Genetically modified sorghum used for ethanol production doesn\u2019t fall under USDA\u2019s biotechnology regulations, but the agency may still restrict the crop as a noxious weed.<\/p>\n
Ceres Inc., a biotech company, inserted genetic information from several sources into the sorghum variety using a \u201cgene gun,\u201d avoiding the use of a soil pathogen to transfer genes.<\/p>\n
The USDA has agreed that the genetically engineered sorghum isn\u2019t a potential plant pest and thus cannot be restricted on that basis, but the agency has nonetheless considering regulating the crop as a noxious weed and \u201cwill discuss that subject in a separate communication,\u201d according to a letter recently disclosed to the public.<\/p>\n
Plant pests are viruses, bacteria or fungi that can cause disease within the plant, while noxious weeds are defined more generally as plants that damage crops or livestock.<\/p>\n
Ceres\u2019 biotech cultivar \u201cproduces greater biomass and contains more fermentable sugars than non-genetically modified sorghum checks, thereby offering a higher yield potential,\u201d the company said in a letter requesting regulatory clarity from USDA.<\/p>\n
It was transformed with synthetic genetic material and genes from mouse ear cress, which is considered a mustard weed, as well as other sorghum plants, the company said.<\/p>\n
Capital Press was unable to reach Ceres for comment.<\/p>\n
Ceres already has sorghum varieties available for sale, but the company is struggling financially, according to documents submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.<\/p>\n
In its 2014 fiscal year, the company\u2019s product sales dropped to $146,000, down nearly 70 percent from the previous year, which the company attributes to \u201cchanges and reductions in our sales incentive and promotional programs,\u201d Ceres said in a regulatory filing.<\/p>\n
Revenue from collaborative research and government grants fell by more than half, to $2.26 million, as Ceres completed various projects, the document said.<\/p>\n
Ceres\u2019 overall income was surpassed by the cost of product sales, research costs and administrative expenses, resulting in more than $29 million in losses in fiscal 2014, according to the documents.<\/p>\n
Since the company raised $65 million with an initial public offering of its stock in early 2012, its share price has dropped from about $15 to less than 25 cents.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Genetically modified sorghum used for ethanol production doesn\u2019t fall under USDA\u2019s biotechnology regulations, but the agency may still restrict the crop as a noxious weed. Ceres Inc., a biotech company, inserted genetic information from several sources into the sorghum variety using a \u201cgene gun,\u201d avoiding the use of a soil pathogen to transfer genes. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","nova_meta_subtitle":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5572],"tags":[],"supplier":[391,8400,8921],"class_list":["post-23933","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bio-based","supplier-ceres-inc","supplier-usda","supplier-u-s-securities-and-exchange-commission"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23933","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23933"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23933\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23933"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23933"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23933"},{"taxonomy":"supplier","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/supplier?post=23933"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}