Cibus’ White Mold (Sclerotinia) Resistance Trait Program Confirms Important Milestone for Next Generation Gene Edits in Canola
Cibus has successfully made the edits in Canola associated with the Company’s 3rd mode of action for its White Mold (Sclerotinia) trait
These next generation edits are now confirmed in plants and will be evaluated later this year in a controlled environment
Cibus is a leader in the development of complex gene edited traits in plants, including disease resistance traits which are complex and require multiple modes of action against diseases like White Mold (Sclerotinia). Because plant pathogens can evolve rapidly, it is important to enable different modes of action to provide durable resistance. It is expected that when developed, these disease resistance traits can be applied to multiple crops. For example, while White Mold is the most adverse disease in Canola for reducing yields, it is also the second most impactful disease in Soybean and can also affect a wide range of produce including potatoes and legumes, as well as fruits, vegetables, grains, and nuts.
The intensity of plant pathogens such as White Mold (Sclerotinia) can also be enhanced by changing weather patterns with increased importance in the face of climate change. We expect that these new disease traits for major crops like canola will enhance productivity through reducing crop loss due to disease, while also reducing the use of fungicides, thereby lowering input costs
About Sclerotinia
Sclerotinia sclerotiorum is a fungal pathogen, which causes significant disease (stem rot) in oilseed crops. It affects 14-30% of canola/oil seed rape (OSR) fields annually, and potentially up to 90% as estimated by the
About the Cibus Trait Machine™ process and Rapid Trait Development System™
A key element of Cibus' technology breakthrough is its high-throughput breeding process (referred to as the "Trait Machine™" process). The Trait Machine process is a crop specific application of Cibus' patented Rapid Trait Development System™ (RTDS®). The proprietary technologies in RTDS integrate crop specific cell biology platforms with a series of gene editing technologies to enable a system of end-to-end crop specific precision breeding. It is the core technology platform for Cibus' Trait Machine process: the first standardized end-to-end semi-automated crop specific gene editing system that directly edits a seed company's elite germplasm. Each Trait Machine process requires a crop specific cell biology platform that enables Cibus to edit a single cell from a customer's elite germplasm and grow that edited cell into a plant with the Cibus edits. Cibus has a Trait Machine process developed for canola and rice and has already begun transferring their elite germplasm with Cibus edits back to customers.
The traits from Cibus' RTDS-based high-throughput breeding system are indistinguishable from traits developed using conventional breeding or from nature. RTDS does not integrate any foreign DNA or transgenes. Under the
Cibus believes that RTDS and the Trait Machine process represent the technological breakthrough in plant breeding that is the ultimate promise of plant gene editing: "high- throughput gene editing systems operating as an extension of seed company breeding programs." In 2024, the Trait Machine process was cited by
Because the Trait Machine process is intended to be integrated into seed companies' breeding operations, the customer relationship between Cibus and seed companies with which it engages is a collaborative relationship in which seed companies transfer elite germplasm to have a specific validated trait placed in the seed company's elite germplasm and expectation of delivery back to the seed company of their elite germplasm with the Cibus edit toward commercial development. Accordingly, Cibus refers to seed company "customers" in its disclosure once such a customer relationship has been initiated.
About Cibus
Cibus is a leader in gene edited productivity traits that address critical productivity and sustainability challenges for farmers such as diseases and pests which the
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Source: Cibus US LLC