Yield10 Bioscience

Yield10 Bioscience is an agricultural biotechnology company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The business was established in 1992 as Metabolix, Inc., following research conducted at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology into the biological production of polyhydroxyalkanoates, or PHAs. Its founding work involved Oliver Peoples and Anthony Sinskey, who investigated ways to engineer plants and microorganisms to produce biodegradable polymers. The company initially applied its biotechnology platform to sustainable materials, chemicals, plastics, and energy-related opportunities. A central part of Metabolix’s early technology program involved polyhydroxybutyrate, or PHB, a member of the PHA family of biodegradable biopolymers. Researchers studied the introduction and expression of relevant metabolic pathways in crops and other biological systems. The company worked with plants including switchgrass, camelina, sugarcane, and tobacco. In 2009, it completed a field trial in which tobacco plants produced PHA. It also pursued the use of PHB-containing switchgrass as a source of renewable chemicals and fuel-related biomass, supported in part by a United States Department of Energy ARPA-E grant awarded in 2011. A later ARPA-E program supported work on improving biofuel productivity in camelina. The company changed direction and identity as its crop-improvement research became the principal focus of the business. In early 2017, Metabolix became Yield10 Bioscience. Under the new name, the company concentrated on technologies intended to increase yield and improve traits in oilseed and other crops, including camelina, canola, soybean, and potentially major C3 crops such as wheat and rice. Its research portfolio included gene-trait platforms associated with photosynthetic efficiency, metabolic engineering, and crop yield. It also began developing CRISPR/Cas9-based approaches to alter crop genetics and obtain desired phenotypes. Yield10’s C3 platform targeted the common photosynthetic pathway used by many commercially important crops. In results announced in 2019 from a 2018 field test, the company reported that its C3003 trait was associated with an 11 percent increase in seed yield in canola relative to control plants. The company also reported that the trait met its objectives in soybean and produced an increase in camelina. Its C4 research examined more complex photosynthetic systems associated with crops such as corn and sugarcane; in 2018, the company reported encouraging growth-chamber results for a C3004 trait in camelina lines. The company’s research relationships included a non-exclusive license for CRISPR-Cas9 research technology from Corteva Agriscience and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard in 2018. Yield10 also worked with the University of Missouri on exclusive worldwide licenses for advanced oilseed-crop technologies, expanding that relationship in 2019 to include an additional gene target. A separate 2018 research license from Forage Genetics International, a Land O’Lakes subsidiary, supported work on novel traits in forage sorghum. Alongside crop-yield programs, Yield10 pursued applications for PHA-based biomaterials. In 2019, it filed a United States patent application concerning lower-cost production of PHA-based materials for uses including water treatment and agricultural applications intended to preserve camelina seed viability and vigor. The company’s crop platform also included camelina oilseed development and work supported through a United States Department of Energy program. In 2024, Yield10 Bioscience filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. The filing reported a range of approximately $1 million to $10 million for both assets and liabilities. This event represents the latest major publicly described development in the company’s available reference history and leaves its continuing operating status unclear.

Yield10 Bioscience originated as Metabolix, Inc., a biotechnology company founded in 1992 with assistance from a licensing agreement with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Its founding researchers, Oliver Peoples and Anthony Sinskey, had worked at MIT on the biological engineering of polyhydroxyalkanoate production in plants and bacteria. These biodegradable polymers, particularly polyhydroxybutyrate, formed the basis of the company’s early technology and commercial ambitions. During its Metabolix period, the company presented its work as a sustainable alternative for parts of the plastics, chemicals, and energy industries. Its biological systems research examined whether crops and microorganisms could manufacture useful polymers and related chemical feedstocks. The company investigated several plants, including switchgrass, camelina, sugarcane, and tobacco. A 2009 tobacco field trial demonstrated production of PHA in a crop. Metabolix subsequently pursued switchgrass capable of producing PHB and studied thermal conversion of PHB-containing biomass into crotonic acid and a residual fraction with greater density for biofuel production. This work received a $6 million grant in 2011. In 2012, the company also obtained ARPA-E support for work intended to improve biofuel productivity in camelina. The business later shifted toward crop improvement. In early 2017, Metabolix adopted the Yield10 Bioscience name, reflecting the increased importance of its crop research activities. The renamed company focused on genetic and metabolic approaches to increasing yield in crops, especially oilseeds. Camelina became an important research subject, while the broader platform also addressed canola, soybean, switchgrass, tobacco, sugarcane, and forage sorghum. One major research direction concerned photosynthesis. Yield10’s C3 platform targeted the common photosynthetic pathway used by many crops grown for food and industrial purposes, including wheat, canola, soybean, and rice. The company’s C3003 gene trait was tested in the field, and in 2019 Yield10 reported that 2018 trials showed an 11 percent seed-yield increase in canola compared with control plants. It also reported that C3003 met its objectives in soybean and produced an increase in camelina. A separate C4 platform addressed the more complex photosynthetic systems found in crops such as corn and sugarcane. In 2018, the company described positive growth-chamber results for its C3004 trait in camelina lines. Yield10 expanded its molecular-breeding capabilities through CRISPR/Cas9 research. In 2018, it obtained non-exclusive research licenses associated with CRISPR-Cas9 from Corteva Agriscience and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. The company also reported that the United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service had issued a nonregulated-status letter for a camelina line in which CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing disrupted a gene and produced a desired phenotype. Licensing and research partnerships were another part of the company’s strategy. Yield10 exercised an option with the University of Missouri to obtain exclusive worldwide licenses to advanced oilseed-crop technologies, and the relationship was expanded in 2019 to cover an additional gene target. In 2018, the company also received a non-exclusive research license from Forage Genetics International, a Land O’Lakes subsidiary, to study novel traits in forage sorghum as a means of improving biomass yield. The company retained an interest in biomaterials as well as crop productivity. In 2019, it filed a United States patent application for technology intended to reduce the cost of producing PHA-based biomaterials. Described applications included water treatment, particularly removal of nitrogen and phosphates, and agricultural uses related to maintaining camelina seed viability and vigor. In 2024, Yield10 Bioscience filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The filing placed both its assets and liabilities within an estimated range of $1 million to $10 million. The available reference material does not establish the final outcome of the restructuring or whether the company continued operating afterward, so its present status is recorded as unknown.

