Yield10 Bioscience, Inc. (Nasdaq:YTEN), an agricultural bioscience
company, today announced it has signed a collaboration agreement
with UK-based Rothamsted Research to support Rothamsted’s Flagship
Program to develop omega-3 oils in Camelina sativa. The technology
developed by Rothamsted could enable the sustainable, plant-based
production of omega-3 (DHA+EPA) nutritional oils that closely mimic
the composition of southern hemisphere fish oil, an important
ingredient in aquaculture feed. Omega-3 oils are also essential for
human nutrition and have demonstrated benefits in heart health.
Rothamsted Research is a world-leading nonprofit research center
based in Harpenden, UK that focuses on strategic agricultural
science to the benefit of farmers and society worldwide. Over the
last decade, the team led by Professor Johnathan Napier, Ph.D.,
Science Director, has demonstrated the production of DHA+EPA oils
in Camelina seed. In addition, Prof. Napier’s team has carried out
multi-year field trials and multiple feeding studies using the
DHA+EPA Camelina oil in different fish species including salmon.
Under the agreement, Yield10 will provide support to Prof. Napier’s
ongoing research including further DHA+EPA trait improvement, field
testing and nutritional studies. As part of the agreement, Yield10
has an exclusive two-year option to sign a global, exclusive or
non-exclusive license agreement to the omega-3 technology.
“Yield10 shares our vision for developing Camelina as a
commercial crop for omega-3 oils based on a land-based route to
production,” said Professor Angela Karp, Rothamsted director and
chief executive officer. “Successful commercialization of this
technology could have significant benefits, offering sustainable
production of an oil essential for nutrition and wellness to
consumers, as well as providing crop diversification to growers.
Yield10 has described numerous innovations for improving the
performance of Camelina and has demonstrated commitment and
leadership in the development of Camelina as a new commercial crop.
We look forward to advancing our mission of improving sustainable
agriculture working with the Yield10 team.”
“Yield10 is developing Camelina as a platform crop for the
production of nutritional oils and PHA biomaterials and we believe
there is significant market opportunity for omega-3 oils produced
in Camelina and the technology developed by Professor Napier and
his team at Rothamsted is highly complementary to our development
efforts in Camelina,” said Oliver Peoples, Ph.D., president and
chief executive officer of Yield10 Bioscience. “The Rothamsted team
has successfully illustrated the key steps in a potential path for
commercial development for the technology including stably
deploying the DHA+EPA omega-3 oil pathway in Camelina, conducting
field tests at scale in the UK and Canada, and publishing feeding
studies to demonstrate the nutritional properties of the oil. Under
this collaboration, we will have the opportunity to further assess
the omega-3 oil technology and ongoing progress by Rothamsted while
Yield10 continues to focus on developing elite varieties of
Camelina and establishing a strategic business plan to identify
opportunities for commercial development for this high value
oil.”
About Prof. Napier and
Research Related
to Producing
Omega-3 oils in Camelina
Prof. Napier is an internationally recognized leading pioneer in
plant biotechnology and an advocate for the power of GM plants to
deliver benefits for the public good. He has made key discoveries
in understanding the biosynthesis of omega-3 long chain
polyunsaturated fatty acids (omega-3 fish oils) in transgenic
plants.
Selected Recent Publications
Napier, J.A., Haslam, R.P., Olsen, R.E., Tocher, D.R., and
Betancor, M.B. 2020. Agriculture can help aquaculture become
greener. Nature Food 1, 680-683 (2020).
Han, L., Usher, S. L., Sandgrind, S., Hassall, K. L., Sayanova,
O. V., Michaelson, L. V., Haslam, R. P. and Napier, J. A. 2020.
High level accumulation of EPA and DHA in field-grown transgenic
Camelina - a multi-territory evaluation of TAG accumulation and
heterogeneity. Plant Biotechnol J. 2020;10.1111/pbi.13385.
doi:10.1111/pbi.13385
West, A. L., Miles, E.A., Lillycrop K. A., Han, L., Sayanova, O.
V., Napier, J. A. and Calder, P. C. 2019. Postprandial
incorporation of EPA and DHA from transgenic Camelina sativa oil
into blood lipids is equivalent to that from fish oil in healthy
humans. Br J Nutr. 2019;121(11):1235-1246.
doi:10.1017/S0007114519000825
Betancor, M. B., Li, K., Sprague, M., Bardal, T., Sayanova, O.
