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I see you haven’t made it past 2nd grade if that’s all you can come up with.
<< Sometimes there is more buying than selling and sometimes it’s the opposite… >>
You try to make it sound like selling and buying are about the same, but that is FAR from the truth.
For the past 2 months, EVERY week has had more SELLING than buying:
Week of Mar 4 - 15.3 MILLION SELLS, 11.8 million buys
Week of Mar 11 - 2.5 MILLION SELLS, 1.7 million buys
Week of Mar 18 - 1.7 MILLION SELLS, 0.6 million buys
Week of Mar 25 - 1.02 MILLION SELLS, 0.99 million buys
Week of Apr 1 - 7.4 MILLION SELLS, 2.5 million buys
Week of Apr 8 - 3.2 MILLION SELLS, 2.2 million buys
Week of Apr 15 - 1.9 MILLION SELLS, 0.7 millions buys
Week of Apr 22 (this week so far) - 2.5 MILLION SELLS, 1.4 million buys
I wasn’t implying they shipped cocoons over. The point was the small number of eggs/worms/cocoons/moths that were needed to produce the amount of cocoons shown in the racks. They could have shipped the eggs from one female over and produced those cocoons using her egg’s offspring. I expected they would have shipped far more eggs over than what they appear to have to start the trials and production with. Not using enough female lines is how you end up getting too inbred which is one of the problems they had with the previous DS worms.
As far as your other calculations, I would hope the goal is to raise far more than one ton of raw silk per batch. Why slowly ramp up when you can take a major step up? Can’t afford to pay KT’s salary with that tiny bit of production. Also, we don’t know if KT/GSS are referring to tons of silk cocoons or tons of raw silk when they speak of metric ton production. Takes about 8 tons of cocoons to produce a ton of raw silk.
We’ll look who popped his head out from under the porch…lol
<< it could very well be Kim selling personal shares to help fund the business… >>
The only thing the Douchebag CEO is funding is himself.
“Boy, ain’t you a genius.”
Girl, you ain’t…
Jealmc, thanks for your clarification of breeding practices. Some new information for me.
I am pretty sure that KBLB did not take cocoons over to Vietnam. Instead, they probably took over eggs that had been cooled for transportation. The timing on cocoons would just be all-but-impossible and handling issues are worse.
That means the cocoons photographed are the first generation of BAM-1 parental lines produced in Vietnam, not cocoons from HQ sent over to produce eggs for the first generation.
It’s really hard to get a good count of the actual number of cocoons on the racks: some layers have a bunch, others very few. On the rack in the center of the pictures I counted around 560 cocoons. If we multiply that by 11, that gives a count of 6,160. If we assume there were four batches of the same size, that means a total of 24,640.
It takes a breeding pool of 40,000 to 50,000 to sustain the breeding pool and produce enough eggs for metric ton production. Only about 250 males and 250 females are needed to produce those eggs. Let’s make a conservative estimate and say that 2000 silkworms will be set aside from this generation to produce the eggs for the next one. The remainder can be cross-bred for silk.
That implies 22,640 silkworms from the current crop could be cross-bred. That should produce about 2.2 million eggs. In that case, the first crop of BAM-1 silk should be about half a metric ton. This will require about 45 days for production, meaning June 10th or so for the first half-ton of BAM-1 DS.
YMMV.
Boy, ain’t you a genius.
Yes..There is buying and selling going on…that isn’t exactly news…
Sometimes there is more buying than selling and sometimes it’s the opposite…no kidding…lol
The last 6 months of pr’s has brought a lot of good news…good progress…current investors understand that…but it hasn’t been the kind of news that will entice many new investors to jump on board…but that news is coming…
Until then, yea, there will be buying and selling as usual…
Wow
I think the average female lays between 200 to 300 eggs, not 500. Whether or not the BAM-1 parent strains produce a larger number, it’s hard to say.
These numbers should always be treated as approximations. Not every female will produce viable eggs and they don’t all lay the same number of eggs.
I’ve used 300 eggs/female in my calculations. An average number across a large pool of females (including those whose eggs are not viable for one reason or another) might be more along the lower boundary of 200 eggs/female, but the computations don’t vary that much.
Take the tin foil off your head. There’s been a large seller selling into the news for some time. Sells have been outnumbering the buys by quite a bit on most days lately. I noticed the holdings of our Aussie friend dropped in the last 10k. Could be him dumping shares gradually as to not totally tank the share price. Pretty hard to sell that many shares and not tank the price while doing so.
