DECEMBER 2017 SEEDWORLD.COM / 43 Partner with ProHarvest Seeds, Inc. to operate your own corn and soybean company as a Regional Owner Partner with ProHarvest Seeds, Inc. to operate your own corn and soybean company as a Regional Owner Contact us today at 866-807-7015 ProHarvest Seeds, Ashkum, IL 60911 www.proharvestseeds.com Our unique system provides you with: · Access to multiple sources of genetics and traits · Freedom to develop your own sales programs and pricing · Support in areas of agronomy, sales, and business practices · Seed products tailored to your own market area · Potential territory exclusivity · Opportunity to create value in your own seed business to a complete loss of color and the petals turned white. The mechanism caus- ing these effects remained elusive until Andrew Z. Fire and Craig C. Mello discov- ered the cause, earning them the Nobel Prize in Physiology for Medicine for 2006. Fire and Mello deduced that double- stranded RNA can silence genes, that this RNA interference is specific for the gene whose code matches that of the injected RNA molecule, and that RNA interference can spread between cells and even be inherited. In other words, genes can be turned on and off like light switches, producing differ- ent reactions within a plant without altering the plant’s genetic code in any way. In the mean time, a number of other mechanisms (such as DNA methylation) with similar effects have been discovered as well, and the whole epigenetics field has become a hot topic for study in university labs. New Frontier Those epigenetic changes are ushering in a new frontier for the seed industry as a result. In March, Epicrop Technologies Inc., a company co-founded by University of Nebraska-Lincoln professor Sally Mackenzie, announced it has 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. 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