Why Soilcea?

Soilcea has developed CRISPR-edited citrus trees that are resistant to the citrus industry’s deadliest diseases. Huanglongbing (citrus greening disease) and citrus canker are decimating the Florida citrus industry, having killed over 50 million trees, having cost the state over $10 billion in lost revenue, and having reduced citrus production from 300 million citrus boxes annually to 20 million boxes. Soilcea has exclusive commercial licenses to patents to HLB and canker target susceptibility genes and optimized CRISPR transformation methods for citrus developed by Dr. Nian Wang’s lab at the University of Florida.

CRISPR Precision Breeding

The USDA and EPA issued guidance that they will not regulate CRISPR precision breeding that could occur naturally. Unlike traditional GMOs that involve inserting a foreign gene (like a bacterial gene) into a plant, Soilcea is using CRISPR breeding to make small edits in genes that make a tree susceptible to citrus greening and canker. Nature constantly deletes DNA susceptible to diseases and slowly adopts the beneficial change through natural selection. At Soilcea, we are advancing a natural process in time to save the Florida citrus industry.

Team

Yianni Lagos, JD/MBA/CFA

Chief Executive Officer

Bio

Dusica Coltrane 

Lead Protoplast Scientist

Bio

Quinton Allen, PhD

Scientist

Bio

Ron Edwards

Business Advisor

Bio

Jacob Zobrist

Scientist

Katrina Witas

Lab Technician

Lindsey Logan

Lab Technician

Ron English

Citrus Grower

Cecilia Calabi Villarroel

Lab Technician

Alydia White

Lab Technician

Advisory Board

 

Ron Edwards

President and CEO of Evans Properties

Dr. Harold Browning

President of Premier Citrus Apz

Dave Crumbly

Vice President, Agricltural Services at Florida's Natural Growers

Fran Becker

Senior Vice President of Peace River Citrus Products

Clay Pederson

Managing Director of Agromillora Florida

 

 

Contact

yianni@soilcea.com

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