Research Triangle Park North Carolina, USA
February 26, 2026

Meiogenix, Inc., a biotechnology company pioneering novel breeding technologies through targeted recombination to unlock the full genetic potential of crops, today announced new data showing a 10-fold increase in meiotic recombination efficiency in corn. Conducted jointly by Cornell University, University of Hamburg, and Meiogenix, this study used Meiogenix’s technology platform to select and activate “cold” recombination regions in plant genomes that are normally inaccessible to breeders.

“Plant breeders are on the front lines of every challenge our industry faces, from climate volatility to productivity and quality,” said Ricardo Garcia de Alba, Chief Executive Officer of Meiogenix. “This 10-fold gain in recombination can help unlock natural genetic diversity in crops that was previously off‑limits. It helps seed and crop‑input companies design better products faster, and helps farmers get hybrids that are more resilient, reliable, and better aligned with the demands of modern agriculture.”

Conventional breeding practices rely on genetic diversity generated by meiotic recombination, a process that is largely random, infrequent, and concentrated to a limited portion of the genome. Engineering targeted meiotic recombination can help overcome these constraints by increasing the frequency of recombination events at desired loci, thereby accelerating the assembly of elite trait combinations.

This announcement follows Meiogenix’s recently published peer‑reviewed report in Frontiers in Plant Science that demonstrated dCas9‑SPO11‑1 fusion can locally
stimulate meiotic recombination in rice. As two of the most important food crops, these findings support a multi‑crop, targeted recombination platform aimed at efficiently assembling desired trait combinations in major crops critical to meet global food, feed and fuel demand.

“The ability to combine multiple desirable traits in elite lines, whether through breeding or gene editing, is ultimately limited by recombination. Increasing crossovers at precise genomic locations expands the range of trait combinations that can be generated.” said Dr. Gaganpreet Sidhu, Chief Technology Officer at Meiogenix. 

First-of-its-Kind Precision Breeding Technology

Meiogenix’s platform uses a dCas9‑SPO11‑1 based system guided to specific genomic sites to increase the frequency of crossovers, redirecting a process that already exists in the plants. Meiogenix technology does not edit individual genes; instead, it boosts natural recombination where breeders need it most and is designed to complement other tools like marker‑assisted selection, genomic selection, and gene editing.

“Important traits can be inherited together with undesirable ones because some chromosome regions rarely recombine,” said Olga Zimina, a postdoctoral associate at Cornell University who led the work in Dr. Wojtek Pawlowski’s laboratory. “Our work provides a way to keep beneficial traits together while breaking unwanted linkages. This technology can be of great benefit for breeders resulting in better crop varieties.”

About Meiogenix
Meiogenix, Inc. is a biotechnology company developing AI-powered precision breeding technologies that target recombination to increase access to natural genetic diversity of crops and accelerate the development of next‑generation varieties. By precisely stimulating natural meiotic recombination, Meiogenix helps plant breeders unlock hard‑to‑access genomic regions and assemble complex traits more efficiently across major crops.

Website: http://www.meiogenix.com/

Published: February 26, 2026