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Hi St C. I won’t repeat what I’ve already said on this board numerous times, but I will thank you for the thoughtful response. My KBLB position was once much larger than it is but I saw enough in the last 3-4 years to realize (my opinion) that Kim is neither trustworthy, nor does he have shareholders’ best interests at heart. I’ve been heavily investing in Jensen Huang’s company (and other tech stalwarts) for the last five years and I’ve reaped the kind of profits (from trading as well as from large long positions) many on this board hope to see from KBLB. For the sake of those heavily invested here (as well as for my own shares) I do hope KBLB succeeds but I don’t believe enough that it will to have anything but a small throw-away position. If KBLB one day sees revenue and eventually profits (the only measure of success) from viable, tested, spider-ish silk, I have a feeling it won’t be anytime “soon” and I’ll have already been retired and long since sold off all my remaining KBLB shares. I stated a while back that I’d sell most of my shares (I did), and that I’d sell my remaining shares before the close of Q4 2023 if revenue doesn’t materialize which now more than ever seems to be the most likely result come this December. If that changes, I may jump back in at $.25 or more once there’s concrete proof of success (revenues and profits). Take care and good luck to you.
Thank you, GT!
Great post, Mojo. GO KBLB!
I do agree this isn't a stock you should bet your retirement on but I've been around since the beginning when Notre Dame was in the picture and the company has gone through many iterations since then. I have profited by going long and trusting the invention and intelligence of those on this board that are more familiar with the technology. I also traded on the peaks as closely as I could. I wouldn't want you to invest more than you are comfortable with but I also wouldn't want you to miss out on a potentially profitable investment and the good you could do with those profits. Good trading my friend.
I didn’t even finish reading your post, but from the first sentence I can confidently say, “Asked, and answered and asked and answered, ad infinitum”, but I’ll explain it once again so simply even a child could understand the rationale… Yup, I have a teensie-weensie position just in case it hits. Never did it before and don’t plan on it again. It’s not enough that a total loss (going sub-penny) will matter to me but if the DOD gives Kim some $, there’s a chance - perhaps not as good a chance as playing roulette, but a tiny chance nonetheless that I could see a small profit from the turd that is Kim/KBLB. Good thing I’m heavily invested in AI/chip stocks. After reading today’s letter (not a PR), it’s ever more apparent (to me) that we’ll see little to no production from Lame Dong (as many already believed). The DOD is the last and best hope for revenue though I wouldn’t advise holding one’s breath on that.
No, good find!!
"This is why I would have rather Kim just create 100% spider silk products, but the decision was made to target performance apparel first. "
well it was supposed to be because performance apparel and torn jeans was such easy low hanging fruit...but its certainly not turning out to be that at all...
i realize that going the GSS route was supposed be good for the long term and where growth could be accomplished quickly...but thats not panning out either...
i really wanted kim to get prodigy up and running with production and then expand it and/or build more prodigy's until we could do 150 to 200 tons...i figured after that he could try doing the GSS thing...and take his sweet time...
it seemed to me that prodigy was working and was the way to go...i was a bit shocked to see that kim had turned prodigy into an great big egg factory...i mean great if he could make it all happen the way he envisioned it...but when has THAT ever happened?...
it seemed to me that expanding prodigy and make a couple more of them WAS the low hanging fruit...
oh well...here we wait until it all gets straightend out...some day...
But... there is two big players interested in KBLB. I used to play basketball way back in the day. I know what a SLAM DUNK looks like and the players that performed this amazing feat. Just a little humor here.
It was a letter to shareholders that wasn’t published. Only those registered for the updates received it. And it was an excellent update!
I suspect in time it will spread. Or we can expect a PR?
<< I can't explain why the s/p didn't explode today >>
It is because the letter to shareholders was filled with HORRIBLE news.
- The silkworms keep dying in an environment suited for them.
- No commercial production anytime soon.
- No revenue anytime soon.
- Nothing until at least the 3Q (and probably not even by then).
- No product launch.