• 2024

  Chapter 11 filing

  [1]Yield10 Bioscienceen.wikipedia.org

  Yield10 Bioscience filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, reporting assets and liabilities between $1 million and $10 million.

• 2019

  C3003 field-test results announced

  [1]Yield10 Bioscienceen.wikipedia.org

  The company reported an 11 percent increase in canola seed yield for C3003 compared with controls in a 2018 field test, along with reported results in soybean and camelina.

• 2018

  CRISPR research licensing

  [1]Yield10 Bioscienceen.wikipedia.org

  Yield10 received non-exclusive research licenses associated with CRISPR-Cas9 technology from Corteva Agriscience and the Broad Institute.

• 2017

  Rebrand to Yield10 Bioscience

  [1]Yield10 Bioscienceen.wikipedia.org

  Metabolix became Yield10 Bioscience as crop-yield research became the company’s principal strategic focus.

• 2012

  ARPA-E camelina research grant

  [1]Yield10 Bioscienceen.wikipedia.org

  Metabolix obtained ARPA-E support for improving biofuel productivity in camelina.

• 2011

  Switchgrass PHB grant

  [1]Yield10 Bioscienceen.wikipedia.org

  The company received a $6 million grant for PHB-producing switchgrass and conversion of the resulting biomass into chemical and fuel-related products.

• 2009

  PHA tobacco field trial

  [1]Yield10 Bioscienceen.wikipedia.org

  Metabolix completed a field trial producing PHA in tobacco plants.

• 1992

  Metabolix is founded

  [1]Yield10 Bioscienceen.wikipedia.org

  Metabolix, Inc. was founded with MIT-related licensing support by Oliver Peoples and Anthony Sinskey to develop biological production of PHAs in plants and bacteria.

Yield10 positioned itself as an agricultural biotechnology company developing genetic, metabolic, and photosynthetic technologies to increase crop productivity, improve oilseed traits, and support food security. Its earlier Metabolix identity emphasized biodegradable polymers and sustainable materials before the business shifted toward crop-yield research.

• Biopolymer biotechnology · 1992

  PHB and PHA plant-production platform

  The company’s early platform focused on engineering plants and microorganisms to produce polyhydroxyalkanoates, especially polyhydroxybutyrate. Research examined crops such as tobacco, switchgrass, camelina, and sugarcane as biological production systems for biodegradable polymers and related chemical feedstocks. The platform also supported investigations into converting polymer-containing biomass into useful chemicals and fuel-related materials.

• C3 photosynthesis crop trait · 2018

  C3003

  C3003 was a Yield10 gene trait developed for crops using the C3 photosynthetic pathway. The company tested the trait in canola, soybean, and camelina. In results announced in 2019 from a 2018 field trial, Yield10 reported an 11 percent canola seed-yield increase relative to control plants, said that the trait met objectives in soybean, and reported increased yield in camelina.

• C4 photosynthesis crop trait · 2018

  C3004

  C3004 was part of Yield10’s research into C4 photosynthesis, a more complex photosynthetic system associated with crops such as corn and sugarcane. The company studied the trait in camelina lines and reported promising results from growth-chamber experiments in 2018. The available material does not establish commercial launch or broad field deployment.

• Gene-editing technology · 2018

  CRISPR/Cas9 crop-editing platform

  Yield10 developed CRISPR/Cas9-enabled approaches for changing crop genes and producing useful phenotypes. Its camelina research included disruption of a gene through CRISPR/Cas9, after which USDA-APHIS Biotechnology Regulatory Services issued a letter acknowledging nonregulated status for the resulting line. The platform was supported by non-exclusive research licenses involving Corteva Agriscience and the Broad Institute.

• Biomaterials · 2019

  PHA-based biomaterials

  Yield10 pursued lower-cost production methods for PHA-based biomaterials after shifting its main identity toward crop biotechnology. A 2019 United States patent application described potential uses including water treatment for removing nitrogen and phosphates, as well as agricultural applications intended to preserve the viability and vigor of camelina seed.

• 2024

  Chapter 11 bankruptcy protectionOther

  Background

  The company entered bankruptcy proceedings while its later operating condition was unclear.

  Action taken

  Yield10 Bioscience filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code.

  Aftermath

  The filing listed assets and liabilities between $1 million and $10 million. The available reference does not establish the final restructuring outcome.

  Estimated assets and liabilities. $1 million to $10 million (2024 bankruptcy filing)

  Source

• 2017

  Shift from Metabolix to Yield10 BioscienceStrategy

  Background

  The company’s crop research program became more central than its earlier sustainable plastics, chemicals, and energy activities.

  Action taken

  Metabolix adopted the Yield10 Bioscience name and emphasized crop-yield improvement technologies.

  Aftermath

  The renamed company focused on oilseed crops, photosynthetic traits, metabolic engineering, and gene editing.

  Source

1. 1Yield10 Bioscienceen.wikipedia.org