03 07 08 | St. Louis Post-Dispatch article by Rachel Melcer

Monsanto, Divergence Crack Genetic Code of Soybean Pest

Monsanto Inc. and Divergence Inc., both based in Creve Coeur, said Thursday that they have cracked the genetic code of a soybean pest that causes $1 billion worth of crop loss in the United States each year.

The companies said they completed a draft sequence of the genome of the soybean
cyst nematode, which is the most economically significant pest for U.S. soybean
production. The nematode invades and drains nutrients from soybean roots,
reducing yield.

The genome sequence helps scientists understand how the pest functions and
grows, providing insight into how to combat it.

It "is a tremendous step forward in our process of developing a product to help
farmers protect their soybean crops against a devastating pest," said Steve
Padgette, Monsanto's vice president of biotechnology.

Monsanto in 2004 partnered with Divergence, a startup that recently graduated
from the Nidus Center for Scientific Enterprise business incubator.

The draft sequence will be made available to the public. The companies are
patenting certain discoveries made through the genome sequence. But they said
opening it up to the academic community will spur additional research and
innovation.

Published in the Business section of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Friday, March 7, 2008.
© 2008, St. Louis Post-Dispatch. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission.
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