Naturally Occurring Herbicide Partnerships

Oxford-based agricultural biotech company Moa Technology has entered a strategic partnership with Italian natural products firm NAICONS to accelerate the discovery of next-generation bioherbicides. This collaboration leverages Moa's high-throughput screening technology to evaluate 70,000 microbial extracts from NAICONS' specialized library. The aim is to identify naturally derived compounds that could effectively control resistant weeds while being environmentally safe.

Research for the next-generation bioherbicides addresses a critical agricultural challenge, as herbicide-resistant weeds currently cause billions in annual crop losses globally. There are 273 weed species now resistant to conventional treatments.

Moa brings proven discovery capabilities to the partnership, having already identified 70 novel herbicide candidates through its platform, three of which have shown promising results in international field trials. NAICONS contributes its extensive collection of actinomycete bacteria strains, which have yielded over 150,000 distinct molecules but have never before been screened for herbicidal potential.

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