1. Biotechnology 101 Wendy Srnic,
Director Integrated Product Characterization & Development

2. DUPONT’S KEY FOCUS AREAS
Only DuPont can partner with growers acre by acre to answer these demands. Everything we do is about solving one problem – a complex problem that has grown and changed with the needs of our growing world –
CROP PRODUCTIVITY
“We put a great emphasis in managing our grain on a much more micro level – so looking not on a field by field basis but more on an acre by acre and even in some cases on a sub-acre level.”
- DuPont Customer
BIOTECH
BREEDING
CRISPR
SEED APPLIED
TECHNOLOGY
CROP PROTECTION
DIGITAL SOLUTIONS
AGRONOMIC SOLUTIONS
DUPONT’S
KEY FOCUS AREAS

3. Humans have been genetically modifying crops for >10,000 years!
Source: GMO Answers

4. What are GMOs?
Biotechnology in plant agriculture has come to mean the process of intentionally making a copy of a gene for a desired trait from one plant or organism and using it in another plant.
What Solution are we seeking?
Which genes or traits to use?
What is the best ‘tool’ to use?
Conventional Breeding?
Advanced Breeding?
Biotechnology?
Source:

5. Leveraging Mother Nature’s Toolbox
How much of a seed does plant biotechnology change?
To put it into perspective, in an average meal, you eat around 150,000 km (or more than 93,000 miles) of DNA, while the genes inserted into a plant using biotechnology would represent just a handful of genes in that 150,000 km long string.
Source:

6. Rigorous Testing to Develop into a Commercial Product
Genetics
‘Clean’ insertion
No Disruption
No residual DNA
Efficacy
Works in the target plant as intended
Agronomics
Grows, performs, and yields in the field as intended
Robustness
Performs in target environments
Stress
Non-stress
Durability
Resistance Development Strategy
Fact
The research and development required to deliver a biotech crop from the testing lab to a farmer’s field will, on average, take more than 13 years and $136 million dollars. During this period the process is overseen by government regulatory bodies that make the final decision on when a new biotech crop can be marketed to farmers.
Fact
For every one trait that is brought to market, more than 6,000 others are screened and tested.
Source:

7. Example Characterization Process—Insect Trait
Lead Characterization
Durability Assessment
Lead Component Selection – Field (Research, pre-regulatory)
Result: Lead Component Identified, balanced for agronomics, efficacy, and durability
Component selection and advancement based on agronomic, efficacy, and durability data generated in parallel.
We select events in the context of elite germplasm AND environments, initially and throughout

8. Integrating the trait into our high quality genetics to deliver value
Drought tolerance example:
100% A
50%:50%
25%:75%
12.5%:87.5%
6.75%:93.25%
3.38%:96.62%
Tolerant to drought
Lower quality plant
Trait Donor Parent
Sensitive to drought
Higher quality plant
GOAL
100% high quality plant +
drought tolerance
High Quality Parent
100% B
Conventional Breeding Process (backcrossing)
Goal is to maximize the genetics of the high quality parent, while only maintaining the new trait from the other parent
Process takes about 7-8 cycles, completed in ~2 years