Agracetus
Encyclopedia
The Agracetus Campus of Monsanto Company is the world's largest soybean
transformation
laboratory. It has over 21,700 employees worldwide, and an annual revenue
of USD
$11.365 billion reported for 2008.
The first successful genetically engineered
crop ever produced for the commercial market was the Roundup Ready soybean, produced at Agracetus in 1991, and was one of fourteen successful transformation events. Scientists there used gold bead
gene transfer technology coupled with the β-Glucuronidase reporter gene to produce the plant. The actual gun that shot the gold beads and produced the genetic modifications is now owned by the Smithsonian museum in Washington, DC.
Every Roundup Ready soybean in the world has a relative which was genetically transformed at Agracetus. 80% of the world's soybeans are Roundup Ready.
Agracetus was founded in 1981 as Cetus
company. Acquired by Monsanto in 1996, the research and development facility is located 8 miles (13 km) west of Madison in the city of Middleton, Wisconsin
on 4.5 acres (18,210.9 m²). The site has 100000 square feet (9,290.3 m²) of research space, 35000 square feet (3,251.6 m²) of greenhouse space, about 75 employees, and ten laboratories. Output of genetically modified soy plants is many thousands of transformation events per year.
Genetically modified cotton and genetically modified rice is also an important effort at Agracetus.
Soybean
The soybean or soya bean is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean which has numerous uses...
transformation
Transformation (genetics)
In molecular biology transformation is the genetic alteration of a cell resulting from the direct uptake, incorporation and expression of exogenous genetic material from its surroundings and taken up through the cell membrane. Transformation occurs naturally in some species of bacteria, but it can...
laboratory. It has over 21,700 employees worldwide, and an annual revenue
Revenue
In business, revenue is income that a company receives from its normal business activities, usually from the sale of goods and services to customers. In many countries, such as the United Kingdom, revenue is referred to as turnover....
of USD
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
$11.365 billion reported for 2008.
The first successful genetically engineered
Genetic engineering
Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification, is the direct human manipulation of an organism's genome using modern DNA technology. It involves the introduction of foreign DNA or synthetic genes into the organism of interest...
crop ever produced for the commercial market was the Roundup Ready soybean, produced at Agracetus in 1991, and was one of fourteen successful transformation events. Scientists there used gold bead
Gene gun
A gene gun or a biolistic particle delivery system, originally designed for plant transformation, is a device for injecting cells with genetic information. The payload is an elemental particle of a heavy metal coated with plasmid DNA...
gene transfer technology coupled with the β-Glucuronidase reporter gene to produce the plant. The actual gun that shot the gold beads and produced the genetic modifications is now owned by the Smithsonian museum in Washington, DC.
Every Roundup Ready soybean in the world has a relative which was genetically transformed at Agracetus. 80% of the world's soybeans are Roundup Ready.
Agracetus was founded in 1981 as Cetus
Cetus
Cetus is a constellation. Its name refers to Cetus, a sea monster in Greek mythology, although it is often called 'the whale' today. Cetus is located in the region of the sky that contains other water-related constellations such as Aquarius, Pisces, and Eridanus.-Ecliptic:Although Cetus is not...
company. Acquired by Monsanto in 1996, the research and development facility is located 8 miles (13 km) west of Madison in the city of Middleton, Wisconsin
Middleton, Wisconsin
Middleton is a city in Dane County, Wisconsin, United States. It is a western suburb of the state capital, Madison but it was actually founded before Madison. It got its name from Middletown, Connecticut; the "w" being dropped was due to a paper work error made by long time historian Edward Kromrey...
on 4.5 acres (18,210.9 m²). The site has 100000 square feet (9,290.3 m²) of research space, 35000 square feet (3,251.6 m²) of greenhouse space, about 75 employees, and ten laboratories. Output of genetically modified soy plants is many thousands of transformation events per year.
Genetically modified cotton and genetically modified rice is also an important effort at Agracetus.