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Crop science innovations from MetabolixCanola Innovation Day,Saskatoon, Canada
December 3, 2015
Why Yield10?
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Yield10 Bioscience
“Where Nature Performs”
OutstandingTeam
BreakthroughScience
Transformative TraitsStrong IP
GlobalOpportunity
Where Nature Performs TM
Yield10 The Opportunity
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A New Crop Science Paradigm to Enhance Global Food Security
9 October 2009Revised June, 2015GA/EF/3242Food Production Must Double by 2050 to Meet Demand from World’s Growing Population
Realizing a New Vision for Agriculture:A roadmap for stakeholdershttp://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_IP_NVA_Roadmap_Report.pdf
Y10 is… aligned with compelling megatrends• Global population growth from 7 billion to 9.6 billion by 2050• Reduction in available land due to infrastructure growth• Increased pressure on scarce water and other resources• Changing global weather patterns• Environmental issues with intensive agriculture
Need… more than 100% increase in food production over the same periodBut… can the current rates of crop yield increase get us there?
Reality… traditional breeding and business models cannot solve this problem
Where Nature Performs TM
Yield10 The Opportunity
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A New Crop Science Paradigm to Enhance Global Food Security
• Traditional breeding won’t get us there
• Failure could lead to global catastrophe
• Has re-opened the GMO conversation
• Technology solutions can be developed
…BUT…
• Global dissemination should be maximized
• New business models will be requiredYield Trends Are Insufficient to Double Global Crop Production by 2050
Deepak K. Ray, Nathaniel D. Mueller, Paul C. West, Jonathan A. Foley
Where Nature Performs TM
Step change yield impact: 17% yield increase for corn Plus traditional breeding
Yield10 Global Food Security The Challenge
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Recent developments in the global landscape for GMO food crops
President Xi Jinping said China must “boldly research and innovate, [and] dominate the high points of GMO techniques.” An agricultural policy paper issued early this year calls for more GMO research. A pro-GMO ad campaign from the agriculture ministry began in September 2014. The official Xinhua News Agency on Feb. 4, wrote, “GMO technology has long been considered an effective way to increase yields on marginal lands.”
Modi bets on GM crops for India's second green revolutionGreen Business | Mon Feb 23, 2015 3:07am ESTNEW DELHI | By Krishna N. Das and Mayank Bhardwaj
…But allowing GM crops is critical to Modi's goal of boosting dismal farm productivity in India, where urbanization is devouring arable land and population growth will mean there are 1.5 billion mouths to feed by 2030 - more even than China.
Where Nature Performs TM
Yield10 Focus and Strategy
• Differentiated technology approach and promising early results
• Screening and early development carried out in model crop systems• C3 photosynthetic crops (soy, canola, wheat rice, etc.) use the oilseed Camelina sativa
• C4 photosynthetic crops (corn, sugarcane, sorghum, millet, etc.) use Switchgrass
• Rapidly move traits developed in model systems into major food crops• Early results in model systems generated from greenhouse and small scale field trials
• Lead trait being moved into canola, rice and soybean
• Multiple options for value capture• Develop and commercialize seed lines
• License or partner with established Agriculture industry players
• Seeking funding for first 3 years of independent operations• Yield10 structure to be negotiated with investors
• Focus on achieving proof points in major food crops, including multi-site field trails
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Develop and commercialize step change yield traits for food crops
Where Nature Performs TM
Yield10 Solution | Leveraging Biological Diversity
Where Nature Performs TM7
Yield 10 has approaches for both C3 and C4 photosynthetic systems
“Food production must double by 2050 to meet demand from world’s growing population”
Naturally higher yields in C4 crops suggest it is biologically possible to significantly increase C3 crop yields
Cro
p Yi
eld
C3 Crops ~ 90% of Global Food Supply
C3 Crops: Soybean, canola, wheat, rice, pulses, fruits, vegetables, etc.
C4 C
rops
: cor
n, s
ugar
cane
, etc
.
Average C4 Crop Yield ~ 5X higher than
Average C3 Crop Yield
Yield10 Solution | Seed Yield Example
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A Metabolic Engineering Perspective on Increasing Seed Yield
Where Nature Performs TM
• Systems based approach treating the entire plant as a carbon flow chart• C3 and C4 photosynthesis crops represent distinct scientific and technical challenges• Leverages learning from 30 years experience optimizing carbon flow in living systems• Focuses on key output of step change increases in seed yield
• CRISPR genome editing in progress • Multiple CRISPR targets to improve yield identified (i.e. targets from RNA-SEQ of engineered high yield lines)• Plastid engineering using novel delivery method in progress
Yield10 Improvements to Camelina Platform
Camelina: A Versatile C3 Crop Platform Providing Quick Access to Field Ready Material
~3 cycles
Greenhouse “breeding”seed bulk up
Wild-type plants Screening of seeds and linesHomozygous
seed Field trial
Transformation of gene construct
36 weeks
Where Nature Performs TM9
Yield10 Refining and Improving Camelina Platform
Yield10 Target | Increase Yield in C3 Crops
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A New Crop Science Paradigm to Enhance Global Food Security
• Over 90% of global food production is based on crops having the C3 photosynthetic system (canola, soybean, rice, wheat, potato, etc.)• Objective: Enhance photosynthesis in C3 crops (C3003 gene trait)
• 3003 gene trait Proof of Concept achieved, now progressing multiple single insertion Camelina lines for multi-site field trials
• Proof of Concept in other crops ongoing
[additional information available under CDA]
Chloroplast
• Well understood limitations of plant C3 photosynthetic systems
“Crop Moon shot- Convert C3 plants to C4 photosynthetic system”
