Slate 1
Rapid Trait Development SystemTM
An Alternative from Cibus Global for Nations and Individuals Opposed to GM crops
For More Information Please Contact:
Shawna Seldon
212 255 7541
shawna@rosengrouppr.com
For Technical Information Please Contact:
D S Simon Productions
212.736.2727
news@dssimon.com
Slate 2
This video is for your free and unrestricted use. Funding has been provided by Cibus
Global.
Slate 3
Table of Contents:
Story Description
Soundbites
B-Roll
Animation
Funding Information
Slate 4
Story Description:
A natural, viable alternative exists for nations and individuals opposed to GM crops. Cibus
Global, a leading plant trait development technology company, has created its proprietary Rapid
Trait Development System (RTDS™) to meet this need. RTDS is an all-natural,
environmentally-safe "smart breeding tool" that helps farmers grow plants with traits that
produce desired effects—from increased yield and higher nutritional value to drought resistance
and reduced use of chemicals. This will provide more, healthier food—a key development as
the global food crisis grows.
RTDS is a directed mutagenesis procedure that effects a precise change in the genetic
sequence while the rest of the genome is left unaltered. RTDS derives its genetic traits from
within the very same plant species being altered, meaning that the only results are ones that
could occur in nature. By using RTDS technology, there is no integration of foreign genetic
material, nor is any foreign genetic material left in the plant. Crops developed with RTDS take
roughly three years and $7 million to bring to market, compared to seven years and $50 million
for GM crops.
Products in the pipeline from Cibus include gluten-free wheat, a smarter biofuel that fares well
at all temperatures, crop-derived squalene oil, which will save sharks currently killed for their
squalene, and potatoes that are resistant to potato blight (which caused the Irish Potato Famine
160 years ago) and bruising. The technology also holds promise for more environmentally
friendly biofuels and other traits sought by the market.
About Cibus Global
Cibus Global is a privately held trait development company that produces crop traits for the
agricultural community. Through the application of a proprietary technology called the Rapid
Trait Development System (RTDSTM), CIBUS creates traits in a directed way with more
precision than traditional breeding techniques and without the introduction of foreign genetic
material. RTDS has proven itself in the laboratory with several different crops, as well as in
initial field trials of CIBUS’ first commercial crop, canola. Further information on Cibus Global
can be found on the Web at www.cibus.com.
About RTDS™
RTDS technology produces changes within a plant species that could only occur in nature, but
does so in a directed way. Thanks in part to recent developments in genome mapping, RTDS is
significantly more precise and much faster than conventional plant breeding in the process of
new trait development in plants.
RTDS, considered a form of directed mutagenesis, works through the cell’s natural process of
gene repair. Every time a cell copies DNA, it makes “scrivener” errors or spelling mistakes.
These variations happen all the time, which is how natural variation occurs. CIBUS’ technology
harnesses the cell’s own natural DNA repair machinery to correct such spelling mistakes, thus
directing DNA repair enzymes to correct and repair the targeted gene in a specific way in order
to produce a desired trait. This very precise process is similar to altering a single letter in a word
contained within a large book.
Slate 5
Soundbites
Slate 6
Dr. Keith Walker,
Cibus President
Bite #1
Cibus’s RTDS technology is important because it does create a new paradigm in agriculture.
The technology works wholly and solely within the genome of the organism. We can't get
outside of what nature could produce by itself, given enough time. As a consequence of that,
the, the technology is very environmentally friendly, and it still can be used to meet many unmet
market needs.
Bite #2
One of the unique characteristics of Cibus RTDS technology is that because of its precision,
and the planned nature with which it’s used, we can't have any unintended consequences with
the technology. This differentiates it significantly from GM technologies which can have
unintended consequences.
Bite #3
Americans should care about RTDS technology because of the concerns that exist right now
about food security, food supply, and, and food availability around the globe. Uh, the world has
looked to agricultural biotechnology as a whole to solve some of those problems, and our
technology is faster to market and much more affordable than many others, and can approach
a lot of these issues that need to be addressed on a global basis.
Bite #4
Well, RTDS technology has a very broad application base, and a very, in very many areas. It’s
a very affordable technology, and so we can approach markets of a certain size, where more
expensive technologies will never be deployed in those markets because of the overall cost of
deploying products in those areas.
Bite #5
RTDS has very broad application areas. The opportunities extend all the way from nutrimedical, nutri-ceutical type applications, for example in the development of gluten-free wheat
for Celiac’s, to processing characteristics in potato that might reduce, uh, processing costs or
eliminate toxins in fried potato foods, such as acrylamide, to farmer inputs relating to weed
control, insect tolerance, or disease tolerance.
