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.