‘immense potential’ when it comes to the role of biofortified foods in our supply chain.
Ag biotech startup Tropic and Corteva Agriscience are partnering to develop stronger disease resistance traits in corn and soybeans.
“When it comes to soil carbon, there are more questions than answers in terms of whether it’s investable.” and other quotes from the sidelines of the World Agri-Tech and Future Food-Tech conferences in London last week.
Could dormant genes in staple crops such as rice be reactivated so they can grow in salty land, or even directly in the ocean?
Some commentators argue that cultivated meat is a food tech fantasy. So are they right? It all depends on your approach, says Joshua March, cofounder and CEO at San Leandro-based startup SciFi Foods.
Resurrect Bio uses gene editing to fix the innate immune system of crops and make them more resistant to disease.
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