BASIC Associates: Meganucleases, the End of GMO plants?

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Meganucleases, the End of GMO plants?

By Daniela Sciaky, Ph.D.

Advancements in DNA sequencing technology have produced a large library of completed plant genome sequences. These sequences are an important step to the introduction of desirable characteristics into plants such as soybean and corn, including those traits important to the production of biofuels. Coupled with these sequences are advancements in the technology to breed plants for these traits.

Cellectis plant sciences, a subsidiary of Cellectis (Alternext: ALCLS) designs meganucleases that can be used to make targeted gene modifications. Recently the company announced the licensing of PureIntro® Agrobacterium transformation technology for monocotyledonous plants such as corn and rice from Japan Tobacco Inc. and Aerosol Beam Injector technology from Midwest Oilseeds Inc. These tools will be used by Cellectis plant sciences to modify plant cells by helping to deliver meganucleases into plant cells. Likewise, Precision BioSciences has also developed meganuclease technology for plant genome modification.

Meganucleases are enzymes that recognize specific strings of DNA sequence containing more than 12 nucleotides. These specific sequences occur in the plant genome rarely, no more than two times. Cellectis plant sciences, as well as Precision BioSciences, design meganucleases that can make targeted gene modifications without deleteriously affecting other genes. The plant’s DNA replication apparatus is used in conjunction with the meganucleases to introduce modification of specific genes.

The advantages of this technique are enormous and have implications for the development of GMO crops. Because endogenous genes are targeted for modification, no foreign sequences are retained or can be removed after the modification has taken place. Expression of the modified gene is not affected by any random placement in the genome as might occur with other modification systems. The time to achieve regulatory approval of the modified plant can potentially be reduced.

Many of the commercial plant sciences companies have become interested in the technology. Precision BioSciences is collaborating with DuPont, Bayer CropSciences and BASF Plant Sciences while BASF, Bayer CropSciences, Pioneer, Limagrain and Monsanto are reported to use Cellectis plant sciences technology. However these two technology companies appear to be embroiled in a series of patent disputes. On October 28^th Precision BioSciences announced that the US Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) had issued final decisions rejecting the claims of four Cellectis patents. Whatever the outcome, expect to see more companies interested in this technology.

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About BASIC

Unlike other investor services, BASIC Associates focuses not on the financials, but on the science behind various R&D initiatives in bioproducts. Sound science, after all, is the ultimate driver of profitability in the industry. We believe that a superior understanding of the science behind the business model reduces uncertainty and risk and allows for better decision-making by investors and stakeholders.

The principals at BASIC Associates use their doctoral training, coupled with years of experience researching and writing about biofuels, biochemicals, and other bioproducts, to provide an accessible science-oriented analysis of companies and projects in this growing market.

Meet the Principals

Robin J. Johnson, Ph.D.

Dr. Johnson is a cofounder of BASIC Associates. She previously worked as a curator for Garbrook Knowledge Resources, which she joined in March of 2007. Prior to joining Garbrook, she was a Scientist at Genstruct, a systems biology company that creates computer models of biological pathways, and a curator/editor at Incyte and later Biobase, working on the Proteome BiKnowledge Library. (Proteome was a successful knowledge company that provided comprehensive annotation of the proteomes of a variety of organisms, including humans.) As an assistant Professor of Biochemistry at Boston University School of Medicine from 1985-2003, Dr. Johnson taught Medical School and did research in the field of cellular neurobiology. She has numerous publications to her credit. Dr. Johnson received her B.S. in Biology from the State University of New York at Stony Brook and her Ph.D. in Anatomy from Boston University. Her postdoctoral studies of viral infection in the nervous system were performed at Yale University School of Medicine Section of Cell Biology.

Daniela Sciaky, Ph.D.

Dr. Sciaky, a cofounder of BASIC Associates, is a scientific expert in plant biotechnology and biofuels and bioproduct processes. From 2006 to 2010, she was the senior content expert at Garbrook Knowledge Resources, where she contributed her expertise to the gathering and organization of biofuels and bioproduct information. From 1998 to 2006, she curated the scientific literature on a wide variety of topics, including plant and yeast molecular biology, helping to develop content for the Proteome databases. She has also held research positions with Children's Hospital of Cincinnati and Albany Medical College and faculty and research positions at the University of Cincinnati and Brookhaven National Laboratory. During the course of her career, Dr. Sciaky has served as a peer reviewer for the US Department of Agriculture, the National Science Foundation, and the US Department of Energy, in addition to reviewing papers for the The Plant Cell, Biochemistry, Planta, Nucleic Acids Research, Plasmid, Bio/Technology and BioScience journals.

Dr. Sciaky received her M.S. and Ph.D. in Genetics from Washington State University and her B.S. in Biology from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. She did post-doctoral research at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, NY. She has presented at numerous scientific conferences and is well published in plant disease and natural systems as well as other fields.

Henrique Oliveira, MBA

Henrique, a cofounder of BASIC Associates, worked as a curator for Garbrook Knowledge Resources from 2008 to 2010. A citizen of both Brazil and the United States, he received his MBA in Finance in 2008 from the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where he was awarded a fellowship by the University’s William Davidson Institute to conduct research on Brazil’s 35-year experience with biofuels. As a Fellow of the Institute, Henrique spent several months in 2007 touring biofuel facilities in Brazil with Tom MacDonald, a senior researcher with the California Energy Commission and the head of MacDonald Associates, a boutique consulting firm specializing in alcohol transportation fuel.

Prior to joining Garbrook, Henrique worked as a consultant for Hart Energy’s Global Biofuels Center. He has extensive business experience in Brazil and has authored a number of reports on the country's biofuels industry, which, because of its size and depth, impacts alternative energy initiatives worldwide. Henrique has also written editorials on the Brazilian ethanol and sugar industry for various publications.