May 21, 2004

US Company DuPont Creates New Gene Trait For Corn

The DuPont Co., the largest corn-seed producer in North America, has developed a genetic trait that would compete with technology from rival Monsanto Co. in the market for crops that are resistant to a common herbicide.

The trait, developed from bacterial enzymes, allows crops to detoxify the herbicide glyphosate, according to a study in the journal Science. Researchers found corn modified with the trait flourished in fields sprayed with six times the usual dose of glyphosate. The trait was developed by DuPont's Pioneer Hi-Bred International unit and Maxygen Inc.'s Verdia unit.

Wilmington-based DuPont will own the rights to market the trait in corn, soybeans and canola, spokeswoman Courtney Chabot-Dreyer said. Corn accounts for more than 70 percent of DuPont's $2 billion in annual seed sales, including those that are not gene-altered. The trait, which is being tested in corn fields and should be available between 2008 and 2010, would compete with Monsanto's Round-Up Ready seed technology.

"We do license a similar trait from Monsanto," Chabot-Dreyer said. "This is our own proprietary trait, which is exciting because it offers farmers more choices."