The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Ltd.

ALAMEDA, Calif. , May 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- genXtraits Inc. (genXtraits) today announced that it has expanded its license and collaboration agreement with The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Limited (Plant & Food Research) to apply proprietary technology for increasing Vitamin C levels in crops. genXtraits and Plant & Food Research entered an agreement in late 2023 under which genXtraits received an option to obtain an exclusive worldwide license under Plant & Food Research’s patents to develop and commercialize certain crops with the elevated vitamin C trait. Having met contractual requirements over the past 18 months, genXtraits has now exercised its exclusive commercial license, as well as broadening the scope of licensed applications. genXtraits’ expanded license includes major row crops, such as corn and soybean, as well as a broad range of bioenergy crops in addition to the original suite of licensed species, which included tomato, potato, peppers and eggplant. Plant & Food Research has retained commercial rights in specific areas, for example including applications in pipfruit, kiwifruit, berryfruit and grapes. The base license comprises genetic trait technology for elevating the levels of vitamin C in plant cells, which was co-developed by Dr. Roger Hellens, the co-founder of genXtraits, when he was previously a project leader at Plant & Food Research. “Vitamin C is a very potent cellular protectant against oxidative damage,” said Dr. Hellens. “This particular trait provides a double whammy in terms of its benefits. Higher levels of vitamin C in foods like tomatoes and potatoes can provide a dietary benefit, since the compound promotes iron uptake by the human gut. This could help combat anemia, which is a major problem in many countries, especially those with a predominantly vegetarian diet. Additionally, Vitamin C defends crop cells against stress caused by drought and disease, which means it can also act as a yield stability trait that protects overall crop yield.” Dr. Peter Cook, General Manager Business Development at Plant & Food Research noted, “We are delighted to expand our partnership with genXtraits. genXtraits has established a unique technical platform, which can deliver novel traits through gene edits that increase the levels of regulatory proteins in crop cells. Their platform has already delivered improvements to the base inventions in the patents owned by Plant & Food Research. Under the terms of the deal, Plant & Food Research enjoys a license-back under this new IP from genXtraits for application in its core crops.” Dr. Oliver Ratcliffe, CEO of genXtraits commented, “Given the complementarity of genXtrait’s platform with the technology licensed from Plant & Food Research, it made perfect sense to broaden our collaboration. Our shared goal is to implement this important trait in as many crops as possible. To this end, we are looking to add additional partners to participate in our collaboration, especially for applications in corn, soybean, and potatoes and we are actively seeking licensees for the vitamin C trait.” About genXtraits: genXtraits is a California-based crop genomics company, which was founded in late 2022 by plant biotechnology industry veterans. The firm’s unique selling point is its STRM™ platform for the delivery of dominant genetic traits, which stem from simple gene edits that elevate the cellular levels of important regulatory proteins. The company is focused on developing the next generation of crop traits, which will both protect crop yield in the face of climate change and provide consumers with more delicious and healthy food choices. For more information, please visit: https://genxtraits.com/ Contact: Dr. Oliver J. Ratcliffe (contact@genxtraits.com) About Plant & Food Research: The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Limited is a Crown Research Institute established under the Crown Research Institutes Act 1992. Plant & Food Research uses world-leading science to support the food sector in improving ways to grow, fish, harvest, prepare and share food. The organization has close to 1,000 people that work across New Zealand and the world to help deliver healthy foods from the world’s most sustainable systems. For more information visit: https://www.plantandfood.com Contact: Emma Timewell, Communications Manager (emma.timewell@plantandfood.co.nz)

