AgIdea and BioHeuris launch a joint platform for agile breeding services

AgIdea, a leading company in applied research services with headquarters in Pergamino, Buenos Aires (Argentina); Marshall, Missouri (USA) and Montevideo (Uruguay), and BioHeuris, a biotech startup developing integrated crop management solutions through gene editing and synthetic biology based in Rosario (Argentina) and Saint Louis (USA), announced a partnership for providing a novel line of services to seed companies. These services will combine in a single platform the rapid advancement of crop generations, and the quick and precise development of improved varieties through CRISPR genome editing and double haploid tools. This platform will allow seed companies and research institutions to accelerate breeding of new crop varieties, speeding access to markets, increasing precision and reducing R&D and regulatory costs.

"With our conventional breeding and double haploid services in our USA-Argentina platform already mature and our Double Haploid program up and running, it was time to take the next step. We have been interacting with, and admiring BioHeuris almost since its inception. Now the time is perfect to boost this relationship and create a new and powerful tool for our seed customers.", said Gonzalo Grigera, CEO of AgIdea. "We are already building the Editing and Speed Breeding facility at our headquarters in Pergamino, and will start with corn, soybean, peanut, wheat and sorghum as initial crops. On these we will be working on the Agile Breeding platform: CRISPR editing, speed breeding, mutagenesis and double haploid projects. We are thrilled to add these valuable services to our toolbox", said Grigera.

"Before optimizing our first plant genes with BioHeuris artificial evolution technology, we realized the potential of creating a gene editing powerhouse to tune-up any commercial variety or hybrid with them in record time," said Lucas Lieber, CEO of BioHeuris. "As we simultaneously advanced with our collaborative projects in more than five crops, we have gained unique expertise to edit genomes with our weed control traits. This knowledge can be leveraged to edit other traits like drought, insect and disease resistance, which we are not developing at BioHeuris. Partnering with AgIdea, an established global leader in agricultural research services, to combine both companies know-how and capabilities in cutting-edge plant breeding techniques will empower innovators with synergistic services that can dramatically accelerate seed and trait development."