V., Usher, S., Han, L., Måsøval, K., Torrissen, O., Napier, J. A.,
Tocher, D. R. and Olsen, R. E. 2017. An oil containing EPA and DHA
from transgenic Camelina sativa to replace marine fish oil in feeds
for Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.): Effects on intestinal
transcriptome, histology, tissue fatty acid profiles and plasma
biochemistry. PLoS One. 2017;12(4):e0175415. Published 2017
Apr 12. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0175415
Usher, S., Han, L., Haslam, R.P. ., Michaelson, L. V.,
Sturtevant, D., Aziz, M., Chapman, K. D., Sayanova, O. V. and
Napier, J. A. 2017. Tailoring seed oil composition in the real
world: optimising omega-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acid
accumulation in transgenic Camelina sativa. Scientific
Reports 7 (1), 6570 (2017).
About Rothamsted Research
Rothamsted Research is the longest-running agricultural research
institute in the world. We work from gene to field with a proud
history of ground-breaking discoveries, from crop treatment to crop
protection, from statistical interpretation to soils management. In
1843, our founders were the pioneers of modern agriculture, and we
are known for our imaginative science and our collaborative
influence on fresh thinking and farming practices. Through
independent science and innovation, Rothamsted has made significant
contributions to improving agri-food systems in the UK and
internationally. In terms of the institute’s economic contribution,
the cumulative impact of our work in the UK was calculated to
exceed £3000 million a year in 20151. Rothamsted
Research is strategically funded by the Biotechnology and
Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), with additional
support from other national and international funding streams, and
from industry. It is also supported by the Lawes Agricultural Trust
(LAT).For more information, visit the Rothamsted website or follow
on Twitter @Rothamsted1Rothamsted Research
and the Value of Excellence: A synthesis of the available evidence,
by Séan Rickard (Oct 2015)
About Yield10 Bioscience
Yield10 Bioscience, Inc. is an agricultural bioscience company
developing crop innovations for sustainable global food security.
The Company uses its “Trait Factory” including the “GRAIN” big data
mining trait gene discovery tool as well as the Camelina oilseed
“Fast Field Testing” system to develop high value seed traits for
the agriculture and food industries. As a path toward
commercialization of novel traits, Yield10 is pursuing a partnering
approach with major agricultural companies to drive new traits into
development for canola, soybean, corn, and other commercial crops.
The Company is also developing improved Camelina varieties as a
platform crop for the production and commercialization of
nutritional oils, proteins, and PHA biomaterials. The Company’s
expertise in oilseed crops also extends into canola, where it is
currently field-testing novel yield traits to generate data to
drive additional licensing opportunities. Yield10 is headquartered
in Woburn, MA and has an Oilseeds Center of Excellence in
Saskatoon, Canada.
For more information about the company, please visit
www.yield10bio.com, or follow the Company on Twitter, Facebook and
LinkedIn.
(YTEN-G)
Safe Harbor for
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements which are
made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of Section 27A of the
Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The forward-looking
statements in this release do not constitute guarantees of future
performance. Investors are cautioned that statements in this press
release which are not strictly historical, including, without
limitation, whether the technology developed by Rothamsted could
enable the sustainable, plant-based production of omega-3
nutritional oils that closely mimic the composition of southern
hemisphere fish oil, the fact that Yield10 researchers will
collaborate with Prof. Napier and his team on advancing the
development of Camelina modified to produce omega-3 nutritional
oils, whether successful commercialization of this technology could
have benefits, offering sustainable production of an oil essential
for nutrition and wellness to consumers, as well as providing crop
diversification to growers, and whether there is significant market
opportunity for omega-3 oils produced in Camelina,
constitute forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking
statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that
could cause actual results to differ materially from those
anticipated, including the risks and uncertainties detailed in
Yield10 Bioscience's filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. Yield10 assumes no obligation to update any
forward-looking information contained in this press release or with
respect to the matters described herein.
Contacts: Rothamsted Research:
James Clarke, Head of Communications+44 7964 832719,
james.clarke@rothamsted.ac.uk
Yield10
Bioscience:Lynne H. Brum, (617)
682-4693, LBrum@yield10bio.com
Investor Relations: Bret Shapiro, (561) 479-8566,
brets@coreir.comManaging Director, CORE IR
Media Inquiries: Eric Fischgrund, eric@fischtankpr.com FischTank
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