As i said yesterday, watch out for the crucial trading moment of the day where the orchestrated "shocking seller(s)" manipulate the share price in a manner that the positive chart building picture is "killed" !
That was yesterday when the uptrend to 0,099 was established, about the middle of the trading day, and the pps remained for a few minutes at 0,099........
Two immediate "breaking positive trend" trades occured, guess why..........!'
They try everything to make this stock look "ugly" and brake the positive flow!!! But this company is golden in a lot of informed posters eyes, considering the facts in the company's prs.
Folks, don't be stupid, take advantage of this and place your bids, you can get maybe the last bargain Kblb shares ever the next few days, maybe weeks, but be sure, this stock has such an enormous potential that will be revealed in the very near future.
Government funding news in may?........Production confirmation a little bit later than may.......The sandclock is running empty.......
Love it! Thanks for sharing! Yes, let’s Kong this thing like Donkey Kong all the way up to an ATH and then sell 80% and let the rest ride .. if it comes back to teens, get back to Kong status for a free ride (plus mucho LT gains already sacked in hand) to $5.
I have found this thread started by you and MFN rather amusing. First by the misconceptions you two have and also by the lack of participation in the thread by the rah rah experts that claim to be so knowledgeable about what this company does.
The racks the cocoons are in are only necessary while cocooning and are designed to ensure consistent quality and size of cocoons. Once cocooning is completed the cocoons are removed from the racks. Usually the females have larger cocoons than the males so sorting by sex may or may not be accomplished somewhat just by sorting cocoons.
The picture with the handful of cocoons was interesting because that is about how many cocoons it would take (assuming 1/2 male, 1/2 female) to produce enough eggs to fill all the racks of cocoons in the other picture. So, only about 4 handfuls of cocoons were used for the trial runs of the parent lines if those pictures are showing what was produced from 1 of their trial batches. If that's true it really wasn't a very large trial and keeping the worms healthy would be a lot easier due to the low number of worms involved. Hopefully that carries over when larger batches are raised in the future.
Also, the cups you keep talking about are not for the purpose of breeding, they are for keeping the egg masses of each female separate so that sterile, abnormal, or diseased eggs can be sorted out and to keep eggs from poor performing females out of your breeding herd. The females are usually placed in the cups after they are bred. Breeding is done orgy style with a larger percentage of males involved to help ensure the females get bred. Once the breeding is done the moths are gently disconnected from each other and the females are then placed in their cups. The males can be used again to breed other females. The cups are more for egg and breeding stock quality control than anything else and are not needed for the female to lay eggs. I know you've seen the videos where they put a male and female in a cup together. You would do that if you wanted to breed a specific male to a specific female but doing so on a large scale would be very inefficient and result in a lot more females not getting bred in cases where the male was incompetent or suffered from premature ejaculation like a lot of investors in this stock do.
Now, about taking them cocoons to the reelers. If KT does that he should be shot. That's your breeding herd. Why would he make yarn out of them? He's got contracts to fill and at least one contractor(GSS) willing to produce 200 ton. How is he going to supply Lam Dong with eggs if he is killing off the breeding herd? Use however many handfuls you need to produce eggs for the BAM! hybrid trial and breed the rest to increase the size of the parent lines to fill that demand. You have to pick one end of that ramp up if you're ever going to get off the ground. Time/money is running out. Get going.
To be continued..................I've got other things to do.
We know what Bo don’t know. And we knew it a long time ago when we went all in on KBLB. Enjoy the fashion, albeit it is old.
SilkRoad you are right that KBLB would need to rise enough to get on the Nasdaq then the buy recommendations would start. Any stock less than 5.00 is considered a penny stock but the OTC is the problem as arachnodude stated.
Let’s hope for a continued organic rise in the pps to listing levels coupled with the first metric ton. Sprinkle in a little revenue, and an end product. Then a move to NASDAQ exchange. Then I would expect major brokers will be more than happy to recommend and let folks buy KBLB. It would be a dream come true. Seems more possible now than ever
I used to have an account with a major broker and when I told them I wanted to buy KBLB they kept telling me over and over gain, “We don’t follow that stock.” I had enough in my account that after I was adamant and explained my reasons and they eventually let me buy KBLB. But it really rubbed me the wrong way the pushback they gave me. So I eventually pulled all my money out and went with an online broker. You are right though. Once the big boys start pushing KBLB…. Oh man….. we can dream.
