Kingston, Ontario, Canada
April 11, 2007
Performance Plants
Inc., a leading Canadian agricultural biotechnology company,
is pleased to announce that a U.S. patent has been issued to one
of its genebased technologies for improving drought tolerance in
plants.
U.S. Patent Number 7,172,881 was
issued Feb. 6 for the patent entitled “Isolated nucleic acids
encoding farnesyl transferase alpha” (FTA). FTA is one of two
signaling genes identified by Performance Plants researchers as
playing a role in a plant’s ability to respond to environmental
stresses such as drought. It is the Company’s first issued U.S.
patent for this technology. Patents for FTA are pending in
Canada and international jurisdictions.
A second signaling gene identified
by Performance Plants Inc., farnesyl transferase beta (FTB), has
been issued patents in Europe, Australia, New Zealand and South
Africa. Patents are also pending in commercially important
countries, including the United States and Canada.
Together, the two genes form the
basis of the Company’s Yield Protection Technology™, a
field-tested technology that boosts the natural drought response
mechanism in plants resulting in improved plant performance and
increased yield.
YPT™, which has applications in
agricultural crops, ornamental plants and turf grasses, has
global licenses with strategic partners including Syngenta Seeds
for the development of drought tolerant corn and soybeans; and
the Scotts Miracle-Gro Company for the development and
commercialization in turf grass and ornamentals for the
professional and consumer markets. The issuance of this patent
is a significant step forward in providing Performance Plants
Inc. and its partners the patent protection required to develop
these drought tolerant plants for commercial success.
Named inventors on the patent are
lead investigator Dr. Yafan Huang, Vice President, Research and
Chief Scientific Officer of Performance Plants, and research
team members Maryse Chalifoux, Yang Wang, Dr. Monika Kuzma and
Angela Gilley.
“The issuing of this first U.S.
patent for our YPT™ technology is significant recognition of its
potential,” says Dr. David Dennis, CEO. “Not only do these genes
allow the development of crops to withstand drought, but they
also potentially broaden the environments where traditional
crops can be grown. Water use efficiency is a growing concern in
many parts of the world, and we at Performance Plants continue
to look for ways to address this important environmental issue.”
Performance Plants Inc. is a
leader in the plant biotechnology industry. Its proprietary
technologies improve crop yields under environmental stresses,
while promoting sustainable agriculture and environmental
preservation. |
