GrassRoots Biotechnology and Monsanto extend research collaboration
Sep 27, 2011
GrassRoots Biotechnology and Monsanto Extend Collaboration
GrassRoots Biotechnology and Monsanto have agreed to extend their existing three-year research collaboration for an additional two years through January, 2014. The alliance will build upon the success of the current collaboration, focusing on the design and development of promoters that enable crops to express trait genes that enhance and protect yield.
Promoters are segments of DNA that determine when and where a trait gene is expressed. Monsanto is expected to use expression elements sourced from GrassRoots to optimize an array of biotechnology traits in a broad range of crops including corn, soy, cotton, and canola. The agricultural biotechnology industry still relies heavily on a few promoters that were discovered 20-30 years ago. These workhorse promoters cannot confer the precise, tissue-specific control of gene expression that will be necessary for the development of the next generation of biotechnology crops. These next generation crops that are better able to tolerate biotic and abiotic stresses will be critical to feed the world’s growing population and meet its demand for fiber and fuel.
GrassRoots employs a computational biology approach for promoter discovery that relies on the generation and analysis of high-resolution expression data sets from both model systems and commercial crops. Promoters are then characterized with the patented RootArray technology. The RootArray enables researchers to monitor gene expression in the roots in 3D over time, and under different environmental conditions.
“The goal of GrassRoots’ expression element research and development is to produce a tool kit of different genetic elements that can be combined to predictably and reliably control gene expression,” said Dr. Philip Benfey, GrassRoots’ CEO and Co-founder. GrassRoots’ alliance with Monsanto gives GrassRoots access to Monsanto’s product development and marketing expertise that will help GrassRoots speed the commercialization of its promoters. Dr. Benfey further commented, “Monsanto’s decision to extend the alliance underscores the importance of enhanced promoters for new biotechnology crops and also validates the research that GrassRoots is conducting in this area.”
About GrassRoots Biotechnology
GrassRoots Biotechnology, Inc. is an agricultural biotechnology company based in Durham, NC. The company, founded in 2007 by Dr. Philip Benfey and Douglas Eisner, JD, MBA, was formed to commercialize technologies developed by Dr. Benfey in his lab at Duke University. GrassRoots’ mission is to develop better crops for the agricultural and biofuels markets to address the challenges of food security, climate change, and energy scarcity. GrassRoots has successfully developed naturally derived and synthetic promoters to drive gene expression which will enable applications in biotechnology
In addition, to its gene expression research, GrassRoots is also conducting research to discover trait genes to improve crop yield and resistance to insects and other stresses. GrassRoots’ root phenotyping and analysis program is aimed at optimizing the structure of plant roots. Since its founding GrassRoots has grown significantly and now employs a team of over 20 highly skilled scientists.
About Monsanto Company
Monsanto Company is a leading global provider of technology-based solutions and agricultural products that improve farm productivity and food quality. Monsanto remains focused on enabling both small-holder and large-scale farmers to produce more from their land while conserving more of our world's natural resources such as water and energy. To learn more about our business and our commitments, please visit: www.monsanto.com. Follow our business on Twitter® at www.twitter.com/MonsantoCo, on the company blog, Beyond the Rows® at www.monsantoblog.com, or subscribe to our News Release RSS Feed.
For more information, contact Doug Eisner, Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of GrassRoots Biotechnology at 919-747-7407 or doug.eisner@grassrootsbio.com, or Kelli Powers, Monsanto Public Affairs at 314-694-4003 or kelli.powers@monsanto.com.