I have no idea if it’s possible. Does he have to disclose it ahead of time first ? I don’t know nor do I care if it’s the case or not or if he is or isn’t. Was just tossing it out there for those like you who know the intricacies and details of such matters. I clearly do not. I’m just convinced of its potential to touch almost every industry once it’s churning silk. All I know is we’re gonna make a ton of money here thanks to this once in a lifetime penny stock. I know every penny stock buyer out there thinks that 🤣 but we are right with this one 💰💸🤑
At 500 eggs, your math is wrong. Takes a lot less. So check your math.
“You need about 20,000 breeding pairs to produce the eggs needed for silk and to sustain the breeding colony.”
The shitslinger already knew 2 mil moths were not needed…but he is willing to sling his BS lies until he is called on it…that’s why many don’t even read his bs posts…that and his repetitive cut and paste horseshit…
I think you are right…it could very well be Kim selling personal shares to help fund the business…
Hey it’s been a while in this wash rinse repeat.
Do you remember if it’s doubling up production next step….
…or ramping up production?
Always forget which comes first. Tickles me. Ah well.
Jetow: “All that said I believe we are close to production and contract news…. Won't be that long in my opinion.”
So many ways to convey the same vague idea: “coming soon.”
Heard that before. I’ve stated mid-June or early August for a while now as the date we get the first batch of Bam-1 silk.
We already have a contract. Determining the date of another is impossible without more data. But it is ‘coming soon,’ I’m sure.
I agree that it takes 5.5 million silkworms (approximately) to make a metric ton. But you don’t breed all 5.5 million silkworms.
You need about 20,000 breeding pairs to produce the eggs needed for silk and to sustain the breeding colony. Thus they only need to select 20,000 males and 20,000 females to place in the breeding cups.
I’m guessing they collect all of the hatched moths at some time, put the males from Bam-1A into one bin, the females from Bam-1A into another, take them all into the breeding room, pick out a male 1A and a female 1B, place them under a cup, and repeat 20,000 times. That gives you about 6 million eggs. 5.5 million of those eggs won’t be bred.
Again, this is how sericulture currently operates. It is labor intensive to maintain the breeding pool and distribute the eggs. This is the main reason why we don’t produce much silk in the US. Too labor intensive.
<< Could it be Kim selling more shares on the open market to raise capital ? Ie dilution ? >>
It could be the Douchebag CEO dumping shares onto the market to take advantage of the pump from the PR. Or it could also be the rah rah pumpers telling others to buy as they dump their shares.
It can't be dilution, since any dilution would show up in the O/S. But don't worry, that is coming as well.
Could it be Kim selling more shares on the open market to raise capital ? Ie dilution ? I don’t know but if it is , I don’t mind or care. Kim can dilute as he sees fit to keep the company afloat until they start making money. IMHO
Anything's possible. But do your DD on that reality
Very good post Fiberrev. These are my sentiments exactly which is why
Kim’s PRs give the initial burst we can’t hold the pps. And you are right it is
Pretty much after the first hour of trading.
Patrik
correction "quite".
Quite possible if they are in depth familiar with the company and products that could soon hit the market.
Curious, do "reputable brokerage companies" normally put buy recommendations on OTC/Penny stocks?
IMO, there are very few actions that will make KBLB go up substantially before production, contracts etc. If a reputable brokerage would put a buy recommendation on the company it would BOOM!
Monday's news were a further prove that it is nearly sure that this production trial run will be a huge success and mass produced spidersilk in tons finally a reality for humanity. If this success is at 100 % guaranteed, as experts here pretend for the end of June, we all know which waves this news will have for the pps.
My thoughts about the minor run in pps after monday's news is that, after every good news the last weeks (the very last one was the very best), about after an hour when trading started at 9:30 o'clock, a bigger "shocking block" of shares (that's the aim of the share price manipulaters) was sold, always immediately after a nice rise and run in pps. It's clearly orchestrated by market manipulators who fight against a quick pps nrise, whatever their reasons for their action is. THE NEWS FOR SPIDERSILK MASS PRODUCTION CHANCES WAS HUGE, the pps should already have taken an other level, Informed people know that, but the daily naysayers do everything to make the non informed believe that Kblb is a bad thing. AND THAT IS JUST A BIG FAT LIE!!!!! THIS STOCK WILL HAVE A GIGANTIC RUN HIGHER , IT'S ALREADY IN THE MAKE!
