NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Bayer CropScience and KeyGene today said that they will collaborate on developing novel traits for crop improvement.
The firm said that the alliance will apply KeyGene's KeyBase methodology to specifically target plant genome sequences for mutagenesis and develop traits using the DNA repair mechanism present in plant cells. The collaborators said they will initially focus on developing traits for new oilseed rape varieties.
Bayer CropScience has the option to expand the trait development alliance to include KeyBase-mediated development of Bayer CropScience and/or KeyGene traits in cotton and rice.
Financial and other terms of the alliance were not disclosed.