NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Bayer CropScience, the agricultural subsidiary of Bayer, and Precision BioSciences announced today that they will collaborate on creating site-specific genome modifications in plants.
Under the deal, Bayer will have non-exclusive access to Precision Bio's Direct Nuclease Editor technology, which can be used to develop novel traits in plants, the firms said. Precision Bio also will supply Bayer with multiple DNE-engineered enzymes for use across the company's crop platforms.
The DNE technology utilizes protein engineering methods to produce rationally designed, obligate heterodimer endonucleases that have the ability to modify single, unique sites within a large genome. According to the partners, crop researchers can use the technology to insert multiple genes at a single site within a plant chromosome, thereby efficiently and precisely conferring desirable traits into plant species.
Financial and other terms of the alliance were not disclosed.