Avesthagen Granted with US Patent for its Efficient Sunflower Transformation

Avesthagen Limited has been granted by the US patent office for its efficient Sunflower transformation and eco-friendly safe selection method that can replace the conventional antibiotic marker technology in GM crops. During the past years, antibiotic resistance marker genes have been used in developing GM crops but garnered opposition in the international scene. Since the new technology in selecting transgenic callus uses xylose isomerase (XI) which is not an antibiotics, it is expected that public concerns will soon be eliminated.

The transformation efficiency of the new patented method is 2 to 3 times that of antibiotic-based techniques. The patent has been given to improve the method of producing engineered plantlets containing novel genes and can be extended to trait stacking with multiple genes that needs a number of molecular markers in the selection process. The patent was also granted for sunflower transformation, which will be used eventually for a more efficient  production of specific polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) essential for human health.

"We constantly aim to produce breakthrough solutions that are advantageous for the farmers and consumers and this patent reinforces our commitment to develop novel biotech crops that are eco-friendly and helpful for human health," said Dr. Villoo Morawala Patell, Founder and CMD of Avesthagen.

Read the press release at http://www.avesthagen.com/docs/PR220611.pdf.