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.
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.
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
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