Yield10 Bioscience and GDM will work together to enhance soybean yield performance and sustainability

Soybean

Yield10 and GDM have collaborated to study new yield traits in soybean. (Credit: egroll from Pixabay)

Agricultural bioscience company Yield10 Bioscience has entered into a non-exclusive research agreement with plant genetics company GDM for the assessment of new yield traits in soybean.

As part of the deal, GDM intends to work with Yield10 yield traits within its research and development programme for soybean as a strategy to enhance soybean yield performance and sustainability.

GDM new breeding techniques manager Dr André Beló said: “Yield10’s unique approach to trait discovery utilising its ‘Trait Factory’ has produced a significant portfolio of yield traits with promising activities that are appealing to us for testing in our elite soybean germplasm.”

Yield10 Bioscience, GDM to work on three novel crop yield traits in the first phase

The companies will work on three novel crop yield traits in the first phase and plans to expand the research programme to more traits in the future.

According to Yield10, the novel traits have demonstrated a range of significant activities related to soybean such as improved vigour, increased photosynthesis an increased seed yield in the greenhouse and field tests conducted by the company.

The companies also aim to establish an extensive collaboration to leverage Yield10’s Gene Ranking Artificial Intelligence Network (GRAIN) trait gene discovery platform, as well as GDM’s rapid trait editing capabilities in top varieties for the discovery, development and launch of novel soybean performance traits.

Yield10 Bioscience president and CEO Dr Oliver Peoples said: “Working with major companies like GDM that lead innovation in the agriculture sector to test new traits identified using our Trait Factory in crops like soybean is fundamental to our strategy of creating option value for our traits in the major crops.”

GDM uses advanced technology for the research, development and commercialisation of maximum productivity soybean varieties and other crops.

With around 750 professionals, the company manages 13 R&D centres, conducts operations in 16 countries and holds an extensive testing location network across the world.

Based in the Gibson City of Illinois, GDM North America commercialises its genetics via its brands DONMARIO seeds, Virtue Seeds and its third-party licencing business.

Yield10 is collaborating with agricultural companies to develop new traits in crops such as canola, soybean and corn.

The company is developing Camelina as a platform crop to produce nutritional oils and speciality products such as PHA biomaterials for use in water treatment applications.

In October 2019, Yield10 Bioscience has entered into an agreement with J. R. Simplot Company to study three new traits for the production of high yielding and sustainable potato crop.