Rehovoth, Israel
July 13, 2009
FuturaGene, which
develops environmentally friendly solutions that enhance yields
and improve the processability of plants for forestry, biofuels,
biopower and agriculture, is pleased to announce that the
company and its wholly owned subsidiaries, CBD Technologies Ltd.
and FuturaGene Investment Consulting Co. Ltd. (Beijing) have
agreed to extend their September 2007 Collaboration Agreement
with the Research Institute of
Tropic Forestry (RITF), which is aimed at the development of
improved eucalyptus varieties. Under the terms of the amendment
to the agreement, CBD Technologies Ltd. will share new genetic
solutions with RITF to impart resistance to Bacterial Wilt, a
serious disease of eucalyptus. RITF will utilize this technology
to modify Chinese
eucalyptus varieties to enhance their resistance to Bacterial
Wilt disease. The parties will share equally the
commercialization rights to the resistant varieties in the
Chinese domestic market.
According to China’s State Forestry Administration, total
eucalyptus plantations in China were estimated to cover
approximately 2 million hectares in 2008 with a projected growth
to 2.5 million hectares by 2010. Eucalyptus trees are planted in
18 provinces in China and major plantation areas are located in
the provinces of Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Fujian and Yunnan.
Bacterial Wilt disease is caused by the soil bacteria Ralstonia
solanacearum. The bacteria invade plants via roots or stem
wounds and propagate in stem tissue, resulting in necrosis; the
leaves wilt and the roots rot leading to the death of the trees
within several weeks, in the case of acute infection or within 3
to 6 months in chronic disease. Bacterial Wilt disease has
become widely dispersed in the major plantation provinces of
China. Infection rates range from 20% to 40 % of young,
disease-sensitive eucalyptus clones. The highest infection rates
of up to 88% were reported in forest farms in Guangxi province
at the end of 2006. The disease has the potential to infect
entire forests or regions, causing enormous economic losses.
Dr. Stanley Hirsch, Group CEO of FuturaGene commented: “We
believe that the extension of our relationship with RITF is of
critical economic importance to a significant forestry activity
in Southern China. As the effects of climate change increasingly
manifest themselves, plant diseases are becoming more rampant
and effective solutions are desperately needed. We stated in our
latest annual report that we were beginning to move into the
area of biotic stress, as part of our program for sustainable
agriculture and yield protection. With this extension to our
joint activities with RITF, we hope to deal both with a rapidly
spreading disease and ensure the sustainability of eucalyptus
farming and the livelihood it provides to the local communities
and farmers.
Dr. Xu Daping, Director and Chief Research Scientist of RITF
stated: “We are pleased to extend our collaboration with the
FuturaGene Group, one of the most experienced groups in the
field of forest biotechnology today. Based on our ongoing
collaboration, we are confident that FuturaGene can make a
significant contribution to the development of eucalyptus
varieties with enhanced resistance to the Bacterial Wilt
disease. We believe that this project can have a most
significant environmental and commercial impact in China”.
FGN is a leading agricultural biotechnology company focused
on research, development, and commercialization of technologies
that play key roles in substantially improving agronomic traits
of value in plants. In particular the Company is focused on the
development and commercialization of genetically modified plants
for improving and protecting yields, and enhancing
processability and environmental sustainability in the forestry,
biofuels, biopower and agricultural sectors. In addition to its
in-house discovery program, FuturaGene licenses intellectual
property from leading universities in its strategic fields of
interest and is exploiting the synergies of these technologies
with the cell wall modification platform of its wholly owned
subsidiary, CBD Technologies, Inc. (CBD Tech) in forestry,
biofuel, biopower, food and feed crops.
CBD Tech has pioneered a modality for modifying plant cell
walls, resulting in enhanced growth and biomass, increased
cellulose, improved fiber properties, improved digestibility and
processability, and increased yield properties and has secured
broad intellectual property covering plants with modified cell
walls showing such altered properties. More information is
available at
www.futuragene.com
The Research Institute of Tropic Forestry (RITF) is one of the
regional scientific research institutes within the Chinese
Academy of Forestry (CAF) under the State Forestry
Administration (SFA), China. Established some 45 years ago, RITF
is one of China’s leading forestry research institutes and aims
to become a leading international research institute for
tropical forestry in the next 15 years by optimising its
resources, increasing its innovative ability and enhancing its
scientific and technological operations. The mission of RITF is
to conduct research to support the development of forestry in
tropical and southern subtropical China. It has a number of
research facilities: a national key field scientific
experimental station, a SFA key open laboratory, the Hainan
Chenlonggou nature reserve administered by the SFA, Jianfengling
tropical forestry experimental station and Yangxi experimental
base in Guangdong Province.
Chinese Academy of Forestry (CAF) was founded in 1958 based on
the former Central Research Institute of Forestry established in
1953. The academy has over 4,400 staff, including researchers,
engineers, and technicians, involved in more than 150
disciplines and is authorized to award advanced academic degrees
in a number of fields. Having research offices and satellite
institutions in a number of sites around China as well as more
than 60,000 hectares of experimental lands, CAF is in the
mainstream of tree development and breeding in China. |
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