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Limor Davidson Mund, VP Business DevelopmentToday, that question has largely been answered.
Genome editing technologies continue to advance rapidly, offering greater precision, efficiency and flexibility than ever before. Many leading seed companies have already incorporated genome editing into their R&D strategies, either through internal capabilities or collaborations with technology partners. As these tools continue to mature, I believe the industry's next competitive advantage will come from a different place.
Not from how we edit plant DNA.
But from which edits we choose to make.
For many important agronomic traits, researchers have already identified promising target genes. Yet identifying a target gene is only the first step. A single gene may contain tens of thousands of potential edits across its promoter and coding regions. While the vast majority of these edits are unlikely to influence crop performance, a small number may dramatically improve traits such as herbicide tolerance, disease resistance, yield or tolerance to environmental stresses.
The challenge is no longer simply asking, "Can we edit this gene?" Increasingly, the more important question is, "Which specific edit is most likely to deliver the desired agronomic outcome?"
I believe this represents the next frontier in plant genome editing: precision edit selection.
Just as precision genome editing transformed our ability to modify plant DNA, precision edit selection has the potential to transform how we prioritize the edits with the greatest potential for agronomic success.
This distinction is far more than a scientific nuance - it has profound business implications.
Every genome editing program requires years of investment in research, transformation, field testing, regulatory activities and product development. Advancing a suboptimal edit can consume years of development before its limitations become apparent. Conversely, evaluating a broad range of potential edits at the earliest stages of development increases confidence that resources are being invested in the candidates with the greatest probability of success. Increasing confidence in these early decisions has the potential to shorten development timelines, improve R&D productivity, reduce development risk and ultimately increase the likelihood of commercial success.
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As plant genome editing technologies continue to mature, the next frontier will be precision edit selection, the ability to identify the specific edits with the greatest potential to improve crop performance.
For seed companies, this shift could fundamentally change how future genome editing programs are designed. Rather than advancing one or two promising edits based primarily on existing knowledge or scientific intuition, developers may increasingly adopt high-throughput approaches capable of generating and evaluating tens of thousands of promoter and coding sequence edits before advancing into trait development programs.
The next wave of innovation will not come from generating more edit, it will come from identifying the few edits that truly matter.
At PlantArcBio, this industry evolution inspired the development of DIPPER™ , a platform built around the concept of precision edit selection. By enabling the high-throughput generation and evaluation of promoter and coding sequence edits for known target genes, the platform helps identify the edits with the greatest potential before significant resources are committed to downstream development.
Agriculture faces unprecedented challenges - from climate change and evolving weed resistance to the need to increase productivity while reducing environmental impact. Meeting these challenges will require continued advances in genome editing technologies. But I believe the next breakthrough will not come from editing plant DNA with even greater precision. It will come from improving the decisions that determine which edits are made in the first place.
As plant genome editing becomes increasingly integrated into crop development, the companies that master precision edit selection will be better positioned to reduce development risk, accelerate innovation and bring the next generation of improved crop varieties to farmers around the world.
Advancing Crop Traits Through Gene Discovery and RNAi Innovation in Latin America
Across Latin America, agricultural producers and seed developers face a tightening intersection of pressures. Climate volatility continues to intensify drought and heat stress, pest resistance erodes the effectiveness of conventional crop protection, and residue regulations narrow the margin for chemical intervention. At the same time, regional markets demand yield gains that hold under stress without compromising performance in stable conditions. For executives responsible for technology acquisition, the challenge lies in identifying innovation pathways that deliver measurable biological impact while remaining adaptable to diverse regulatory environments and partner capabilities.
One persistent constraint in advanced trait development has been access. Gene discovery and optimization traditionally require deep genomic expertise, long development cycles and capital-intensive infrastructure. These barriers have limited participation to a narrow group of global players, leaving many regional and mid-sized seed companies dependent on incremental improvements rather than step-change traits. As stress tolerance and pest pressure escalate, that model shows strain.
A more effective approach begins earlier in the discovery process, not by refining known genes but by identifying previously unknown ones directly in plants. High-throughput in-plant screening enables the identification of native genetic functions that influence yield, drought tolerance, heat response or herbicide tolerance without relying on existing literature. The value of this approach lies in its ability to surface traits that nature already supports, then translate them into crops with fewer trade-offs. Yield stability under drought is particularly instructive, where many existing solutions sacrifice performance in normal conditions.
Flexibility in how traits are deployed also matters. In Latin America, regulatory frameworks vary widely between transgenic, gene-edited and biological solutions. Technology platforms that support multiple paths allow partners to align scientific ambition with market realities. Gene discovery that feeds into both transgenic development and precise gene editing enables the same underlying insight to be expressed through different regulatory routes. In parallel, RNA interference offers a non-GMO, biologically based option for pest control, addressing residue concerns while supporting sustainable production goals.
Execution discipline completes the picture. For technology adoption to scale, partners must be able to engage without building entire discovery teams from scratch. Models that separate discovery, transformation support and downstream breeding allow seed companies to focus on integration and commercialization, where their expertise already lies. Regulatory responsibility typically remains with the commercial partner, simplifying onboarding while preserving compliance. This division of roles has proven particularly relevant in emerging markets, where innovation appetite is high but internal R&D depth varies.
PlantArcBio reflects this integrated yet modular approach. Its gene discovery platform identifies novel genes directly in plants, uncovering functions linked to drought tolerance, yield improvement and herbicide response that had not been previously characterized. These discoveries are licensed to seed partners, who incorporate them into elite germplasm. Beyond transgenic applications, its gene optimization engine supports precise gene editing by identifying targeted modifications within a plant’s native DNA, enabling similar trait outcomes without introducing foreign genes.
Taken together, the strength of PlantArcBio lies not in a single product but in a coherent discovery-to-deployment framework that adapts to partner needs and regulatory realities. For executives evaluating advanced trait technologies in Latin America, this combination of novel gene discovery, optionality across development paths and partner-centric execution positions PlantArcBio as a compelling benchmark for next-generation agricultural innovation.
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Company
PlantArcBio
Management
Limor Davidson Mund, VP Business Development
Description
Genome editing technologies continue to advance rapidly, offering greater precision, efficiency and flexibility than ever before. Many leading seed companies have already incorporated genome editing into their R&D strategies, either through internal capabilities or collaborations with technology partners. As these tools continue to mature, I believe the industry's next competitive advantage will come from a different place.
