genXtraits, Mendel Biotechnology and AgGene Announce Collaboration to Develop Stress-Resilient Canola Traits
SAN FRANCISCO, June 10, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- San Francisco Bay Area based biotechnology firms, genXtraits Inc. (genXtraits) and Mendel Biotechnology, Inc. (Mendel), have announced a joint collaboration with AgGene Inc. (AgGene), a Canadian plant biotechnology company focused on canola trait development. Under the terms of the agreement, AgGene has received royalty-bearing commercial licenses under genXtraits’ and Mendel’s respective intellectual property estates, enabling the development of novel variants of key regulatory genes associated with yield, stress resilience and crop performance.
The aim of the partnership is to develop and evaluate a next generation of canola trait candidates designed to improve performance under heat, cold and other production stresses. By improving stress resilience in canola, the partners aim to support more stable yields, stronger farm profitability and more efficient production in increasingly variable growing conditions.
AgGene is a Canadian start-up, founded in 2020, which has established capabilities for the development of beneficial crop traits, including through advanced molecular techniques such as gene editing. AgGene’s core expertise is in canola. The collaboration provides AgGene with access to Mendel’s portfolio of intellectual property around controlling the activity of genes in crops, developed over three decades, and genXtraits’ STRM™ platform, which enables the delivery of dominant traits that result from elevated levels of important cellular proteins. The near-term goal is to develop canola lines with improved tolerance to heat and cold stress and better performance under challenging growing conditions.
Dr. Logan Skori, CEO of AgGene, commented, “Canola breeding has delivered tremendous value to farmers, and the crop has become one of Canada’s great agricultural success stories. Farmers are making significant investments in seed and are increasingly concerned about heat, drought and temperature stress that limit yield. There is a clear need for traits that help canola perform more reliably under these conditions. This collaboration gives AgGene access to Mendel’s validated gene target portfolio and genXtraits’ precision trait-development platform, strengthening our ability to develop practical stress-resilience traits that complement modern canola breeding.”
Dr. Oliver J. Ratcliffe, CEO of Mendel and Co-Founder of genXtraits, said, “This three-way collaboration between Mendel, genXtraits and AgGene brings together highly complementary capabilities. AgGene is a strong partner for canola because of its crop development capabilities and its established investor base committed to the Canadian agritech sector. Mendel is already a shareholder of genXtraits and the two companies enjoy a close partnership, including synergistic IP and analytical capabilities that can be jointly deployed for the benefit of new collaborators. Mendel owns a valuable database of results from functional genomics studies and insights from field trials with commercial partners, which identifies key target regulator genes that, when switched on, can produce benefits such as abiotic stress tolerance, disease resistance, improved nutrient uptake, and better crop growth and quality. Critically, genXtraits brings proprietary algorithms to identify where to make gene edits in the control regions of those target regulator genes in order to dial up production of their encoded proteins to the right level. Through this precision approach, we aim to deliver stable, dominant traits with the potential to be transformative in canola breeding programs.”
About AgGene:
AgGene Inc. was founded in 2020 by a group of scientists, farmers and industry experts. AgGene is advancing practical trait innovation for the future of agriculture, with a primary focus on developing crop traits designed to improve resilience, harvest stability and seed value in Canadian agriculture. The company’s work targets key production challenges in canola, including environmental stress and pod shatter, while selected pulse programs support improved protein and ingredient quality.
For more information, please visit: https://aggene.ca/
Email: logan@aggene.ca
About Mendel:
Mendel Biotechnology, Inc. is a San Francisco Bay Area based crop biotechnology firm, which was founded by a group of leading plant scientists in 1997. The company has completed numerous past collaborations, including with Bayer Crop Science and BP, and has built a large portfolio of intellectual property around genetic trait technology with applications in crops. Mendel is actively licensing its IP for applications in a wide range of plant species, on a global basis.
For more information, please visit: https://www.mbi-holdings.com
Email: management@mbi-holdings.com
About genXtraits:
genXtraits is a genomics start-up, which was established in late 2022 by biotechnology industry veterans. The firm’s unique selling point is its STRM™ platform for the delivery of dominant genetic traits, which stem from simple gene edits that elevate the cellular dose of target regulator proteins such as transcription factors and enzymes. The company’s bold vision is to “crack the translational code” and enable a new era of precision regulation of genetic control mechanisms spanning all biological kingdoms. The STRM™ platform has been initially built and validated in crops but has broad application across biotechnology, including for the development of new drugs, gene therapy, animal agriculture, and fermentation-based production systems. The firm is currently seeking strategic investors as well as collaborators across sectors.
For more information, please visit: https://genxtraits.com/
Email: contact@genxtraits.com
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