Argentina's Bioheuris & Gensus to develop herbicide resistant cotton

15 May '21

3 min read

Pic: Shutterstock

Argentina’s Bioheuris, and Gensus, a company that produces and markets certified cotton seeds, have announced a partnership to develop herbicide resistance in cotton crop using CRISPR gene editing. Bioheuris is a biotechnology company that develops sustainable post-GMO weed management systems in corn, soybeans, cotton, rice, sorghum, and alfalfa.

Herbicide resistant GMO cotton expressing genes from other species are already available for farmers in several countries. The technology these companies are developing is different because it creates herbicide resistant traits by enhancing the performance of the crop’s own genes. Four herbicide resistant GMO traits are commercially available in cotton globally, but only one, authorised more than 20 years ago, is on sale in Argentina, according to a media statement by Bioheuris.

Cotton, being a widely spaced and slow early-growing crop, is very sensitive to weed competition. More than 20 troublesome weeds can reduce cotton yield by more than 50 per cent and contaminate cotton lint, reducing quality. Herbicide use in cotton is restricted to specific time windows. Early application herbicides could kill the crop if applied later. Herbicide resistant traits make it possible to apply these herbicides without damaging plants. But when the same herbicide is repeatedly used, weeds start developing resistance. The combination of various herbicide resistant traits would allow growers to use chemical mixes that delay weed resistance, a main challenge in today’s agriculture, according to Bioheuris.

“To empower cotton, we will use gene editing to precisely change a few nucleotides from the crop genome without introducing foreign DNA. The changes are small and could occur in nature albeit at low frequency. Compared to transgenic plants, their regulatory approval is less complex and faster. With gene editing it is possible to optimise several resistance genes in the same variety fast and cost-effectively. Compared to commercial alternatives, our technology will provide resistance to herbicides that are used in low doses and that are safer for the environment and people,” Lucas Lieber, CEO and co-founder of Bioheuris said.

“This partnership with Bioheuris aligns with our purpose of bringing the best genetics and traits to cotton growers. New solutions and greater diversity of tools are key to empower cotton farmers and for the future of the cotton industry. This is the beginning of a collaboration to develop advanced technologies for cotton growers in our country and around the world. We will seek synergies with other partners to go further together,” Pablo Vaquero, president of Gensus said.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (GK)

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