Plastomics just partnered with seed-trait producer Evogene to apply some of their seed traits to the Plastomics soybean platform. 4thEst8 readers learned that partnering with gene trait producers would be a top priority for Plastomics this year when we interviewed new CEO Martha Schlicher back in February.
Martha Schlicher, Plastomics CEO
“The co-development agreement with Evogene is to work on two traits that are unmet needs for soybean growers today. We are trying to solve problems that are not currently solved,” Schlicher told the 4thEst8 this morning. “There are certain insect pests that have developed resistance to current solutions, or for which there are no current solutions today.”
Evogene (Nasdaq:EVGN) is a computational biology company based in Israel. It was founded in 2002 and the deal announced today is with the company’s ag-seed division which identified insect control traits in genes using its AI powered engine.
Plastomics is developing a new way to design crops by editing the chloroplast rather than the nucleus. The chloroplast is the organelle in the plant cell where photosynthesis happens, converting energy from the Sun into chemical energy. The approach has claimed advantages over current technology, which manipulates the cell nucleus, including no-outcrossing, faster development, and a higher expression of the desired trait.
Schlicher told the 4thEst8 in February the company is seeking out trait producers to apply some of those seed traits to their soybean platform. The Evogene deal is the first one.
Eventually, Plastomics would supply seed companies who, in turn, would sell seeds to farmers. Some potential traits in the modified seeds might express things like fungal resistance and insect resistance – especially cyst nematode resistance.
Some history:
Plastomics was founded in 2016 by Jeffrey Staub and Ralph Bock, raised $2.2-million in seed funding, and an undisclosed venture round from TechAccel in 2018. Plastomics has also been funded by The Yield Lab, Biogenerator, St. Louis Economic Development Partnership, The Helix Fund, Missouri Technology Corporation and the St. Louis Arch Angels. Also in 2018, the company converted more than $2-million in debt.
Grants:
In May of 2020 the company landed an SBIR grant for $225,000 from the National Science Foundation, Division of Industrial Innovation and Partnerships to develop chloroplast engineering for maize (corn). That was followed in November by a grant of an undisclosed sum of money from the United Soybean Board to develop disease resistant soybeans. The company was also inducted into the Wells-Fargo Innovation Incubator (IN2) in the summer of 2020.
Other 4thEst8 articles:
Plastomics: New CEO, grant and two scientists
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