Watch out for a big block of shares to be dumped when it shows signs of a positive chart run up picture......Very good times ahead, i know for myself what i have with this company......
The share price sure didn't go up as much as I anticipated with this week's news. Oh there was the usual counteracting bullshit by the doom and gloom club, but that is to be expected.
My thoughts are one of two possibilities. First since we are in a wait and see holding pattern ... not as many as usual watching the usual day to day check on advancements and second because we have anticipated being this far along before investors want even more.
All that said I believe we are close to production and contract news. That could be the game changer we're looking for. Won't be that long in my opinion.
That's fine. Still can't violate those NDA's, though! Muy importante!
FTC Announces Rule Banning Noncompetes
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2024/04/ftc-announces-rule-banning-noncompetes
Since the Douchebag CEO is a lawyer, you can bet that he makes every employee sign a noncompete.
Well, not anymore....
<< As they hatch, they grab a female from one room and a male from the other, put them under the cup, and nature takes its course. >>
That would take a TREMENDOUS amount of man-hours to accomplish. Imagine having a million cocoons in each room. And lets just say that you work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and you could grab a male and a female and put them under a cup every 10 seconds (which is impossible). It would still take about 116 days (or almost 4 months) to complete the task.
According to some websites, it takes about 5.5 MILLION silkworms to make a metric ton of silk.
Well, whatever they’re doing, I’d like to see a marketing campaign get started by someone.
The news lately is fantastic but it seems to be exciting only for those of us in this echo chamber.
Plus side of that is realizing that we are sitting on a volcano.
I’d like to see Kim hire Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman to conduct Dragon Silk tests on camera. That would definitely get people talking. lol
I understood your question. Are they planning to reel some of the cocoons for silk, or are they rearing them all for egg production. Since these cocoons have been taken out of the spinning racks, it’s a great question to ask.
I don’t have the answer.
I was adding new information, that even the silkworms raised for egg production can contribute something useful to KBLB.
I'm not talking about boiling them for goo. I just mean boiling them as SOP in regular sericulture production. i.e. boil them to remove the sericin, kill the pupa, and reel the silk.
I know Kim has plans for the sericin and protein synthesis. I only mention it because I remembered he said this batch was for breeding, yet there are no holes in the cocoons.
Possible they collected them, snapped a pic, then put them somewhere else to let the moths do their thing.
I would say that KBLB is the Daddy Rabbit. HeHe!
Isn’t it about time for you to get tech holdings in Salt Lake to test your version of spider silk in theirvacant office again? Maybe you can get the US Navy pay for it again, another $240K. Maybe your friends in Hunan.
"Wouldn't want anyone to think KBLB is the only one in the sector."
its China and kblb...there will be others, eventually, but they will be insignificant...
spiber, bolt and the rest are no competition at all...
Wouldn't want anyone to think KBLB is the only company in the specified sector.
If it's good enough to acknowledge on their company websites and in SEC filings...
It's good enough to post the acknowledged competitors latest developments. 😉
" The moths only live a few days after hatching. "
more like a week or two...
"If the word is out and some think that the pps could get to 0.15PPS by the end of April and 1.00PPS till end of June 2024 why dont we see that Volume wise , PPS wise, Social Media wise , Neswpaper wise in VM and U.S"
we are still at the beginning of things...i dont believe there are as many INVESTOR eyes on kblb as many think...the news is great but it isnt the kind of news that screams "BUY!"....
this isnt aapl...the rise in the pps wont be gradual...this is an unknown KBLB on the OTC...when the right news comes out that tells investors this is a buy the pps rise will be explosive...the volume will be huge...as usual, everyone will talk about the overnight success of the company...except those who have been here for years...everyone will think they are buying super cheap shares at .50 and .75 etc...and they will be correct...
"i hope it will get there but i can not see any indection"
every pr is an indication of what is coming...the volume and pps will follow...
During the mating process, a male silkworm and a female silkworm are placed underneath a cup on a piece of special material. It is easy to determine the male and female silkworms: females are much larger than males. After mating, the female will lay her eggs on the material underneath her cup. She dies shortly after laying eggs.
Because silkworms are blind, they don’t really care that things are happening in the dark.
In short, this process is part of the normal activity in rearing silkworms. All KBLB has to do is to keep the parent lines in separate rooms. As they hatch, they grab a female from one room and a male from the other, put them under the cup, and nature takes its course.
The only real trick here is that the parent lines have to hatch at the same time. The moths only live a few days after hatching. They can’t eat or drink in moth form.
