Plastomics, Inc., an agricultural biotech company located in 39 North, developing a step change in trait delivery technology, and Evogene Ltd.’s, (NASDAQ, TASE: EVGN), Ag-Seed division, focusing on discovery and development of seed traits, announced today a collaboration agreement targeting novel insect control traits for soybean.
As part of the collaboration, Plastomics, utilizing its disruptive new technology, will introduce Evogene’s insect control genes demonstrating new modes of action (MoAs) into soybeans. These genes, which were discovered using Evogene’s GeneRator AI engine, have demonstrated insecticidal activity in different assays to controlling insect colonies that are resistant and susceptible to current commercial insect solutions. a significant challenge to soybean growers.
The global market for biotech seeds is projected to reach a size of US$45 Billion by 2027, where biotech soybeans accounting for about 48% of the current market, is predicted to grow at an annual rate of 6.7% through 2027. New MoA insect control products have the potential to deliver significant value to soybean growers by addressing the increasing resistance of insects to current insect solutions, all of which are essentially based on the same MoAs introduced decades ago. The combination of the Plastomics’ platform together with Evogene’s new MoA insect control genes, has the future potential for controlling insect species in soybean and other row crops. READ MORE