Senesco Technologies, Inc. announced today that it has successfully produced transgenic carnation plants. Based on the Company's delayed aging results to date, Senesco fully expects that flowers from these plants will have significantly extended shelf life.

The Company has isolated a senescence (aging) induced lipase gene in carnation flowers which
causes degradation of cell membranes. By silencing the expression of this gene, and thereby reducing membrane degradation which leads to tissue death, the Company expects to substantially delay wilting or spoilage in cut flowers.

"In order to silence the expression of this senescence induced lipase and delay the onset of flower aging, transgenic carnation plants with antisense lipase have been produced. In the next few months the Company believes it will be able to quantify the extent to which the shelf life of cut carnation flowers from these transgenic plants has been extended,'' said Dr. John E. Thompson, the Company's Executive Vice-President, Research and Development.

Senesco is exploring approaches to silence the expression of the lipase gene in carnation using
conventional breeding in addition to gene silencing by molecular genetic modification. The ability to silence genes using conventional genetics avoids consumer concerns about genetically modified produce.

Senesco is an agrobiotechnology company developing gene technology to prolong shelf life in
produce. The Company is based in Princeton, New Jersey.

Company news release
N2275