GrassRoots’ COO Doug Eisner lectures at the Entrepreneurship at Duke Education Series
Sep 9, 2011
GrassRoot COO Doug Eisner lectures at the Entrepreneurship at Duke Education. Watch his lecture on “How to Start a Company: the Story of GrassRoots Biotechnology” on YouTube.GrassRoots CEO Dr. Philip Benfey featured on GenomeWeb
Jul 7, 2011
Research at GrassRoots and Dr. Philip Benfey's academic work on miRNAs were featured in "Gene Silencing News" on GenomeWeb today. The article is titled "Duke Researcher Aims to Leverage Discoveries to Improve Biofuel, Food Crops.". The full article can be accessed here.GrassRoots CEO Dr. Philip Benfey selected to become HHMI-GBMF Investigator
Jun 16, 2011
Dr. Philip Benfey, CEO and co-founder of GrassRoots Biotechnology has been selected to become an investigator in the new Howard Hughes Medical Institute-Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation Plant Science program. To view the official press release from the HHMI, please click here.GrassRoots Team publishes Current Opinion in Plant Biology review
Apr 27, 2011
GrassRoots has published a review in Current Opinion in Plant Biology titled "From lab to field, new approaches to phenotyping root system architecture." To access the full article, please click here.Root growth regulator featured in Scientific American
Nov 18, 2010
Scientific American recently described a gene discovered by the academic laboratory of GrassRoots CEO Philip Benfey. The gene UPBEAT1 appears to be a major regulator of root system size and growth rate in the model species Arabidopsis thaliana. GrassRoots has acquired rights to the discovery and is pursuing commercial applications. Read more at Scientific American.Research from GrassRoots CEO Dr. Philip Benfey's team featured on North Carolina Public Radio WUNC
Nov 11, 2010
GrassRoots CEO Dr. Philip Benfey's research team at Duke University has discovered a novel plant growth regulator gene. This finding was featured on North Carolina Public Radio WUNC news and potential applications in biofuel crops were discussed. To access the article webpage and audio, please click here .GrassRoots featured in "Inside Biofuels" by the NC Biotechnology Center
Oct 29, 2010
GrassRoots has been featured on the NCBC website in an article titled "Biofuel Breakthroughs Start at the Roots": http://www.ncbiotech.org/business-commercialization/biotech-sectors/biofuels/inside-biofuelsGrassRoots team publishes commentary in F1000 Biology Reports
Sep 8, 2010
GrassRoots has published a commentary in F1000 Biology Reports titled "Optimizing root system architecture in biofuel crops for sustainable energy production and soil carbon sequestration." To access the full article, please click hereGrassRoots profiled by NC Biofuels Center
Jun 23, 2010
GrassRoots was recently profiled by the NC Biofuels Center in their newsletter: http://www.biofuelscenter.org/index.cfm?page=newsletter&id=99GrassRoots awarded USDA grant
Jun 15, 2010
USDA awards GrassRoots $400,000 for a Phase II SBIR grant. The grant will fund GrassRoots' research aimed at improving root architecture in energy crops.GrassRoots co-founder and CEO Dr. Philip Benfey elected to the National Academy of Sciences
Apr 27, 2010
Dr. Philip Benfey, CEO of GrassRoots Biotechnology, Paul Kramer Professor of Biology and Director of the Center for Systems Biology at Duke University was elected to the National Academy of Sciences today. To view the official press release from the National Academy of Sciences, please click here.GrassRoots selected to participate in NCBC Industrial Fellowship Program
Apr 22, 2010
GrassRoots Biotechnology was chosen to participate in the Industrial Fellowship Program offered by the North Carolina Biotechnology Center (NCBC). The fellowships are funded by the NCBC with a portion contributed by the company sponsor. This year, five out of 18 companies from across the state were chosen to sponsor this program.The Program was instituted by the NCBC to enable Ph.D. scientists to transition into scientific careers in industry. Successful fellowship applicants are placed in two year fellowships with selected NC biotechnology companies. During the two year program, fellows will conduct research in an industrial setting and participate in professional development opportunities at the NCBC. Through this experience, fellows will gain professional experience and establish contacts for future employment in high-level industry scientific positions.
Details on the NCBC Industrial Fellowship Program can be found here.
GrassRoots Director of Research and VP Dr. Tedd Elich wins 2009 Wisconsin Sportsman of the Year Award
Feb 19, 2010
Dr. Tedd Elich, Directer of Research and VP of GrassRoots Biotechnology was awarded 2009 Wisconsin Sportsman of the Year. This prestigious title is awarded to a single individual for all round sportsman achievements in the preceding year. Judging criteria are based on time spent, difficulty and productivity in these sporting activities. The award plaque is currently on display in Dr. Elich's residence.STTR and SBIR grants help build GrassRoots Biotechnology
Feb 17, 2010
SBTDC newsletter, North Carolina SBIR/STTR Success Story--GrassRoots Biotechnology is an agricultural biotechnology company that was founded in July of 2007 by Dr. Philip Benfey, a Duke Biology Professor, and Doug Eisner, a recent graduate of the Duke Business School and of the SBTDC’s summer internship program. The company was started to commercialize technologies developed by Dr. Benfey in his laboratory at Duke University, but had no funding to continue development of the technologies. As a client of the SBTDC, GrassRoots worked with the organization to help craft its applications for SBIR and STTR federal grants.