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Moderators MU_Redskin1 gimmegimmeminemine TRUISM EOT WebSlinger |
Email: corporate@KraigLabs.com
KRAIG LABS WEBSITE FOR INVESTORS
Quarterly and Annual Reporting to the SEC is available on the Company's Website and EDGAR.
* Financial Statements * SEC Filings *
Outstanding Shares as of January 12, 2023
For issues or questions relating to share certificates or the transfer of securities please contact the company's transfer agent:
Olde Monmouth Stock Transfer Co., Inc.
200 Memorial Pkwy.
Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey 07716
Phone: (732) 872-2727
(since August 14, 2013)
Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, Inc. (KBLB) is the first company with a commercially feasible spidersilk to be mass produced.
Kraig Labs is a biotechnology company focused on the development of commercially significant high performance polymers and technical fibers. Kraig Lab's focus has been on the production of a transgenic silkworm incorporating specific gene sequences from the golden orb weaving spider. These specific gene sequences inserted are to enable the silkworm to spin a new recombinant fiber which incorporates spider silk proteins. With the scientific breakthrough announced on September 29, 2010, Kraig Labs is now working to commercialize the transgenic silkworms to compete in the garment industry silk market. The value for the chinese raw silk market alone is 3-5 billion per annum. With the creation of 20 seperate transgenic silkworms, all with unique properties, Kraig Labs is now working at an accelerated pace to build upon their first generation transgenic organisms to develop their second generation of transgenic silkworm incorporating spider silk proteins. The scientists nearly doubled the strength of the silkworm with these specific spider gene insertions. Their second generation of transgenics are expected to be complete in 2011. These second generation organisms are to be compared with the strength, flexibility and resiliency of the native spider in which the gene sequences are derived from. These fibers which will match the strength of spider silk are expected to compete in the technical textiles market valued in excess of 120 billion per annum. The 3rd generation organisms are currently in the planning phase. These organisms are expected to spin fibers exceeding the strength of native spiders and may incorporate gene sequences that release an antibiotic, or to help reduce scarring with use in bandages.
Kraig Biocraft Laboratories has a sponsored research and development program with the University of Notre Dame, and the University of Wyoming. The genetic work is occurring at the University of Notre Dame, headed by Dr Malcolm Fraser, Phd. The gene sequences are derived from Dr. Randy Lewis's(University of Wyoming) patented gene sequences of the golden orb weaving spider. Kraig labs is paying for all expenses incurred for this research and development program, and thus Kraig Labs has exclusive global commercialization rights with the technologies developed, including methods, organisms, and fibers produced.
MANAGEMENT
Kim Thompson, Founder and CEO
As the CEO of the company, Mr. Thompson is the only member of the scientific advisory board who is also
a part of the corporation's management. His formal education lies in the fields of economics and law.
He received his B.A. in Applied Economics from James Madison College at Michigan State University.
He received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Michigan Law School in 1994.
Mr. Thompson founded Kraig Biocraft Laboratories in his pursuit of the development of new biotechnologies
with industrial applications. As chairman of the scientific advisory board, he brings a unique perspective,and
acts as the primary liaison between the advisory board and the corporation.
Mr. Thompson brings a wealth of experience in business management and consultation to Kraig. Following
the completion of his undergraduate degree, Mr. Thompson joined California Craftsman, Inc. as a
Vice-President with primary responsibility for both marketing and human resources.
Kim Thompson was the director of business development at Franchise Venture Partners, LLC. He subsequently
joined the firm of Shearson, Lehman, Hutton where he specialized in equity trading and research of small cap
companies. Mr. Thompson received the highest series seven score for all Shearson brokers in his class nationwide.
His experience in those small cap equity markets has proven to be invaluable both in his legal and business successes.
Prior to becoming a public company CEO, Mr. Thompson was the founder and senior litigation partner in a California
commercial law firm where he worked as corporate and litigation counsel to privately held and public companies.
His many accomplishments in corporate law include winning and collecting in full what his firm believes to have been
the largest award of lost profits in a California commercial arbitration up to that time. An important part of his work was
winning victories on behalf of corporate clients in disputes over intellectual property and distribution rights. He has
represented business clients ranging from small start ups and micro caps to Fortune 100 companies.
With a background in business leadership and in advising public and private corporations, Kim Thompson continues
to bring a unique perspective to the successful management of business. His extensive business and legal background
enables him to create practical solutions to business problems and seize opportunities for growth.
