| Former type | Public (NASDAQ: DNAP) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Biotechnology |
| Defunct | 2002 |
DNA Plant Technology was an early pioneer in applying transgenic biotechnology to problems in agriculture. The company was founded in Cinnamonson, New Jersey. In 1994, their headquarters moved to Oakland, California.[1] Some of the plants and products they developed included Vine sweet mini peppers, the Fish tomato and Y1 Tobacco.
In the mid 1980s, DNAP attempted to use somaclonal variation with corn to produce buttery-tasting popcorn without the need to add butter.[2] In 1993, DNAP purchased the Freshworld premium fruit and vegetable brand from Du Pont for a mixture of shares, cash and intellectual rights valued at over $30 million.[3]
In 2002, Bionova shut down DNA Plant Technology.[4]
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In 1991, DNA Plant Technology applied for and were granted permission to conduct a field test permit for their transgenic fish tomato product (tomato; antifreeze gene; staphylococcal Protein A) from the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.[5] This product remains controversial[6] in the history of biotechnology, because an antifreeze gene isolated from an arctic flounder was transgenically inserted into a tomato in an attempt to create a frost-tolerant tomato. Although this product was tested in a greenhouse, and may have been tested in the field, it was never commercialized.
In 1995, DNA Plant Technology unveiled a second generation of a different transgenic tomato and served it at a meeting of its shareholders.[7] That same year, DNA Plant Technology sold its wholly owned subsidiary called to Frost Technology Corporation to Simplot.[8]
While working for DNA Plant Technology, the scientists Richard A. Jorgensen and Carolyn Napoli made discoveries about post transcriptional gene silencing that went on to form the basis of a number of U.S. patents on gene regulation and crop manipulation. Key experiments in the control of plant transgene expression were performed by Jorgensen after he joined DNA Plant Technology corporation / Advanced Genetic Sciences, Inc., including the modification of flower color in ornamental plants. This research led to the discovery of gene silencing when an extra copy of a key gene yielded white rather than blue flowers.[9]
In the 1990s, the FDA targeted DNA Plant Technology, charging that it had illegally smuggled Y1 Tobacco seeds out of the United States. The U.S. Justice Department charged DNA Plant Technology with one misdemeanor count of conspiracy to violate the Tobacco Seed Export law, prohibiting the export of tobacco seeds without a permit (a law which was repealed in 1991).[1] [10] DNA Plant Technology pled guilty in 1998 and agreed to cooperate with further investigations of Brown & Williamson. However, the U.S. Supreme Court eventually ruled in March 2000 that the FDA did not have the authority to regulate tobacco as a drug.[11]