DuPont

DuPont Pioneer has acquired the exclusive rights to ERS Genomics' portfolio of CRISPR-Cas genome-editing technologies for all plant and agricultural applications.

The company said its acquisition of DuPont Diagnostics will allow it to provide a broader array of food safety diagnostics services to its customers.

DuPont Pioneer has entered into a collaboration to apply CRISPR genome editing to the development of crop varieties for farmers in developing countries.

The firms also renewed distribution agreements for DuPont's BAX System Q7 food safety testing platform in Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

The in vitro assay enabled the scientists to take an uncharacterized Cas9 variant from Brevibacillus laterosporus and edit maize cells with it.

The ag-bio giant and the CRISPR research tools company will cross-license patents and collaborate to further develop the genome editing toolkit.

The deal gives DuPont Pioneer exclusive rights to the technology for all commercial applications.

DuPont said the acquisition will boost its in-house microbial discovery programs.