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Microorganisms for testing against pests
Expansion for Development of Herbicide, Algaecide and Burrowing Shrimp Control Candidates from ISC's Successful AI and genomics-guided Bioprospecting Platform
Our resourceful team has accomplished a lot in a short time. These facilities are the next step as we make a difference in regeneration of our planet and reduction in damage from invasive species.” - Dr. Amit Vasavada
DAVIS, CA, UNITED STATES, October 2, 2024 /EINPresswire / -- Invasive Species Corporation (ISC), a Delaware public benefit corporation is expanding its laboratory operations to begin the development process of selected candidates for control of weeds, toxic algae and shrimp that are destroying oyster beds.
The company has leased a 3000 sq ft laboratory and office suite on Second Street in Davis, CA. Just one year after starting lab operations, the company has outgrown its current space at the HM Clause-UC Davis Life Sciences Incubator. We are very grateful to the Incubator managers, UCD and HM Clause for the lab space and equipment that allowed us to jump start our company operations.
The Invasive Species Corporation's discovery platform finds microorganisms that produce natural products that control invasive and other problematic pests, which we then leverage with third party partnerships and collaborations to develop products that address multibillion dollar markets in water, forestry and agriculture. By isolating microorganisms from specific habitats where pests are prevalent, utilizing advanced techniques such as next-generation sequencing and deploying AI/ML tools, ISC has already identified and prioritized promising microbes with activity against our targets: weeds, algae, and burrowing shrimp.
We are now ready to take those selected microbial candidates into the development phase. This new phase requires additional lab space and equipment and is the reason behind our expansion. The development process entails: the determination and characteristics of the natural products produced by the microorganisms that cause the pesticidal activity, the development of consistent, cost-effective fermentation processes, and formulations with sufficient shelf life, resistance to field elements such as rain and wind, and finally toxicology studies to insure mammalian, invertebrate and environmental safety.
“These facilities and resources are an important and urgent next step in the development of our company. We have a very resourceful team that has accomplished a lot in the last year and are ready to expand into the development phases. We look forward to the challenges ahead and the opportunity to make a difference in the regeneration of our planet and reduction in economic damage from invasive species and other pests,” said Amit Vasavada, Chief Science Officer.
About the Invasive Species Corporation
The Invasive Species Corporation was founded to discover, develop and deploy bio-based solutions to control invasive species. Invasive species have caused more than $1 trillion in damage, with more than $420 billion in damages annually, and are considered the second largest contributor to the earth's significant decline in biodiversity, right behind land-use alteration. ISC's goal is to regenerate our planet's environment through the application of bio-based, sustainable and earth friendly solutions, thereby preserving ecological biodiversity and reducing the impact of climate change. ISC is focused on biologicals to control invasive species in water, forestry and agriculture, including invasive mollusks, fish, toxic algae, forest pests and weeds. ISC is currently selling Zequanox® for invasive zebra and quagga mussel control, while rapidly developing a significantly lower cost, sinking formulation (Gen 2). In addition, ISC is in late-stage development of PiscamycinTM, a potent natural product against invasive carp and other fish, exclusively licensed from the US Geological Survey. The state of Washington has funded ISC to find microbial natural products to control burrowing shrimp damaging oyster beds.
Learn more about The Invasive Species Corporation at as well as on our LinkedIn .
Pam Marrone or Jim Boyd
Invasive Species Corporation
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