NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – DuPont has struck a collaboration agreement giving it rights to use Precision Biosciences’ Directed Nuclease Editor technology in its agricultural engineering programs, DuPont said today.
DuPont business Pioneer Hi-Bred plans to use the DNE technology to manipulate genes that can help speed development in corn, soybeans, and other agricultural crops.
Dupont said its scientists specifically plan to use the technology “to insert, remove and stack multiple traits at pre-selected sites in the plant genome, shortening the time it takes to bring new, high-value products to market.”
Precision’s DNE technology allows researchers to develop homing endonucleases that can target site-specific DNA breaks, and to use those to make specific modifications through inserting, removing, or regulating “virtually any gene.”
DuPont VP of Crop Genetics Research and Development William Niebur said that the DNE technology would enable the firm to “efficiently develop and rapidly deploy improved traits such as drought resistance, pest resistance and increased yield into the Pioneer lineup."
Financial terms of the agreement were not released.