The Trait Machine™

Cibus believes that RTDS and the Trait Machine represent the technological breakthrough in plant breeding that is the ultimate promise of plant gene editing: the ability to materially transform the productivity of the breeding process that currently averages more than a decade into a timebound, reproducible and predictable science-based breeding process. A key addition to our RTDS technology platform from Calyxt is the exclusive use of TALEN®’s in agriculture. It is an important tool in Cibus’ technology platform.

The Trait Machine enables Cibus to develop and commercialize traits at a fraction of the cost and time of conventional breeding or GMO processes. The Trait Machine not only changes the scale and speed of breeding it also exponentially changes the range of possible genetic solutions.

The company has Trait Machine platforms that are operational in Canola and Rice. When we say operational, it means that Cibus has a validated system in the specific crop in which it can take a single cell from an elite germplasm and regenerate that cell into the underlying plant. This is a core technology that operationalizes the Trait Machine process for a given crop. In addition to Canola and Rice, Cibus expects to be operational in Soybean by yearend 2023, in Wheat by yearend 2024 and in Corn by yearend 2025. That is company’s goal is to be “Trait Machine Operational” across all five major crops. This would give the company the Company access to Trait Machine commercialization in over 500 million acres.

Cibus is currently completing construction of its Oberlin facility in San Diego, California. It is the first stand-alone production facility housing the Trait Machine. Oberlin is expected to be completed in H2 2023. It will initially be operational for Canola, Rice, and Soybean and support the ongoing development and commercialization of Cibus’ initial six traits across these first three crops.

The Trait Machine is central to Cibus’ vision for the Future of Breeding:

High throughput gene editing (trait development) systems working in partnership with breeding programs.

In other words, trait developers working with seed companies to develop and deliver unique traits that have not been possible using conventional breeding techniques or, if possible, would take materially longer. Cibus believes that partnerships like these are the future of breeding and a key part of the vision behind the Trait Machine.

This is the core of the Cibus’ business. Traits developed in collaboration with seed companies in a process in which we directly edit a customer’s elite germplasm and transfer back to the customer their edited elite germplasm ready for commercial development.