NOVEMBER 2018 GERMINATION.CA 59 In other words, genes can be turned on and off like light switches, producing different reactions within a plant without altering the plant’s genetic code in any way. New Frontier Those epigenetic changes are ushering in a new frontier for the seed industry as a result. In March 2017, Epicrop Technologies Inc., a company co-founded by University of Nebraska-Lincoln professor Sally Mackenzie, announced it had closed a $3.2 million Series A-2 financing round. The funding will be used to further develop its epigenetic technology that creates large increases in yield and stress tolerance in crops. “We’re very excited to have previous and new investors on board who appreci- ate the game changing potential of this technology,” said Michael Fromm, chief executive of Epicrop Technologies. “Increasing yield and stress tolerance are key goals of most seed companies. Epicrop’s method has the potential to provide these traits by adding epige- netic information directly to the seeds of commercial varieties without adding any genetic material. The unique features of this method readily fit into traditional commercial breeding and seed production methods to facilitate company adoption of this system.” In the company’s field and greenhouse trials, epigenetically improved plants — soybeans, tomatoes, sorghum and Arabidopsis — show increased yields and stress tolerance. New research led by Z. Jeffrey Chen at the University of Texas at Austin may result in a new way of breeding heartier, more productive cotton through epigenetic modification. The researchers identified more than 500 genes that are epigenetically modified between wild cotton varieties and domes- ticated cotton, some of which are known to relate to agronomic and domestication traits. This information could aid selection for the kinds of traits that breeders want to alter, like fiber yield or resistance to drought, heat or pests. For example, varie- ties of wild cotton might harbour genes that help them respond better to drought, but have been epigenetically silenced in domesticated cotton. Chen and his colleagues at Texas A&M University and Nanjing Agricultural University in China report they produced a “methylome”— a list of genes and genetic elements that have been switched on or off through a natural process called DNA methylation. A methylome provides impor- tant clues for biotechnology firms that want to adapt crops through epigenetic modification. This methylome covers the most widely grown form of cotton, known as Upland or American cotton; its cousin, Pima or Egyptian cotton; and their wild relatives, while showing how these plants changed over more than a million years. “Knowing how the methylome changed during evolution and domestication will help bring this technology one step closer to reality,” Chen says. Poppies on the Prairies In Alberta, University of Lethbridge Department of Biological Sciences researcher Igor Kovalchuk has gained the reputation as a world leader in epigenetics. His goal: to produce hardier crops that are increasingly resistant to stress and even able to detect pollution. This capa- bility, in turn, will help to improve the efficiency, profitability and overall success of farms. Thanks to Kovalchuk, in fact, the Canadian Prairies could one day be dotted with fields of medicinal poppies. He is currently working with a Canadian biotech company that plans to develop a market for the high thebaine poppy industry in Canada. A significant cash crop opportu- nity, high thebaine poppies are used to create valuable medicines, but unlike their traditional counterparts, cannot easily be converted into heroin. Kovalchuk is also a driving force behind the establishment of the Alberta Epigenetics Network, the first epigenetic network in Canada. “Plants have an amazing capacity to respond immediately to stress and to prop- agate this response so future generations can be better prepared,” he says. One of the ways plants do this, of course, is via epigenetic changes. “We now understand the machinery that epigenetic changes are related to, and we’re able to tune that machinery. Now we have to find the applications we can deploy this toward,” adds Van Lookeren Campagne. —with files from Marc Airhart (University of Texas at Austin), Justin Raikes (Epicrop Technologies), Dana Yates (University of Lethbridge) University of Nebraska-Lincoln professor Sally Mackenzie co-founded Epicrop Technologies, which develops technologies that make use of epigenetics. Photo courtesy University of Nebraska-Lincoln Michiel Van Lookeren Campagne is head of seeds research at Syngenta. Z. Jeffrey Chen and his colleagues produced a “methylome”— a list of genes and genetic elements that have been switched on or off through a natural epigenetic process called DNA methylation.