Calyxt Inc., a Minnesota-based company focusing on developing healthier food products, signs an exclusive license agreement with Plant Bioscience Limited (PBL) for a bread wheat trait generated using gene editing. The trait provides endogenous resistance to powdery mildew of wheat, a fungus widely distributed throughout the world, responsible for major grain and yield losses.
“As part of our product development strategy, we are now in-licensing traits developed by world class academic institutions to boost our pipeline of products in various crops. Implementation of this trait will enable broader adoption of our healthier wheat products,” says Luc Mathis, chief executive officer of Calyxt Inc.
Jan Chojecki, PBL’s managing director, says this scientific breakthrough was made by Caixia Gao at the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, and its importance has been recognized by its publication last year in Nature Biotechnology. “We are delighted to partner with Calyxt in the development and application of this exciting innovation.”