Bite #6
RTDS opportunities in wheat are, are very significant because of a very particular problem that
people have who have allergies to wheat, the so-called Celiac Disease. And this relates to the
production of a, of a protein in wheat, the seed storage protein in wheat that we can eliminate
with our technology.
Bite #7
Cibus has some significant opportunities in potato to address some processing issues which
cost the industry billions of dollars a year. In addition, we can make changes in the, the potato
to reduce a toxin that often occurs information fried potato products called acrylamide.
Bite #8
The versatility of RTDS is demonstrated by our program to develop squalane. Squalane is a
high value industrial chemical used in high-end lubricant activities and women’s cosmetics.
Right now one of its major sources is from shark liver, from deep water sharks, and that supply
is, is disappearing as those sharks are over-fished, so, we’re going to develop an alternative
supply that can meet the supply constraints on this product for the future.
Bite #9
Cibus has developed some unique technology to develop unique formulations of bio-fuels,
where these fuels derived from vegetable oils can be used in harsh environments and climates
to be the sort of perfect bio-fuel alternative.
Bite #10
Rice has a couple of very significant challenges for farmers around the world. One is that water
is used to control weeds in rice in, in rice paddies, and water is a precious commodity around
the globe. With RTDS technology we can develop a, a rice that will grow on dry land and be a
much more cost effective product. In addition, there are some diseases in rice which are very
serious and global problems, and we have an approach with RTDS to meet those needs as
well.
Bite #11
Flax is a good example of a crop where modern biotechnology has not been applied because of
the size of that market and the concerns associated with transgenic or GMO products. Our
technology not only addresses the GMO issues, but also is very affordable, so it can address
the concerns and the opportunities that exist in flax for the flax industry.
Bite #12
Because GMO or transgenics create consumer concerns and additional regulatory costs, there
are crops grown in some areas of the, of the world which have not been able to take advantage
of biotechnology. Sugar beet is an example of that. Since RTDS technology addresses
consumer concerns relative to GMO products as well as, as well as is very affordable, we can
bring our technology to bear on crops like sugar beet and the problems that exist.
Slate 7
Eugene Linden
Author, "Winds of Change"
Bite #1
Well let’s look at the overall situation. Um, we have…population increasing by about 80 million
a year…give or take. Uh, we have China and emerg—and, and, uh, India, uh, improving the
diets of their people, so, not only need—do we need to grow more food, we have to, uh, just to
meet population needs we have to grow move—more food to meet the, uh, improving diets in
the, in the emerging nations. At the same time we’ve got… 90 food-importing nations, so, most
of the world’s nations import food, don’t produce enough, and only a handful of food-exporting
nations. Um, also, most of the world’s arable land is now under plow. So it’s not like there are
great wildlands out there to be converted to agriculture.
Bite #2
So we have the world’s food situation balanced on a knife edge. And, so we have to, increase
food production an estimated, what, 70 percent or so, over the next few decades, without really
expanding the amount of arable land, without really expanding, uh, or finding more water,
without crowding out nature… Where we are right now, um, we’ve driven a lot of, uh,
ecosystems to the brink of instability and decline. And so, this is a tough…recipe, that we,
we—or a tough prescription that we’ve been handed that we have to fill.
Bite #3
With GMOs you’re changing the very genetic structure of an organism and importing foreign
genes with transgenics, and, it’s not so much that you know bad things’ll happen, it’s you just
don’t know what’ll happen. Um, and if you have the world largely dependent on just a few
crops, something unleashed, uh, an unintended consequence, can get through the world food
system quite rapidly, because the second part of this is that once things are out, there’s a
problem in containing them. Um, you can’t really put the genie back in the bottle.
Bite #4
So we’re faced with this dilemma. We’ve got to increase food production, but at the same time,
we worry about the risks of trying to do that, by embracing genetically modified organisms
particularly those that are what are called transgenic, where genes are imported from another
species. And, there’s tremendous pressure around the world, to accept these organisms
because no one sees an alternative. Um, nations from Latin America to India to Europe are
saying, we really don’t want GMOs because we really don’t know what we’re getting. On the
other hand, we’ve got to increase food production. What are we going to do. At—at precisely
this point in the debate, Cibus comes along and says, hold it…we really might be able to do
these things without the risks that, any unknowns that, uh, people are concerned about with
GMOs
Bite #5
So I’ve followed this issue for decades. And, we’re at a crossroads. We know what we need to
do which is improve food production, we need to be able to farm marginal lands, we need to be
able to, uh, create better yields. And we have a tech—a technology that some people believe
can get us there, this GMO technology, but it comes with a real price. And so, do we have to
accept the risks. And…at this juncture, at this crossroads, essentially Cibus’s technology is an
answered prayer. Because it offers you a path forward to increase yields, to farm these lands,
uh, to try and take some of the pressures off natural ecosystems, without the risks that we
associate with genetically modified organism transgenics.
