NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – The Two Blades Foundation said on Monday that it has licensed the TAL Code technology to Monsanto on a non-exclusive basis.
Two Blades has exclusive rights for commercial use of the technology in plants. Improvements made to the technology by Monsanto will be used by the foundation as part of its efforts to support subsistence farming.
The technology, discovered by researchers at Martin-Luther University in Halle, Germany, is based on novel sequence-specific DNA binding proteins that can be designed to recognize almost any sequence of interest. Applied to plants, the technology can accelerate improvements in crop growth and development, Two Blades said.
"Having Monsanto, the worlds' largest seed company, put the TAL Code technology to use in their programs will further ensure its wide use and development," Two Blades' Chief Operating Officer Diana Horvath, said in a statement.
Financial and other terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Two Blades is based in Evanston, Ill., and supports the development of durable disease resistance in crop plants.