Mr. Thompson is a member of the Triple Nine Society for persons with documented genius level IQs (having tested above
the 99.9th percentile). He is also active in the realm of science and invention where he has to his credit a number of
provisional patent applications including innovations in the areas of biotechnology, organic polymers, genetic engineering
and magnetic field manipulation, among others.
Mr. Rice has over 13 years’ experience growing development stage businesses with a focus on technology development, commercialization, and go to market strategies. Mr. Rice holds a B.S. in Chemical engineering from Michigan Technological University.
Prior to joining Kraig Biocraft Laboratories Mr. Rice was the Director of Advanced Technologies for Ultra Electronics, AMI. In this role, Mr. Rice was responsible for the identification, capture, and execution of new technology programs. During his tenure with AMI, Rice secured more than twenty five million dollars in funded development programs from the US Department of Defense which his team successfully leveraged into commercially viable spinoff products. Mr. Rice was also responsible for technical sales, marketing, and promotion of AMI’s products and capabilities. Rice joined AMI as the third full time employee and helped to lead the organization through its rapid growth and ultimate acquisition by Ultra Electronics in 2011.
Earlier in his career Mr. Rice developed unique advanced manufacturing techniques, established and trained a production staff, led engineering development, authored numerous technical papers, and is a recognized subject matter expert. Mr. Rice holds 5 issued patents and numerous provisional patents.
Mr. Rice brings a history of transforming revolutionary ideas into viable commercial products.
Mr. Rice is currently completing his Masters of Business Administration through the Executive Program at the Eli Broad College of Business: Michigan State University.
Despite the huge potential of genetically modified animals outside of laboratory research, commercialisation of these animals has been extremely limited. Numerous factors, including negative consumer perception, regulatory hurdles, and limitations inherent to classical GM technologies, have kept the majority of GM animal applications within the realm of academic research. However genome editing using zinc finger nucleases could help develop new markets for the future commercialisation of GM animals.
Genetic modification is commonplace throughout the life sciences sector, from fundamental research to pharmaceutical testing. GM cellular and animal models are valuable tools for the study of many chronic diseases, the testing of pharmaceutical compounds and the development of new therapeutic strategies. Genetic modification also offers great benefits in vaccine and biopharmaceutical manufacturing, which rely heavily on the use of GM organisms for biomolecule design and production. Modifying the genome of an organism or cell line allows the incorporation of target biomolecules in specific biological contexts, as well as the transfer of a gene product from a low-producing organism to one that can produce on a commercial scale. These applications have been widely accepted for many years, with countless GM organisms approved for medical manufacturing applications by drug regulators in all major countries. Despite this widespread success within the research and pharmaceutical sectors, the use of GM organisms outside of these markets has been limited.
Despite the lack of broad acceptance for most commercial applications of GM animal products, this technology has been able to gain traction in a few market sectors. The most obvious application has been the commercialisation of transgenic animals for the production of biomolecules for therapeutic use. Cattle, sheep and goats have been used for large-scale production of antibodies, steroids and hormones - most notably insulin - for many years. In 2009, GTC Biotherapeutics received US FDA approval for bioproduction of a recombinant human antithrombin. This product - ATryn - is extracted from the milk of transgenic goats, and is the first approved biopharmaceutical to be produced using genetically engineered animals. Although this is a significant breakthrough for the commercialisation of GM animals, it is still within the pharmaceutical industry, and is a natural progression of existing cell-based technologies. Of potentially greater commercial interest is the extension of genetic engineering outside of this sector, into areas such as food production, textiles and even companion animals.
GM crops have been available in many countries since the early 1990s, and numerous cash crops - including sugar beet, soybean, corn and tomatoes - have been modified to improve resistance to disease, increase the rate of growth or enhance nutritional value. However, cultivation of these transgenic crops is generally tightly regulated, particularly within the European Union, and this, together with negative public opinion, has limited the more widespread development of GM technologies.
Similar to GM crops, many of the animals currently under development are intended to confer disease resistance, an application particularly suited to the use of zinc finger nuclease (ZFN) technology. Many diseases can be treated by the targeted deletion or modification of a host gene. With ZFNs, these targets can be modified with no footprint of genetic engineering. Due to the high costs of raising livestock, another area of focus in developing commercial GM animals has been increasing the rate of growth or size of animals. Among the first GM animals likely to be launched is a fast growing salmon from AquaBounty. The AquAdvantage Salmon is designed to reach market size in half the time of a wild type salmon, reducing costs for fish farmers and limiting the environmental impact of salmon farming by avoiding the need for ocean pens.
