Vilmorin & Cie - Annual report 2017-2018

1 ANNUAL REPORT Vilmorin & Cie 39 2017-2018 Vilmorin & Cie is currently working to develop innovative, comprehensive solutions for farmers to manage their crops, from sowing to harvesting, and best exploiting the potential of each seed variety. They include several areas of expertise: genetics, agronomy, technologies (for example data sensors) and data analysis. Examples of tools are presented in chapter 4, on page 108. Vilmorin & Cie’s research focuses Permanently enriching genetic resources* In order to create new varieties, research is first and foremost dependent on the diversity of plants. Access to genetic resources* is therefore fundamental for sustainable seed production. Vilmorin & Cie has a very large and diversified collection of varieties, developed over its 275 years history. Progress in plant breeding* is dependent on the capacity to enrich this heritage, extending it through networks, and is guaranteed by taking full advantage of breeders’* know-how, the opening or modernization of research centers and a steadfast policy in terms of external growth and partnerships. Accelerating the breeding process by using plant biotechnology* Breeders* today still use the same methods that have been improved over time to domesticate wild plants, which are the essence of today's food. They observe plants, select those that best match the desired qualities, and cross them. Field experimentation is an essential step in assessing new varieties under real conditions. However, today, new breeding* methods and techniques – plant biotechnology* – allow them to develop new plants more quickly and efficiently, by accurately describing plants and predicting some of their characteristics. Breeders* thus save valuable time by identifying plants of interest more effectively and earlier depending on their breeding* objectives. Thanks to their use, over a varietal creation cycle that requires 7 to 10 years, 2 to 3 years of development are on average saved, guaranteeing a quicker response of research to changes in demand. For Vilmorin & Cie, which has made the acceleration of its plant breeding cycle a major focus of its research strategy, mastering plant biotechnology* therefore plays a major role. Today representing 14% of the research budget, the investment allocated to biotechnology* will increase in the coming years, while taking into account the need to preserve the company's financial profile. Plant biotechnology* today includes a wide range of tools that have been considerably extended over several decades (molecular marking*, cellular biology, etc.). This palette of tools also includes new techniques for plant improvement. The generic term “New Breeding Techniques” (NBT) covers a number of biotechnologies* applied to plants. These have been developed since the late 1990s on the basis of pre-existing techniques. Among these techniques, which are very diverse, genome* editing techniques are particularly promising, as they can make it possible, in a very precise and effective way using “molecular scissors”, to intervene on the plant's genome* in order to silence or modify the expression of one or more genes, without adding foreign DNA. For seed companies, these new techniques represent complementary tools capable of providing new solutions, in some cases where plant improvement is difficult to achieve, in terms of time and costs. They expand the possibilities for using genetic diversity with even greater precision, but without fundamentally changing the breeder's* way of working. In this respect, at the beginning of fiscal year 2018-2019, Vilmorin & Cie signed an agreement enabling it to broaden its range of technologies, by accessing the CRISPR genome editing technique*, in order to use it in all its breeding* work, both for Vegetable Seeds and Field Seeds. For this purpose, Vilmorin & Cie signed an agreement with the Broad Institute of MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and Harvard biomedical and genomics* research center located in Cambridge in the United States. This agreement grants Vilmorin & Cie access to the techniques known as CRISPR-Cpf1; it covers uses both for purposes of research and for potential commercial applications. By completing the range of technologies at its disposal, Vilmorin & Cie will now be able to increase the efficiency of its research and its capacity to develop varieties that are capable of meeting tomorrow’s agricultural challenges. 1.6. Strategy and perspectives PRESENTATION of Vilmorin & Cie Organization of Vilmorin & Cie’s research Group Scientific Affairs and Innovation Department Intelligence Pooling of support in expertise Research leadership Division Research Department Pooling of technological resources Technological innovation (new protocols, technology tests) Business Unit/Company Product innovation Implementation of plant breeding processes Use of routine technologies Risk Maturity