SBIR Phase II: A Gene Targeting System for Plants

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will develop a non-transgenic approach for genetic improvement of crops by using a zinc-finger nuclease strategy for homologous recombination in plants and a strategy for selection of non-selectable phenotypes. The commercial application of this project will be to enable the production of new crop varieties, including those that better withstand pests, have enhanced food value, and produce compounds of industrial importance. The proposed approach is expected to produce genetically modified (GM) plants requiring less regulatory oversight than existing technologies for plant genetic engineering, facilitating faster and less expensive marketing of GM plants.