Danforth Technology Center launches gene-editing startup Spearhead Bio to solve ‘a major obstacle with CRISPR’

The technology “has a clear value to improving the efficiency and speed” of gene editing, according to DTC, a subsidiary of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in St. Louis, Missouri.

At the tool’s core is Transposase Assisted Homology Independent Targeted Insertion (TAHITI) technology, which enables faster and more controlled introduction of genes into both transgenic and non-transgenic crops.

CRISPR is like scissors, says Spearhead Bio founder and chief science officer Keith Slotkin, who also invented TAHITI. It’s good at excising or knocking out genes, but if you want to put those genes elsewhere, it’s very difficult to do so with precision.

TAHITI enables genetic material—what Slotkin calls “the transposable elements”—to be inserted at a very specific location in the genome. Not only is this necessary for overall gene expression and function, it also allows for plants that could be more resistant to disease and/or pests, and producer greater yields.

Read the full story from AgFunder News!