Bite #6
So, what is the potential, for RTDS, of this technology. For me, I see it as, the real successor
of the green revolution. I look at transgenics as kind of a transitional technology. It showed us
what could be done, but it also scared us a little bit or scared some people. Um, RTDS, can
pick up that gauntlet and carry it forward without the risks.
Bite #7
Um, the potential of Cibus’s technology RTDS extends far beyond agriculture. For instance one
of the applications we’re trying to develop right now, involves coming up with an alternative way
of producing an oil called squaline, which is a very high-value oil, used in cosmetics and other
things. Currently, half the production comes from extracting this oil from deep-water sharks,
from the livers of deep-water sharks. These are animals that are slow-reproducing and longlived, so if there’s any pressure on them beyond their ordinary pressures, they can fall, uh, their
numbers can fall off very quickly. Cibus can produce these oils using yeast. Which should take
the pressure off of sharks
Bite #8
Why do we need an alternative to GMOs. Well, GMOs carry with them a risk. One would like
to have a technology that produced the same results, that had less risk. Secondly, for this and
other reasons, much of the world is seeking an alternative to GMOs. They may be forced to
use them if there isn’t an alternative. But if RTDS can produce the kinds of traits and other
products that can be produced through transgenics, much of the world would prefer that.
Bite #9
Um, so, GMOs have contributed a lot to food production but they come with a price and those
price are, that price is, the unknowns, I mean in—throughout the history of innovation, we have
seen the law of unintended consequences, we invent flourocor—flourochlorocarbons, in order
to propel our sprea—uh, in—as a propellant for spray cans or, uh, refrigeration and then we
discover, that they’re destroying the o—ozone layer which protect us from UVB radiation. Um,
you know, we worry about particulate pollution from, uh, uh, engines and diesels and of course,
the real problem is that they affect global climate. The Egyptians build the Aswan Dam to
generate electricity and, and all of a sudden they discover their farmers aren’t getting silt. And
the delta that’s, where it’s a city of four million is sinking. Same thing in New Orleans which was
vulnerable to Katrina because of the unintended consequences of destroying the wetlands that
protected the city before. With crops it’s the same thing.
Slate 8
Dr. Peter Beetham,
Cibus Lead Scientist
Bite #1
So RTDS is a new-generation technology, that allows us to essentially target genes in plants, it
is really the Holy Grail for plant genetics. So some of the traits that we’re able to do with our
technology, is looking at, uh, improving oil profiles in oilseed crops, making healthier oils, being
able to provide disease resistance, looking at plants’ ability to resist fungal diseases. Uh,
including things like the, the, the very devastating UG-99—
Bite #2
So I think the biggest highlight with RTDS has been the fact that, um, we’ve harnessed the
diversity of gen—genomics, so genomics has been a revolution in, in not only plant science,
um, but human science as well, and our ability to go in and make these surgical changes,
effectively, uh…on—in plants and also other organisms, has been a real highlight of our
technology. And our technology’s also able to, to, uh, target traits, without the need to put in
foreign DNA like, uh, older technologies like GM or transgenic technology as it’s known. So our
ability to do that is a real highlight for us. It’s also a highlight because from a regulatory
standpoint, this allows us to provide, um…products to the consumer, products to the, um,
farmer, that are…have not the barriers of regulatory that GM or transgenic technologies do.
Bite #3
The potential for RTDS is really…uh, amazing because we have the ability now to look at
genomes of sequences so we can look at various characteristics in plants, that have specific,
single-nucleotide changes that we can target. So, it includes things like disease resistance, it
includes, um, new, uh, biofuels, it includes drought tolerance. [04:01:04:04] All of those
characteristics that are very important to, um, agriculture, as well as industrial products. We,
uh, currently what we’re working on at Cibus, uh, projects in potato, we’re working on projects
in, uh, rice. We’re working in projects in canola. And we’re looking to future projects in flax. So
one of the interesting things for those projects are that was a highlight is disease resistance.
And we look forward to providing material back to the potato farmers to provide them material
that is tolerant to, uh, late-blight.
Bite #4
One of the, the attributes that we’re looking at is the oilseed. So…the oil profile within, in
canola provides a healthier oil. And so we can actually go in and make changes to genes that
are involved in the oil pathway, and provide even healthier oils but also oils that may be applied
to industrial products including biodiesel. Um, the, the characteristic is allows people to drive
cars at lower temperatures without engines being clogged up. So biofuels is a—is an
application of our canola oilseed crop.
