Monsanto sees grass roots at Duke

GrassRoots Biotechnology, a plant genetics research firm spun-out of Duke University, has been acquired by agricultural biotech conglomerate Monsanto.

Terms of the deal have not been disclosed, although Monsanto said that all research employees currently working at GrassRoots will be offered new positions in the company.

GrassRoots was originally spun-out from Duke in May 2007, commercialising the plant DNA research being conducted by professor Philip Benfey, also a director at the Duke Center for Systems Biology.

The acquisition is a logical progression of the relationship between GrassRoots and Monsanto after the two firms signed a technology alliance and licence agreement in 2009. Under the terms of the agreement, the two firms shared information on the discovery of gene promoters – the “on and off switches” of plant genetic material which allows for the genetic manipulation of crops.

In a statement, Monsanto said: “After a successful multi-year collaboration, GrassRoots Biotechnology has been acquired by Monsanto. GrassRoots focused on gene expression and agricultural technologies that will complement Monsanto’s biotechnology research and other development work.”