Chicago, Illinois
February 3, 2004
Knight-Ridder Tribune
Jon Van, Chicago Tribune
via
Agnet Feb
3/04
An upstart Chicago biotech firm
is, according to this story, developing a technique to make
seeds that can withstand poor weather as well as produce
pest-resistant crops.
The technology, developed at the
University of Chicago, could be used to create plant strains
with many desirable traits -- such as a corn plant that grows
well in dry soil, resists pests like corn borers and also
produces high-protein kernels.
Mich Hein, chief executive for
Chromatin Inc., was
quoted as saying, "We've been talking to large seed companies
about how we can generate value by helping them get genetically
modified seeds to the market faster and enabling them to use
fewer plants to express their traits."
David McElroy, a vice president with Verdia Inc., a biotech firm
based in Redwood City, Calif., that works on gene design was
cited as saying that if it works as expected, demand for
Chromatin's technology should build as seed companies find more
traits they want to introduce in a single hybrid seed, adding,
"Today most seeds feature two or maybe three traits. The need
for this technology will be more urgent when you want more
traits."
The story says that Chromatin Inc. will soon try to demonstrate
the value of its technology by manipulating canola plant genes.
It will then move on to other plants such as corn and cotton.
Daphne Preuss, a University of Chicago researcher who founded
Chromatin, was quoted as saying, "We know this works in the
cells. Now it's time to prove it works in plants."
Nathan Danielson, research manager for the National Corn Growers
Association, was quoted as saying, "They're offering a unique
solution to a problem that's plagued molecular biology since its
inception. When you put genes in new tissue with standard
techniques, it's a grab bag what type of expression you'll get.
So, instead of transforming 100 plants, you have to do hundreds
or thousands of plants to find the first parent that gives
reasonable expression. We believe Cromatin's technology will
allow these genes to be put into a stable environment." |