Although genetic engineering of animals for food is primarily driven by economic pressures, GM technologies have also been used in the companion animals market. In this sector, genetic modification can be used for practical purposes - such as the creation of hypoallergenic animals or the correction of heritable congenital defects which have arisen though inbreeding - or for purely cosmetic purposes, such as GloFish. The first example of a GM pet, GloFish are fluorescent zebrafish (Danio rerio) that have had genes encoding naturally fluorescent proteins (GFP, YFP, RFP) inserted into their genome. Developed by a group at the National University of Singapore, GloFish were originally created to develop live detection systems for water pollution. They were introduced as pets in the United States in 2003 following over two years of extensive environmental research and consultation. In Europe however, the sale and possession of GloFish is prohibited by rigorous legislation concerning the use of GM technologies.
By allowing precisely targeted insertion of spider genes and concomitant removal of endogenous silkworm silk genes at the same locus, ZFN technology offers the potential for development of transgenic silkworms which will produce native spider silk at commercially viable levels
Perhaps even more interesting from a commercial perspective is the use of GM animals in the manufacture of textiles. Silkworms - actually the larval form of the silkmoth Bombyx mori - have been used for the production of silk for thousands of years, with natural silk still produced by the cultivation of silkworms today. Silkworm cocoons are unwound to create linear silk threads, then re-spun into textiles in much the same way as cotton. Although the applications of silkworm silk are numerous, due to their unique physical and chemical properties, there is also widespread interest in the silks of several other insects.
Spider silk, in particular, offers numerous possibilities within the technical textiles industry, due to its incredible tensile strength and elasticity; characteristics which have not yet been replicated in synthetic materials. Like all insect silks, spider silk fibres consist of repetitive units of protein crystals separated by less structured protein chains. The exact properties and composition of each spider silk vary with its intended function. Major Ampullate or dragline silk, for example, is relatively hydrophobic with very high tensile strength and toughness, as it is used to form the outer rim and spokes of a web. In contrast, hydrophilic capture spiral silks, which form the inner structures of the web, are sticky and highly elastic to effectively entrap prey. This high degree of variability offers enormous potential for the textiles industry, raising the possibility of tailoring the properties of silk to create advanced technical fabrics, for applications such as bulletproof vests, parachute canopies and automobile airbags; biomedical applications, including sutures and tendon and ligament repair; new fabrics, for sportswear and clothing; and even microelectronics.
Although the use of spider silks for microsutures has recently been reported, more widespread application of spider silk technologies is currently limited by the difficulty in producing silks on a commercially viable scale. This is due to the difficulties of rearing spiders in large numbers, due to their highly territorial and cannibalistic nature. As a result, the harvesting of spider silk fibres is extremely time consuming and labour intensive, with production of the only known spider silk garment - an 11 foot by 4 foot shawl made from golden orb spider silk - taking 150 people over five years to produce and costing in excess of £300,000!
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To overcome these limitations, and allow future development of spider silk technologies, an alternative strategy for spider silk production is required. This makes spider silk production an obvious candidate for genetic modification, inserting spider silk genes into the genome
of other silk-making insects for bioproduction. For example, random insertion of orb spider silk genes into silkworms has allowed production of hybrid spider/silkworm silk using traditional silkworm farming strategies. The resulting hybrid silk contains approximately 10% spider silk
and has greater strength and durability than native silkworm silk, raising the possibility of using transgenic silkworms to produce pure spider silks.
Though straightforward in principle, the exchange of native silkworm genes for spider silk genes, alongside more widespread exploitation of genetic engineering, has been limited by the inherent restrictions of conventional GM technologies.
The generalised process of modifying an organism requires several capabilities, including:
While many different techniques exist for accomplishing each of these steps, most GM technologies offer a compromise between the efficiency of the technique and the ability to accurately and precisely target the locus of interest. Viral genomic delivery technologies effectively deliver nucleic acids to cells and organisms, but fall short on ability to target specific regions of the genome, generally only allowing random insertion of genetic material. In comparison, transposase technologies allow a greater degree of targeting, but leave unwanted traces of exogenous DNA in their wake. Other methods involve the introduction of naked DNA into the cell, which results in insertion into the genome at very low frequencies, usually at random, limiting this approach to organisms that can be economically cultivated at high densities and screened in large numbers. Simply put, most techniques for genetic manipulation are random, inefficient and leave a 'footprint' of foreign DNA. While this is usually tolerated in basic research, it is not acceptable for most commercial applications, and has been a major hurdle for GM animal technologies to date.