As a result, the NSF awarded GrassRoots a $150,000 STTR grant, which, along with a matching grant from the NC Dept. of Commerce allowed the company to partner with Duke University on a research project. It enabled GrassRoots to leverage Duke University’s lab facilities to advance its research and was critical to GrassRoots’ progress.
To read more, click here for a link to this article.
GrassRoots Biotechnology is awarded Phase II STTR grant
Jan 15, 2010
The National Science Foundation has awarded GrassRoots Biotechnology a Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase II grant in the amount of $500,000. This grant funds a continuation of the Phase I research to identify new and improved promoters to create enhanced genetically modified crops for agriculture and the biofuel industry. The relatively few plant promoters in use today have significant limitations including inconsistent effects across different growing conditions and a lack of predictability. GrassRoots is implementing a novel pipeline for promoter discovery that starts with a sophisticated bioinformatics analysis to identify high confidence promoter candidates. These candidates are assessed in transgenic plants for cell-type-specific expression, developmental-stage-specific expression, and responsiveness to environmental stimuli. New and enhanced plant promoters will facilitate advances in food and bioenergy crop improvement.Durham Plant Biotech Firm Sprouts Firm Roots, Fast Growth
Aug 6, 2009
North Carolina Biotechnology Center News, In Focus Feature--After 13 years as a lawyer and prosecutor in the New York District Attorney’s office, Doug Eisner has joined the growing cadre of entrepreneurs from around the country who are putting down roots in the Triangle.But Eisner is REALLY putting down roots.
He’s co-founder and chief operating officer of the Duke University spin-out company GrassRoots Biotechnology, a fast-rising Durham plant biotechnology firm that got start-up help last year with a $25,000 low-interest business development loan from the North Carolina Biotechnology Center.
To read more, click here for a link to this article.
GrassRoots Biotechnology picks new home
Jun 8, 2009
Triangle Business Journal-- Call it a win for downtown Durham over its neighbors at Research Triangle Park. GrassRoots Biotechnology is moving its offices to downtown Durham's Venable Center in an 8,300-square foot space on the second floor of the Dibrell A warehouse building. With the addition of new space, GrassRoots is expected to grow to 25 employees at its new home."We are excited to have GrassRoots at Venable," says Tucker Bartlett, chief operating officer of Scientific Properties, owners of the Venable Center campus, a historic rehabilitation project of the former Venable Tobacco Co. buildings."Their commitment to the environment through crop solutions fits with Scientific Properties' sustainable operating practices. This, coupled with our company's lab background, made working with GrassRoots a natural fit." To read more, click here for a link to this article.
Duke spinoff Grassroots Biotechnology gets SBIR grant
Mar 13, 2009
Triangle Business Journal, Raleigh/Durham-- Startup company GrassRoots Biotechnology Inc. has received an $80,000 grant from the federal government to fund research into how to turn grasses into ethanol.
GrassRoots and Monsanto Collaborate to Identify Novel Technologies for Gene Expression; Gene Discovery Another Focus of Collaboration
Jan 27, 2009
ST. LOUIS and DURHAM, N.C., PRNewswire-FirstCall -- As farmers look to get more out of each acre of farmland, St. Louis-based Monsanto is exploring unique ways to discover and deliver more desirable traits through the seed. Monsanto's new collaboration with GrassRoots Biotechnology Inc. is expected to do just that by expanding the benefits of Monsanto's research and product portfolio for its farmer customer.
Today, Monsanto announced that it has established a three-year collaboration with GrassRoots Biotechnology Inc., based in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, to source novel genetic elements, including promoters and genes, which can enable crops to express traits that enhance and protect yield.
Promoters are segments of DNA that determine when and where a trait is expressed within a plant. Monsanto will use the promoters sourced from GrassRoots in a broad range of crops, including corn, soy, cotton and canola, to optimize an array of biotechnology traits.
GrassRoots is a start-up company co-founded by Duke University professor, Philip Benfey, a leader in plant biology research. GrassRoots uses a variety of methods, including computational approaches, to identify promoter candidates. Once specific promoter sequences are identified, the information can be further used to design novel promoters for the expression of desirable traits in plants.
"The availability of high-quality promoters with specific expression patterns for use in commercial products is limited, so there is value in developing novel promoters to drive new traits," said Steve Padgette, vice president of biotechnology for Monsanto.
To read more, please click here for the full press release.