WOBURN, Mass., June 15, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Yield10 Bioscience, Inc. (NASDAQ:YTEN) announced today that it has submitted an “Am I Regulated?” letter to USDA-APHIS’s Biotechnology Regulatory Services (BRS) to confirm that its genome-edited Camelina sativa plant line developed using CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing technology for increased oil content does not meet the definition of a regulated article under 7 CFR Part 340 regulations.
Yield10 Bioscience and Metabolix Oilseeds, Inc., a wholly owned Canadian subsidiary of Yield10 Bioscience, developed the genome edited Camelina line. Researchers used the CRISPR genome editing tool to inactivate an enzyme expected to increase seed oil content in Camelina, a trait Yield10 has designated as C3008. There are three copies of this gene in the Camelina genome and complete editing of all copies was achieved. This trait may have further applications when used in combination with other traits that the Company is developing that are expected to increase seed oil content, including C3007.
“We believe that genome editing technology represents a fundamentally new way to rapidly deploy desirable, novel traits into commercial agricultural crops by specifically making small changes or removing small pieces of DNA to reduce the activity of target genes without leaving behind any foreign DNA in the plant,” commented Kristi Snell, Ph.D., Chief Science Officer of Yield10 Bioscience. “The purpose of seeking nonregulated status for our genome-edited Camelina line is to streamline the process and reduce costs for conducting subsequent research and field trials with this new yield trait.”
“In addition to the work we are doing to edit the C3007 and C3008 gene targets to increase oil content, using our T3 Platform, a bioinformatics gene discovery tool, we have already discovered more than 20 promising transcription factor gene targets that can be down regulated individually or in combinations, using genome editing that may increase yield and/or drought tolerance in key crops,” said Oliver Peoples, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Yield10 Bioscience. “Establishing a robust internal process for obtaining nonregulated status in the U.S. for our novel traits in crops developed using genome editing technology is an important element in our approach to reducing commercialization timelines and costs as we move these traits forward in development.”
About Yield10 Bioscience
Yield10 Bioscience, Inc. is focused on developing new technologies to achieve step-change improvements in crop yield to enhance global food security. Yield10 has an extensive track record of innovation based around optimizing the flow of carbon in living systems. Yield10 is leveraging its technology platforms and unique knowledge base to design precise alterations to gene activity and the flow of carbon in plants to produce higher yields with lower inputs of land, water or fertilizer. Yield10 is advancing several yield traits it has developed in crops such as Camelina, canola, soybean and corn. Yield10 is headquartered in Woburn, MA and has an Oilseeds center of excellence in Saskatoon, Canada.
For more information about the company, please visit www.yield10bio.com.
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Safe Harbor for Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The forward-looking statements in this release do not constitute guarantees of future performance. Investors are cautioned that statements in this press release which are not strictly historical, including, without limitation, statements regarding the Company's ability to achieve a nonregulated status from USDA-APHIS for genome-edited Camelina and the possibility of using genome editing technology to rapidly deploy desirable, novel traits into commercial agricultural crops, constitute forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated, including the risks and uncertainties detailed in Yield10 Bioscience's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Yield10 assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking information contained in this press release or with respect to the announcements described herein.