Arcadia Biosciences, Inc., Bioceres S.A. and Tropical Melhoramento e Genética Ltda. recently announced a collaboration agreement between TMG and Verdeca LLC, a soybean technology joint venture between Arcadia and Bioceres.
The collaboration will use Verdeca’s proprietary soybean genetic diversity library and Arcadia’s high-throughput screening platform to develop a portfolio of new non-genetically modified soybean varieties with a number of agronomic and product quality benefits.
“Our soybean genetic diversity library is a unique and extensive resource of genetic variation that has the potential to enhance our already rich product pipeline,” Eric Rey, president and CEO of Arcadia, said. “This new collaboration will enable us to aggressively leverage that resource to develop and commercialize non-GM soybean varieties with improved agronomic performance and product quality. TMG has proven its leadership in Brazilian soybean breeding and is the ideal development and commercial partner for us.”
The Verdeca soybean genetic diversity library is an extensive and exclusive resource of soybean plants with high-density variations in genetic composition and gene function. In combination with Arcadia’s proprietary high-throughput genetic screening platform, the library enables rapid identification of plants with functional differences in single or multiple target genes. Under this new collaboration, scientists will use the soybean library to identify and develop specific genetic variations that affect crop productivity and soybean oil and meal composition.
