Genus Plc and Tropic announce extension and expansion of trait development collaboration

JOINT PRESS RELEASE:

Genus Plc (“Genus”), a world leader in animal genetic improvement, and Tropic, a pioneering agricultural-biotechnology company, today announce that they are extending and expanding their collaboration for the application of Tropic’s Gene Editing induced Gene Silencing (GEiGS®) technology in porcine and bovine genetics.

Since the collaboration started in June 2020, Tropic has delivered multiple sets of GEiGS® solutions for Genus to evaluate, which is a critical step in the development of resistance traits to several devastating livestock diseases. Experimental validations of the GEiGS® solutions conducted by Genus’ scientists have demonstrated effective silencing of specific target genes.

The extended collaboration will enable Genus and Tropic to explore additional traits that will be based on the GEiGS® platform, to expand animal welfare traits in bovine and porcine species.

Elena Rice, Chief Scientific Officer at Genus stated: “We are excited to continue our collaboration with Tropic Biosciences and expand validation of GEiGS® solutions to address critical diseases in animals.”

Jack Peart, Chief Business Officer at Tropic Biosciences commented: “Our progress with Genus demonstrates the power of the GEiGS® technology in addressing critical diseases in animals, adding to the growing list of animal and plant species where GEiGS® is demonstrating its effectiveness. We are excited to continue the collaboration with the incredible Genus team, and to further harness cutting edge innovation to improve animal welfare and promote sustainable practices in the industry.”

For further information, please contact us.

 

About Genus Plc

Genus is a world-leading animal genetics company. Genus creates advances to animal breeding and genetic improvement by applying biotechnology and sells added value products for livestock farming and food producers. Its technology is applicable across livestock species and is currently commercialised by Genus in the dairy, beef and pork food production sectors.

Genus’s worldwide sales are made in over seventy-five countries under the trademarks ‘ABS’ (dairy and beef cattle) and ‘PIC’ (pigs) and comprise semen, embryos and breeding animals with superior genetics. Genus’s customers’ animals produce offspring with greater production efficiency, and quality, and use these to supply the global dairy and meat supply chains.

The Group’s competitive edge has been created from the ownership and control of proprietary lines of breeding animals, the biotechnology used to improve them and its global supply chain, technical service and sales and distribution network. With headquarters in Basingstoke, United Kingdom, Genus companies operate in over twenty-five countries on six continents, with research laboratories located in Madison, Wisconsin, USA.

This announcement is available on the Genus website www.genusplc.com

 

About Tropic

Tropic is one of the leading agricultural gene-editing companies globally and focuses on the development and commercialization of high-performing varieties of tropical crops, namely coffee, bananas and rice. It employs over 130 industry-leading professionals

For more information, please visit www.tropic.bio

 

About GEiGS®

GEiGS® (Gene Editing induced Gene Silencing) technology utilizes established genome editing tools (e.g. CRISPR, TALEN) to make precise and specific changes to only a few nucleotides within non-coding genes of a host organism. These changes redirect RNA interference (RNAi, also Gene Silencing) activity of non-coding genes towards desired target genes, suppressing their activity. Target genes can include the host’s own genes, or gene-families, to finely tune their expression to a new desired level. Further, GEiGS® can be used to activate defense against pathogens and pests (e.g. viruses, insects and fungi) by redirecting RNAi activity towards pathogen and pest genes. GEiGS® does not depend on the introduction of foreign genes into the host genome, and thus the approach will be considered as non-GMO in multiple regions.

Key benefits of GEiGS®

  • Key Benefits Icon
    Precise, predictable, and stable tuning of target gene expression

    By redirecting the silencing activity of the host’s own non-coding genes, GEiGS® introduces novel RNAi activity with highly programmable potency and tissue specificity. This elegant approach requires only minimal changes to the host’s genome (less than 20 nucleotides), thus avoiding transcriptional gene silencing and allowing for highly stable RNAi activity over time and across generations.

  • Key Benefits Icon
    Accelerated development of critical disease and pest resistance traits

    GEiGS® can be used to redirect the silencing activity of the host’s native non-coding genes towards well characterized and highly conserved viral, fungal or pest genes. This distinctly direct approach significantly accelerates product development time while minimizing pleiotropic effects associated with editing the host’s coding genes.

  • Key Benefits Icon
    Favourable regulatory classification in multiple markets

    GEiGS® technology does not involve the insertion of DNA sequences from other organisms (‘Foreign DNA’) into the host genome and does not impact the sequence of proteins. These factors allow for a non-GM classification in multiple major markets and a more streamlined regulatory approval process.

  • Key Benefits Icon
    Universal platform that works with existing gene editing tools

    GEiGS® is not dependent on any one specific gene editing tool, but instead can be deployed by using a broad range of different nucleases. This provides the user with freedom to choose which gene editing tools they use to implement GEiGS® edits – tools that may already be applied in their existing pipelines.

Find out how GEiGS® technology can benefit you

How our users benefit from using the GEiGS® platform

Our global collaborators include

Interested in partnering with us?

Access the GEiGS® platform

We collaborate with world-leading companies and academic institutions, enabling them to access our pioneering GEiGS® technology to address some of the most pressing agricultural production challenges.

Contact us today to discuss GEiGS® licensing and service options and join us in driving innovation forward.

geigs@tropic.bio +44 (0)1603 274441