DAVIS, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–BioConsortia’s innovative microbial products and technical capabilities were on full display on August 30e at its Davis, Calif., headquarters at an investor-focused Technology Showcase event. BioConsortia has demonstrated rapid progress in the development of microbial products and pipelines to reduce nitrogen fertilizers, control soil pests and plant diseases for larger and better crop yields, as well as protect crops post-harvest. harvest to avoid food waste, while minimizing environmental impact and protecting our planet.
The Showcase event reintroduced CRIMSON™ fungicide and ZAFFRE™ biostimulant, two products currently awaiting final registration, and highlighted BioConsortia’s new fungicides, nematicides and nitrogen fixing products that are progressing through the registration and commercialization and which proceed to evaluation with potential partners, as follows:
- N-POWER™ Seed Treatment: N-POWER will be the first nitrogen fixation seed treatment product based on robust spore forming technology, enabling easy adoption through an application methodology/process already well integrated into agriculture. Experts estimate that only 50% of applied nitrogen fertilizers are used by crops. Nitrogen from fertilizers that is not taken up by plants can be lost from the soil to waterways either above ground (lakes, streams, rivers, or oceans) or to groundwater, and can lead to proliferation of harmful algae and eutrophication of waterways. Well advanced on corn, wheat and other row crops, N-POWER field evaluations will expand to produce, turf and ornamentals, and home and garden this season . This technology will help growers increase yields while protecting the health of the planet.
- GARNET™ biofungicide in an optimized post-harvest formulation: GARNET, already proven as a foliar and soil fungicide, will protect conventional and organic fruits and vegetables from a wide variety of post-harvest diseases that limit shelf life today. The UN-FAO estimates that 60 percent of fruit and vegetables produced become waste rather than food. Development of the concentrated formulation, which delivers 50 times more levels of active metabolites, continues.
- NO-NEM™ Bionematicide Advances: BioConsortia highlighted progress in bringing new, safe and effective nematicidal microbes to market. Experts estimate global crop losses at $125 billion or 14% of crop value each year. Currently available chemical controls such as methyl bromide, organophosphates and carbamates have an unacceptable level of toxicity to non-target organisms and are being phased out of use. NO-NEM is BioConsortia’s first nematicide product entering full development. It has shown excellent performance against economically important pests in row crops, as well as fruits and vegetables, such as soybean cyst nematodes and root-knot nematodes.
“Today we highlight the breadth of innovations being developed to replace chemical crop inputs with superior microbial-based solutions for nitrogen fixation, disease control, nematode control, yields crop and post-harvest food safety,” said Marcus Meadows-Smith, CEO of BioConsortia. “Recent progress in our pipeline – including some exciting technology breakthroughs – means we are ready to advance several major products into the commercialization phase with marketing partners.”
Expanded R&D pipeline through technical innovation
Additions to BioConsortia’s R&D pipeline aim to exceed currently available microbial products, providing improved efficacy, increased shelf stability and reduced field use rates, as follows:
- Leveraging the GenePro™ Microbe-Editing Platform for Breakthroughs in Nitrogen Fixation: BioConsortia’s proprietary genomics and gene editing platform, GenePro™, facilitates the discovery and engineering of a wide diversity of microbes faster and more efficiently. BioConsortia scientists claimed that GenePro led to the discovery of new genetic components that lead to nitrogen fixation. BioConsortia’s proprietary bacterial strains fix nitrogen under conditions that other nitrogen-fixing strains cannot. This discovery validates the company’s position as a leader in microbe-derived alternatives for agriculture, has resulted in proprietary intellectual property, and will continue to guide our research.
- Library extension via AMS: BioConsortia’s patented “AMS” – Advanced Microbial Selection™ platform uses evolutionary biology practices to find beneficial microbes that the plant has selected for specific gains. AMS underpins the breadth, depth and success of BioConsortia’s product pipeline. The company announced the addition of more than 2000 rice diazotrophic microbial strains to its library, following a research program using AMS. This important addition to the library has dramatically accelerated BioConsortia’s nitrogen fixation project for rice, a crop with a paddy production model that represents a unique opportunity to impact the sustainability practices of big and small. small producers of one of the most fertilized crops in the world.
- New bactericide project: BioConsortia also introduced a new project focused on optimizing microbes for the production of active metabolites against bacterial diseases. Project leaders highlighted the early technological successes of this project – again reliant on the GenePro platform, which focuses on using new tools to address evolving bacterial disease resistance and increased bacterial pest pressure resulting from climate challenges and global trade flows.
- New multi-spectrum insecticide: Additionally, the company updated the progress of a new microbial active ingredient in development designed to provide broad-spectrum control of nematodes and critically important Coleoptera and Lepidoptera pests. The project aims to provide a new mode of action to support and extend crop trait lifecycles in the face of emerging insect resistance. The nematicide probes were originally characterized as potent root colonizers using the company’s RhizoViz™ system, which uses proteins to visualize the robustness of colonization in different soils and environmental conditions. BioConsortia’s nematicide pipeline is now one of the largest in agricultural research.
“BioConsortia’s pipeline progress highlights the strengths of the company’s R&D platform, which is unique in the industry for discovering plant-affiliated microbes and optimizing them as solutions for agriculture,” said Dr. Hong Zhu, senior vice president of research and development at BioConsortia.
Acceleration of partnership activities
The showcase included a session detailing the company’s plans to accelerate partnering activities in all markets: nitrogen fixers, biocontrol, biostimulants and post-harvest products.
BioConsortia previously announced its distribution agreement with The Mosaic Company for new nitrogen-fixing products for wheat, corn and other row crops in the Americas, as well as select Asian countries. BioConsortia announced that these products will be introduced to potential new partners for the remaining row crop territories and for fruits and vegetables, turf and ornamentals, and home and garden this season. These include genetically engineered microbes for conventional crops and natural (wild-type) microbes for organic markets.
“BioConsortia is fundamentally a discovery and optimization company, designing microbial products to solve the challenges we face in order to feed a hungry world,” said CEO, Meadows-Smith. “Today we are seeing the results of many years of intensive efforts to build our capabilities and advance our pipeline. Many projects are maturing quickly and products will hit the market soon. We look forward to working with business partners to bringing these powerful innovations to market.”
To receive more information about collaborating or investing in BioConsortia to commercialize these innovations, visit www.bioconsortia.com or email BusDev@bioconsortia.com.
About BioConsortia
BioConsortia, Inc. develops superior microbial products that protect plants, improve fertility, and increase yields while improving the sustainability of agriculture for our environment. Pioneering the use of directed selection within microbial communities, our patented Advanced Microbial Selection (AMS) process and state-of-the-art GenePro genomics and genetic engineering platform enable us to predict, engineer and unleash the power natural of microbes.
BioConsortia’s microbial products offer higher efficiency, greater consistency and easier adoption by growers. Our rich pipeline includes nitrogen-fixing microbes to replace synthetic nitrogen fertilizers; the effectiveness of using nutrients and biostimulants to increase crop yields; bionematicides and biofungicides to protect crops against pests and diseases; and products for post-harvest pathogen control to protect food waste in the distribution chain, retail store and home. BioConsortia produces breakthrough solutions for growers in major agricultural markets with multiple environmental benefits.
For more information, please contact info@bioconsortia.com
