b"Bridging gap and you will see that nature already has the it all in built. ES: OF AT LEAST ONE OF THE CROPS YOU USE, GM VARIETIES ARE AVAILABLE (SOYBEAN). IF ALLOWED, WOULD YOU PREFER TO USE THOSE?GS:We are working only on non-GMO soybean, which is mainly assigned for human consumption and feed and there is ample room for improving the compo-sition of these crops. GMO soybean was bred mainly for the feed and biodiesel industry requirements, focusing on dis-ease resistance and yield performance. The protein content has experienced a reduction over the years (in the last 30 years) and we can improve that by increasing the protein content and yield and also grow soya to meet the require-ments of different applications. The soy- Equinom's non-GM soy and some of its products. (Photo: Equinom)bean required for natto application will be different from the soybean used for soymilk. We have developed an applica-tion-focused project, breeding soybean varieties for the different industries. ES: WHAT ARE YOUR LINKS TOFor years, the industry (especially the THE PLANT BREEDING AND SEED SECTOR? breeding industry) put its focus on cropsGS:We are working with universities and seed banks to collect some of the rare andfor feed and biodiesel needs, and theexotic lines we have, but also working on licensing commercial lines for the crosshuman food was neglected.breeding. We are a member of the plant breeding programs and industry, but as we have learnt, it seems that we are the only one who focuses is activities on breeding the seeds and grains for human consumption. We developed algorithms and tools that are specific to our needs, because this information does not exist and has not been investigated in the past. ES: HOW DO YOU MAKE SURE THAT PLANT BREEDERS ARE AWARE OF YOUR NEEDS?GS:We are a plant breeding company and we have several breeders in the com-pany that run the different programs. We have combined their knowledge, skill and capabilities with our bioinformatic team to create a strong breeding program that is unique to us. We also have food engi-neering people who focus on the protein development. We are the only seed-breed-ing company in the world, that offers all these functions in one company. ES: AMONG THE CROPS THAT YOU ARE CURRENTLY NOT USING, ARE THERE ANY CROPS THAT WITH SOME GENETIC IMPROVEMENT COULD SATISFYEquinom product profiler. (Photo: Equinom)YOUR NEEDS?EUROPEAN-SEED.COMIEUROPEAN SEED I 37"