TechAccel LLC has announced an investment in St. Louis-based biotechnology startup Plastomics Inc. to fund a scientific research initiative to accelerate the development of Plastomics’ technology. Terms of the investment were not disclosed.
Founded in 2016, Plastomics uses chloroplast genetic engineering as a quick, efficient, and more predictable way to introduce multiple genetic traits into important crops. Chloroplasts are specialized compartments in plant cells that aid in photosynthesis and a number of other functions, including fatty acid synthesis, amino acid synthesis, and the immune response in plants.
In a press release announcing the investment, TechAccel’s Chief Science Officer Brad Fabbri, Ph.D. noted that “If successfully developed for corn or other row crops, chloroplast transformation offers a number of unique benefits over ‘traditional’ nuclear transformation, including potential high expression levels of a transgene, ease of combining (‘stacking’) multiple transgenes in the same plant and not having the transgenic traits transmitted via pollen drift.”
One specific initiative will be the development of Plastomics’ new chloroplast-expressed insect control trait.
“We are excited to work with TechAccel in expanding our trait development pipeline,” said Jeffrey Staub, Ph.D., founder and chief science officer of Plastomics. “This new insect control trait will greatly benefit from the high dosage and increased efficacy that our chloroplast engineering platform provides.”
TechAccel Focuses on Science Advancement
Overland Park, Kansas-based TechAccel, is a venture and technology development organization focused on agriculture and animal health. It identifies and invests in new technologies and funds science advancement initiatives with leading research universities to drive the innovations to market. TechAccel strives to bridge the technology “valley of death” gap with capital and science expertise, and in 2017 invested millions of dollars in six new technology platforms.
“We are focused on a few specific areas – gene editing, including RNAi and epigenetics for improving traits; unlocking the secrets of the microbiome for biopesticides and improved nutrients; and deploying biotechnology for safer and more effective vaccines, feeds, and nutrients,” TechAccel Co-Founder, President, and CEO Dr. Michael Helmstetter told GAI News. “We like applications in animal nutrition, such as our investment and science advancement with Agrivida. We’re also looking at innovations in food safety, as well as grain processing and by-products.”
By David Nitchman, GAI Media
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