Bite #5
So at Cibus we’re able to, uh, apply RTDS to potatoes. One of the major issues with potatoes
is disease, and so potatoes have a late blight disease as was seen as the Irish famine in, uh,
160 years ago. We’re able to use that technology to provide potatoes with a tolerance to that
disease. So when the farmers plant it, uh, they don’t have to spray as much chemicals, and
they also, allows [sic] them to not have the disease, uh, affect the yield of that potato crop over
the generation of potatoes.
Bite #6
At Cibus, we’re able to apply the RTDS to rice. Rice is a—a crop that’s grown, you know,
obviously worldwide. It’s a large crop in the US, and like any other crop it has weed issues.
And weed problems, uh, reduce yields, and we’re able to using our technology provide that crop
with some herbicide tolerance. That allows farmers to have a—a better system, use less
chemistry or herbicide over the crop which is important, but also provide increased yields.
Bite #7
So, at Cibus with our RD—RTDS technology, we’re able to target, uh, traits and characteristics
in plants like disease resistance. And, our ability to give plants or crops, uh, tolerance to
disease allows them to, to grow through problems, like fungal problems, that, uh, for example
the UG-99, which is a stem rust of wheat, it’s a major problem globally. It’s going to devastate
up to 80 percent of the crop of wheat. And what we’re able to do is target, with our RTDS
technology, various genes within wheat to provide a tolerance for that disease.
Bite #8
RTDS technology has just been awarded a—a patent for herbicide tolerance in, in Europe.
That allows us to make site-specific mutations in any plant, that will provide herbicide tolerance.
This is a really, uh, exciting, uh, highlight for us as a company because it, uh, recognizes that
we have shown the technology to work in genes for herbicide tolerance, and now have got, uh,
a patent to show for that.
Bite #9
For the business community in, in Europe, ,—they’re looking for an alternative. So at the
moment, uh, GMO or transgenic material in the EU are not accepted in Europe. So, farmers
don’t have access to the technologies that a lot of the North American farmers do, through GM
and herbicide tolerance. So we have been able to, uh, using our technology target mutations in
various genes, and now we have protection in Europe for the business community and the
agricultural community, so they’re able now to access that source of—sort of technology.
Bite #10
So at Cibus, our RTDS technology has been accepted as a mutogenesis technology, and in
Europe that is something that farmers can grow. At present, um…their farmers aren’t able to
access the GM or transgenic technology. Although it’s a little antiquated, it’s something that
provides them with, you know, better, better-yielding crops. Our technology allows farmers in
Europe to have new traits through, uh, our technology. We’ve also just recently been, received
a patent, so the business community is excited to see that we—our technology’s been
accepted. It’s also, we have, uh, an avenue now to make changes in plants that allow us to
provide herbicide tolerance to their farmers.
Slate 9
Dirk Parkinson, P
President, NEU Seed/Potato Farmer
Bite #1
RTDS is a very interesting technology because, the current system that we use it takes 15 to 20
years to get a variety to market, with the RTDS, and the, the site-specific gene placement, we
can get to where we’ll be able to put a product out probably in as little as five years.
Bite #2
You know, RTDS coming into the marketplace is going to make it so that, agriculture is much
more sustainable from a farm point of view therefore being able for us to provide inexpensive
food to the populace.
Bite #3
It’s important that NEU Seed partner with Cibus because Cibus being the technology company,
and NEU Seed being the distribution company could work together in conjunction with each
other to develop the technology, and also bring it to the marketplace.
Bite #4
Probably the—some of the biggest issues that we have are viruses in potato, that mainly being
potato leaf roll virus and mosaic virus or PBY. Um, if we could make it so that these potatoes in
general were immune to these two viruses it would make it so that we didn’t have to use as
many pesticides and insecticides, um, to kill the insect vectors that spread these two viruses.
Bite #5
RTDS offers the financial benefits of being able to use less insecticides and less pesticides,
and basically less chemicals to produce a crop. Therefore making it less expensive for us to
produce a crop, and making it so that, we can remain competitive in the marketplace.
Bite #6
RTDS offers the, uh…opportunity in wheat to bring traits to the wheat market that would make it
easier for us to produce wheat, better-quality wheat,
Bite #7
PBY which is mosaic, it does not have any effect on the, on the internals of the tuber at all but
what it will do, it will shut down the plant so that it doesn’t grow. Um, university research has
shown that 1 percent PBY will cost you one and a half hundred weight yield loss per acre. And
so if you have 10 percent, it’ll cause you 1500 weight yield loss per acre. That’s basically what
viruses do to potatoes, so, it makes it so that, uh, if you have too much virus, we’re no longer in
business because we don’t get enough yield to pay the bills. It’s that simple.
Slate 10
B-Roll
Lab footage
Green House footage
Slate 11
Animation
Slate 12
This video is for your free and unrestricted use. Funding has been provided by Cibus
Global.
###