Biotech Updates

Iowa State University, Rosetta Green Partner to Develop Plant Varieties Resistant to Nematodes

August 29, 2012

The Iowa State University, through the Iowa State University Research Foundation (ISURF) and the Rosetta Green Ltd., an Israel agro-biotechnology company specializing in developing improved plants using the technology of microRNA genes, have signed a licensing agreement for a microRNA gene that has potential to improve resistance of plants to nematodes.

Scientists at Iowa State University discovered that a microRNA gene can be used to produce nematode-resistant plants. By changing a microRNA gene in the plant, the number of developing nematodes was reduced by half in the plant, this without any use of external chemicals. Rosetta Green will further advance these results and develop improved plants which will contain the relevant gene that is resistant to nematodes.

For more information, visit http://www.rosettagreen.com/content.asp?p=news_and_events&id=19.