Canola/Oilseed rape is the first crop for which we successfully implemented our RTDS breeding platform and the Trait Machine Process.

This milestone established canola/oilseed rape as the first crop for which we built an integrated family of Productivity Traits in a single crop platform. Our initial trait, Pod Shatter Reduction, was developed in elite germplasm and transferred back to several seed company customers for commercial development. Three other traits in the canola/oilseed rape pipeline for disease, herbicide tolerance and nutrient use efficiency are in advanced development stages, representing a significant partner opportunity. Across all of our traits, canola/oilseed rape is an approximately 57-million-acre accessible market that is split between North America, Europe and Australia.

Pipeline

Our traits for Pod Shatter Reduction, herbicide tolerance, and disease resistance in our canola pipeline have been submitted for review and cleared by the USDA APHIS “Am I Regulated” process (https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/biotechnology/am-i-regulated) to be regulated in the US as products from traditional breeding. The successful development and transfer of these first traits to our customers, the first of which occurred in Q1 2023, as described below, is a significant milestone in the gene editing industry.

Pod Shatter Reduction (PSR)

PSR is our initial Cibus Powered™ trait product offering in canola/oilseed rape. The first transfers of a customer’s elite germplasm with the edited PSR trait have occurred.  Commercial development activities in the UK have begun, starting with field evaluations.

Herbicide Tolerance

We have completed editing of the second generation of our herbicide resistance trait in canola (HT2) with greenhouse trait confirmation and initial field testing validation activities completed in 2025.

Disease Resistance

We are very encouraged by our initial field trials for several modes of action for Sclerotinia (white mold) resistance in canola and winter oilseed rape. Green house trait confirmation and field testing validation for the additional modes of action are ongoing in 2025. This trait is particularly important because, if successful, we believe it will be the first commercially available gene edited trait for disease resistance in any crop.

Nutrient Use Efficiency

We have partnered with the John Innes Centre in this area to license in initial traits for nutrient use efficiency in canola/oilseed rape. Initial editing work has been completed and edited materials are in the process of being assessed in controlled environments. We believe we are on the path to developing robust nutrient use efficiency as a potential game-changing milestone for crop improvement and gene editing overall.