冷胁迫限制植物的生长、发育和分布，是影响农业生产持续稳定发展的重要因素之一。维生素C（L-抗坏血酸，AsA）是一种抗氧化剂，参与非生物应激耐受和活性氧（ROS）代谢。 冷胁迫限制植物的生长、发育和分布，是影响农业生产持续稳定发展的重要因素之一。维生素C（L-抗坏血酸，AsA）是一种抗氧化剂，参与非生物应激耐受和活性氧（ROS）代谢。探究低温胁迫如何诱导维生素C生物合成以减少对植物的氧化损伤，这对增强植物抗寒性、提高作物维生素C含量具有重要意义。  近日，中国科学院武汉植物园钟彩虹研究团队在Plant Physiology上，在线发表了题为Kiwifruit bZIP transcription factor AcePosF21 elicits ascorbic acid biosynthesis during cold stress的研究论文。该研究发现了植物在冷胁迫下诱导维生素C生物合成以减轻寒冷对植物氧化损伤现象，阐明了猕猴桃通过AceMYB102-AcePosF21-AceGGP3分子网络调控维生素C合成以减缓冷损伤的分子机制。  研究通过分析从单细胞到被子植物在冷胁迫下叶、果等组织的维生素C含量变化发现，冷胁迫短时间内能够诱导大部分植物维生素C的合成。利用高维生素C的猕猴桃为材料，研究发掘了一个bZIP家族的转录因子AcePosF21。该转录因子能够被低温信号触发，对猕猴桃维生素C的生物合成和防御反应具有重要的调控作用。此外，科研团队利用VIGS诱导的基因沉默或CRISPR/Cas9介导的编辑，证实了AcePosF21的缺失会降低猕猴桃维生素C浓度，增加ROS的生成。研究进一步发现：AcePosF21能够与R2R3-MYB转录因子AceMYB102相互作用，直接结合到维生素C合成的关键基因AceGGP3启动子区、激活AceGGP3基因的表达；AceGGP3基因的高表达能够促进维生素C的合成并清除冷胁迫诱导的过量ROS，最终减缓猕猴桃冷损伤。  本研究证实，维生素C作为重要的抗氧化物质，不仅为人类提供维持健康所需的重要营养物质，而且在植物中能够响应胁迫、参与抗寒等生理过程，为猕猴桃的低温抗性育种提供了基因资源和重要理论支撑。  研究工作得到中科院“种子精准设计与创造”先导专项、湖北省洪山实验室、国家重点研发计划、中科院青年创新促进会和国家作物表型组学研究（神农）基地的支持。新西兰植物与食品研究所的科研人员参与研究。  　 图1.不同进化地位的植物（A）在冷胁迫下AsA浓度（B）的变化

A research team has developed a sensing technology that can detect whether a substance was exposed to light using metahologram. During the COVID-19 pandemic last year, an incident occurred where vaccines exposed to room temperature had to be discarded. Biomedical substances, including vaccines, risk deterioration if not stored properly, so strict management is required during production and storage. In particular, exposure to light may reduce the vaccine's efficacy, so it is important to check whether it has been damaged by light exposure. Recently, a POSTECH research team led by Professor Junsuk Rho (Department of Mechanical Engineering and Department of Chemical Engineering) and Ph.D. candidate Joohoon Kim (Department of Mechanical Engineering) has collaborated with Dr. Jonghyun Choi (The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Ltd.) to propose a novel sensor platform that detects light exposure using a "universal metahologram," which can not only operate under all states of polarizations, but also transmit multiple lights. A metahologram made of metamaterials is a technology that displays different holographic images depending on the direction of incident light. Its applicability in next-generation displays and as security sensor was highly anticipated as it can display multiple images simultaneously. However, a limitation existed in which a metahologram that operates in all incident polarizations could only express a limited number of colors. Conversely, metaholograms that show different colors only respond to certain incident polarizations. To overcome this limitation, the research team successfully fabricated a metahologram that emits brilliant colors regardless of any incident light. Moreover, it was confirmed that this new metahologram can be used as a sensor when attached to a container designed for storing a chemical or biomaterial to detect light exposure. The research team particularly increased the possibility of large commercial manufacturing for metaholograms by developing a printing process that replicates them over flexible substrates. The research findings can be useful for secure packaging and transportation of light-sensitive chemical or biomedical substances. The technology can be applicable in intelligent packaging and labeling to prevent counterfeits and to verify the authenticity of agricultural and fishery products such as honey and kiwi, or secondary processed foods exported by New Zealand. Recently published in ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, this study was conducted with the support from the POSCO-POSTECH-RIST Convergence Research Center program funded by POSCO, LGD-SNU incubation program funded by LG Display, and from the South Korea-New Zealand Joint Research Partnership Program and the Strategic Nanomaterial Technology Development Program of the National Research Foundation of Korea.