• Numerous prior efforts to solve this: no real success to date• Technical problem concentration of CO2 available to the RUBISCO enzyme• Loss of fixed CO2 by photorespiration• Flow of CO2 through the leaf surface pores results in increased water loss• Yield can be increased under artificial conditions, high CO2 and high water• Photosynthetic bacteria and algae concentrate CO2 for RUBISCO
• Potential for discovery and scientific breakthroughs
Where Nature Performs TM
Yield10 Target | Increase Seed Yield in C3 Plants
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A New Crop Science Paradigm to Enhance Global Food Security
• ~30-40% of the CO2 fixed during photosynthesis is lost due to inefficiencies in plant metabolism• Yield10 brings 30 years of experience optimizing the flow of carbon in living systems
• These tools are now being applied in plants to reduce metabolic carbon loss, re-partition carbon and increase seed yield
Where Nature Performs TM
• 4 traits of increasing genetic complexity have been progressed through Proof of Concept in Camelina• C3004 – addresses carbon partitioning to seed• C3005 and C3006 are complex multi-gene system traits which increase carbon metabolism efficiency• C3007 increases flow of carbon to seed oil
Yield10 Novel Pathway to Increase Seed and Oil Yield
Example: C3006 trait, complex novel multigene pathway
Unexpected benefits achieved:1) Higher seed oil content2) Increased seed size
Next Steps: 1) Determine performance under field conditions2) Identify minimal gene sets to deliver yield increase
Where Nature Performs TM12
Yield10 Target | Increase Yield in C4 Plants
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A New Crop Science Paradigm to Enhance Global Food Security
• Yield challenge is not amenable to a purely metabolic engineering approach
• Developed a “Systems Approach” – T3 Platform – identify powerful global regulators to up-regulate complex gene cascades
• C4 plants include corn, sugarcane, sorghum, oil palm etc• C4 plants are much higher yielding than C3 plants and more drought tolerant
• e.g. Corn @ 160+ bu/acrevs. soybean @ 43+ bu/acre
• C4 plants have a unique structural arrangement of the mesophyll cells (where the C4 part of the system takes place) and bundle sheath cells which contain the RUBISCO pathway
• Introducing the full C4 system into C3 plantswould require a very large number of genes
Where Nature Performs TM
Yield10 T3 Platform
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A New Crop Science Paradigm to Enhance Global Food Security
• Objective: Identify key genes to control complex regulatory networks Functional Modules
• The T3 Platform uses big data analysis based on complex algorithms to correlate networks of transcriptomes from different crop species with physiological outcomes (functional modules) predictive of yield
1. Increase photosynthesis (light harvesting pigments and electron transport)
2. Increase central metabolism (higher concentrations of carbon intermediates)
3. Increase overall biomass yield (switchgrass objective)
3 lead GTF genestested in switchgrass~ 36,000 genes 20 gene candidates
Crop genomics “Big Data”advanced transcriptome network analysis
Key global regulatory genes
(GTF)
Complex genomics data Functional modules targeting pathways of interest
Where Nature Performs TM
Yield10 C4 Crop Example | Biomass Case Study
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• Multiple transgenic lines in different germplasms were produced overexpressing the different GTF genes identified using the T3 Platform
• Corresponding genes in major food crops have been identified• Evaluation of the C4001 – C4003 gene traits is currently ongoing in other crops, including sugarcane
Solution: GTFs up-regulate complex regulatory networks
WT +GTF1 +GTF2 +GTF3
PAR
C4001 Transgenic line 4PhotosynthesisChlorophyll Carotenoids
144% of control 141% of control
Central MetabolismSoluble sugars Leaf starch
138% of control 160% of control
Total dry biomass 140% of control
WT
+GTF1,3
Where Nature Performs TM
Yield10 Perspectives on Regulatory Risk
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Indicative relationship between potential yield improvement and regulatory complexity
PotentialSeed YieldIncrease
Increasing Technical and Regulatory Complexity
50%
100%
Genome Editing
C3004 and C4001-3
GMO
Plant transgene
C3003,
C4001, C4003
GMO
Pesticide/herbicide transgenes
GMO
Complex number and/or source of
transgenes
C3005 and C3006
Key Considerations:• Safety first• Need for clearly defined, science-
based regulations• Potential societal value (meet global
food need, improve quality of food, e.g., golden rice and non-PUFA oils)
• Commercial value• Broad public acceptance in high risk
geographies such as Africa and India will require a new non-centralized seed company business model or altruistic approach
Technology Vector | Maximize yield | Minimize regulatory hurdles
Where Nature Performs TM
Yield10 Commercialization Program
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Yield10 Seed Line Development Major Ramp-up and Transition Underway in 2015
Partnership/licensing discussions initiated for Corn / Cane and planned for Wheat / Rice / Potato / Cotton
Early Development
Advanced Development
Pre Launch
Soybean C3003
Proof of Concept Commercial
Canola C3003
Rice C3003
Canola C3003/C3004
Anticipate numerous opportunities for value capture along the path to commercialization
2022
2021
2021
2021
2020Camelina C3003
Where Nature Performs TM
Yield10 Investment Considerations
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creates… Large addressable market opportunity• Crop R&D $4 billion GMO Seed $40 billion Global food $4 trillion
enables… Numerous opportunities for value capture• Commercialize seed lines for select crops• Licensing and/or funded development projects with strategic partners
is… Aligned with compelling megatrends• Global population growth from 7 billion to 9 billion by 2050 driving need for
>70% increase in food production over the same period• Growing pressure on water and land resources, issues with intensive agriculture
developing… Breakthrough technology for improved crop yield• Novel yield trait technologies for both C3 and C4 photosynthetic crops• Foundation IP in place (owned/in-licensed)• Development/Scientific staff (16 FTEs) and research facilities in place
Where Nature Performs TM
Thank You!
December 3, 2015
