Key Takeaways:
- Resurrect Bio and Corteva have signed a joint development agreement to address economically devastating diseases affecting U.S. corn production.
- The partnership follows Corteva's Series A investment in Resurrect Bio through its Corteva Catalyst platform.
- The company's FloraFold® AI and in planta screening platform identify and restore innate disease resistance genes suppressed by evolving pathogens.
- In 2025, disease reduced corn yield for American farmers by an estimated 1.287 billion bushels.
- The collaboration aims to deliver elite corn varieties that require fewer chemical inputs while maintaining performance under high disease pressure.
Resurrect Bio and Corteva Join Forces on Corn Disease Resistance
Resurrect Bio, a biotechnology company focused on crop genetic defenses, and Corteva, a global agriculture technology company, have announced a joint development agreement targeting diseases affecting corn production in the United States. The agreement follows Corteva's recent Series A investment in Resurrect Bio through its Corteva Catalyst platform.
The Science Behind Resurrect Bio's Approach
Targeting the Plant-Pathogen Interaction
Rather than optimizing gene expression or introducing new genes, Resurrect Bio's platform focuses on the evolutionary dynamic between plants and pathogens. Many modern crops retain the genetic machinery to defend themselves, but pathogens have developed proteins that specifically disable these internal defenses.
Resurrect Bio uses its FloraFold® AI and in planta rapid screening platform to model protein-to-protein interactions at the molecular level. By identifying the precise point at which a pathogen overcomes a plant's defense, the company aims to restore the plant's resistance so the pathogen can no longer bypass it.
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