The advent of zinc finger nuclease (ZFN) technology represents a significant breakthrough for commercialisation of GM animal products, offering precisely targeted, efficient genome editing for the first time. Commercially available through Sigma Life Science under the CompoZr brand, this technique can be used to create permanent and heritable changes to an organism of interest.
This high degree of variability offers enormous potential for the textiles industry, raising the possibility of tailoring the properties of silk to create advanced technical fabrics
ZFNs are a class of engineered DNA binding proteins that facilitate targeted editing of the genome by creating double-strand breaks at user-specified locations. These breaks stimulate the cell's natural DNA repair mechanisms - homologous recombination (HR) and non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) - which can be exploited to achieve rapid and permanent site-specific modification of the desired genes. While HR can be used to insert foreign DNA sequences, NHEJ allows the cell's natural processes to create precisely targeted mimics of natural mutations which leave no traces of foreign DNA. Unlike previous techniques, ZFNs offer excellent sequence specificity, binding 24 to 36 base pair target sequences to virtually eliminate off target effects, and are able to achieve modification rates exceeding 20 %, well above rates for most other technologies.
The technique is already being used to create transgenic silkworms for spider silk production. By allowing precisely targeted insertion of spider genes and concomitant removal of endogenous silkworm silk genes at the same locus, ZFN technology offers the potential for development of transgenic silkworms which will produce native spider silk at commercially viable levels.
GM technologies have revolutionised the research world and have great potential in a variety of commercial applications, but have been limited by the inherent restrictions associated with historical GM technologies. The main drawback of these technologies is their inability to accurately and efficiently target genes of interest, instead relying on random insertion of genetic material into host genomes. These limitations result in the need for extensive and costly screening to identify animals with correct transgene expression (without compromising the viability of the animal), and also result in the co-expression of both the transgene and native homologues already present.
The advent of ZFN technology signifies the beginning of an exciting new chapter in the world of genetic modification, allowing precise, targeted and efficient genome editing for the first time. Production of native spider silk using transgenic silkworms is just one example of the potential commercial applications of this innovative technology, taking us one step closer to the reality of industrial scale biomanufacturing and paving the way for an entirely new spectrum of environmentally friendly materials.
Authors:
Joseph Bedell and Brian Buntaine
Commercial Animal Technologies Group, Sigma Advanced Genetic Engineering (SAGE) Labs, Sigma Life Science
HEADLINES FOR KRAIG BIOCRAFT LABORATORIES / (KBLB):
PHOTOS FROM VIETNAM POSTED JULY 6, 2018
ANN ARBOR, Mich., – January 7, 2019 –Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, Inc. (OTCQB: KBLB) (“Company”), the leading developer of spider silk based fibers, announces today that it has successfully delivered the first two shipments of its highly specialized silkworms, which produce a silk with the physical characteristics of spider silk, to Vietnam.
Today’s announcement is the culmination of more than 5 years of work, and challenging negotiation, with the government of Vietnam. The silkworms from these first two shipments have already hatched and are now enjoying a fresh mulberry diet, so, for the first time in history, the global demand for spider silk materials has a viable, cost effective, and scalable solution.
“The dream of commercializing our powerful technology is now materializing. This marks a dramatic leap forward in Kraig Labs’ business plan for commercial production and mass marketing of cost effective recombinant spider silk, and becomes the foundation for an entirely new industry,” said, COO, Jon Rice. “To our long-term shareholders, who have taken this journey with us, as well as our team in the US and Vietnam, who have worked tirelessly to make this dream a reality, I cannot thank you enough. As we start the New Year, full of new opportunity, we truly have something incredible to celebrate.”
The Company has been working with leading sericulture experts, biotechnology institutions, and governmental agencies, in Vietnam, to further boost the silk industry with our revolutionary technology. Kraig Labs is currently finalizing renovation plans for a ~46,000 square foot production factory in Quang Nam Province, Vietnam.
“Our plan has always been to bring our technology to the silk producing regions of the world for rapid scale-up,” said, CEO and Founder, Kim Thompson. “Today we see the fruits of that effort. With its massive silk infrastructure and production capacity, Vietnam is an ideal location to launch our technology scale-up. Congratulations to our team and shareholders, as we prepare for the realization of large scale production.”
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