Yield10 Bioscience, Inc. (Nasdaq:YTEN), a Company developing new
technologies to create step-change improvements in crop yield that
enhance global food security, today announced encouraging results
from the Company’s 2018 Field Tests of C3003, a novel yield trait,
in canola, Camelina and soybean.
Yield10 is targeting step-changes of 10-20% in the evaluation
and development of novel traits to increase seed yield in
commercially important crops. In summary, the C3003 trait
produced seed yield increases of up to 11% in the best lines of
canola tested. Based on these results, the Company will progress
C3003 in canola into the commercial development phase in 2019. The
key activities to be completed during this next phase include
development of additional commercial quality events in elite canola
germplasm, execution of multi-site, multi-year field studies and
development of regulatory data as appropriate.
The 2018 Field Tests of C3003 were conducted at sites in Canada.
The main objectives of the studies were to evaluate the performance
of the novel lead yield trait gene C3003 in Camelina and canola,
and to bulk up seed for soybean studies planned for 2019.
Highlights from the studies include:
Canola results: In Yield10’s 2018 Field Tests,
the C3003 Gen 2.0 yield trait was tested for the first time in
canola. The best C3003 Gen 2.0 canola lines showed an increase in
seed yield of 11% as compared to control plants, a statistically
significant outcome. In C3003 Gen 2.0 canola plants, the weight of
an individual seed (measured using 1000 seeds) was similar to
control plants, an expected outcome using the Gen 2.0 version of
the C3003 trait.
Camelina results: In Yield10’s 2018 Field
Tests, the C3003 Gen 2.0 yield trait was tested in Camelina.
Challenging weather conditions affected the results from the
Camelina field trial. However, trends observed with the best
Camelina C3003 Gen 2.0 lines support the canola observation that
seed yields can be increased with the C3003 Gen 2.0 trait,
particularly under drought conditions. The Company plans to further
investigate the potential for C3003 to provide drought tolerance in
oilseed and other commercial row crops.
Soybean seed production: In the 2018 Field
Tests, Yield10 met its objective of producing field grown seed for
C3003 Gen 1.0 and Gen. 2.0 soybean plants. This seed will be used
to conduct field tests of C3003 in soybean in the 2019 growing
season.
Further analysis underway: Yield10 researchers
are conducting a comprehensive analysis of the 2018 field tests and
will assess a range of additional data including gene expression,
oil content and fatty acid composition produced in the C3003
containing plant lines.
“We collected a wide range of data on C3003 in our 2018 field
tests, including encouraging seed yield data in canola and
Camelina,” said Kristi Snell, Ph.D., Chief Science Officer of
Yield10. “The results we obtained for the seed-specific, Gen 2.0
version of the trait support initiating commercial development
activities with C3003 in canola in 2019. In support of further
development of C3003 in soybean, we successfully bulked up C3003
soybean seed in the 2018 growing season and remain on track to
conduct broader field tests in the crop during 2019.”
“While growing conditions were challenging at our Saskatoon
field test site throughout the 2018 growing season, these
persistent drought conditions served to provide us with new
insights on the activity of C3003 to potentially help preserve crop
yield during drought stress. We plan to follow up on this promising
new finding in future field work with C3003,” said Dr. Snell.
“Our team has successfully demonstrated the ability to plan and
manage increasingly complex field studies of novel yield traits
deployed in oilseed crops,” said Oliver Peoples, Ph.D., President
and Chief Executive Officer of Yield10. “We achieved an important
milestone for C3003 as it is now progressing into the commercial
development phase in canola, an important North American commercial
crop. We believe that in having demonstrated seed yield increases
in the range of 10% in canola, we are well-positioned to form
strategic partnerships for the commercialization of C3003 as a new
yield trait.”
Canola is an important edible oil crop and the global demand for
edible oils continues to outstrip supply1. According to the USDA,
canola was grown on 18.9 million acres in the U.S. and Canada in
2018. A recent 2018 projection for Canadian production of canola is
an average yield of 37.5 bushels/acre and 19.2 million metric tons.
The Canola Council of Canada has set yield goals of 52 bushels/acre
for 26 million metric tons of production to meet global market
demand for canola by 2025.
1Reference: Parcell. J, Kojima. Y, Roach. A, Cain.
W. Global Edible Vegetable Oil Market Trends. Biomed J Sci
&Tech Res 2(1)- 2018. BJSTR. MS.ID.000680. DOI :
10.26717/BJSTR.2018.02.000680.
About Yield10
Bioscience
Yield10 Bioscience, Inc. is focused on developing new
technologies to achieve step-change improvements in crop yield to
enhance global food security. Yield10 has an extensive track record
of innovation based around optimizing the flow of carbon in living
systems. Yield10 is leveraging its technology platforms and unique
knowledge base to design precise alterations to gene activity and
the flow of carbon in plants to produce higher yields with lower
inputs of land, water or fertilizer. Yield10 is advancing several
yield traits it has developed in crops such as Camelina, canola,
soybean, wheat and rice. 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.
(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, expectations regarding the reproducibility of data from
field tests, the translation of yield improvements from Camelina or
canola to other crops, the potential to produce improvements in
seed yield while also maintaining typical seed weight and oil
composition, the ability to identify collaborators for C3003, and
progress of Yield10 Bioscience, Inc., 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: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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