- No website.
- No uplisting.
It can't get much worse than that....
They have NOT stated they have PRODUCED CONTINUOUS LARGE COMMERCIAL-SCALE SIZED QUANTITIES, IN A QUALITY-CONSISTENT, COST-EFFECTIVE MANNER.....
NOT-ONE-STRAIN
HAS THAT CAPABILITY, AS OF TODAY'S PUBLIC (DESIGNED FOR THE AF/DOD) LETTER.
====================
Like I stated in previous posts, IRREPARABLE DAMAGE has been done.
With PATIENCE, you will see more
I am well aware of how poorly that PR was worded.
The only ‘3rd party contractor’ we know of should be GSS but stop and think how little sense it makes to send breeding stock to an outfit that should only be equipped to grow silkworms from egg stage to cocooning. It takes a whole lot more equipment and manpower to do the breeding and egg collecting especially when you have to keep the 2 lines separate and pure. Also, who in their right mind would try and grow a breeding stock herd in a facility that isn’t environmentally controlled when you have a facility of your own capable of doing that? GSS employees are not KBLB employees, huge security risk. GSS doesn’t have the lab equipment necessary to do the job or the personnel qualified to operate it. I’m sure I can come up with several more reasons why it doesn’t make in sense but I’ll just finish with a quote from today’s SL.
“This heat wave also hit the country while our third-party contractor has paused their operations as they await the delivery of more robust silkworms from our teams here at Kraig and Prodigy.”
Says right there that GSS isn’t in operation and is waiting for silkworms from Prodigy. The pure lines they shipped over in January should have enough numbers to start crossbreeding soon to start sending eggs to GSS.
Jon wrote the PR, Kim wrote the SL. Maybe Jon refers to both as 3rd party’s. If Jon really did send the Jan eggs to GSS he should be fired immediately.
I'll tell you what I think. I'm pretty pumped about the PR. I can't explain why the s/p didn't explode today but I'm watching this like an eagle this week. Like Bob said earlier,
A known fleecing of shareholders and choosing to remain invested.
Who would do such a thing?
Oh wait, it’s “just in case” the constant proclamations of BS, fleecing, deceit, etc, etc, etc are wrong? Kind of like constantly questioning if KBLB had even responded to the AF only to find out they had?
GTMan: “This is why I would have rather Kim just create 100% spider silk products, but the decision was made to target performance apparel first. I'm not privvy to the reasons why.”
I suspect they are trying to stretch out a quite limited supply of DS by dilution.
Excerpts from the Jan 26 PR:
“Ann Arbor, MI – January 26, 2023– KBLB … announces that it has delivered the first two hybrid-cross Dragon SilkTM strains to its third-party production partner in Vietnam. These strains were developed to address the most significant immediate hurdle to large-scale production, the robustness of our silkworms within the large-scale production environment.
…
“Best practices employed by the most advanced silkworm egg production facilities include utilizing a multi-line cross-mating protocol to generate increased robustness. The result of first-generation cross-matings yield larger cocoons and more resilient silkworm offspring. As these increased performance attributes only last one generation, it is vital that central silkworm egg production operations sustain each of these separate lines in order to create successive generations of hybrid crosses.
Kraig Labs begins its transition to multi-line cross-mating with these two new hybrids. Once established at the production facilities, the Company will start cross-matings to produce our first two-line production hybrids. Kraig Labs believes this will strengthen its production operations, increase silkworm resiliency, and significantly improve environmental tolerance.”
According to KBLB, the parent lines for the hybrid strain were delivered to GSS. I don’t see how this could be read differently. I thought Prodigy would raise the parent lines and produce hybrid eggs for GSS, but that does not appear to be the case. What’s going on at Prodigy? Don’t know.
Happy with the update.
Now with 2 countries interested in kbl silks for military.
Watch for this number to keep growing.
Staffing levels increasing.
That will also keep growing.
Hybrids now at almost a dozen robust production strains.
multi-line double hybrid is still on track and progressing.
That will also keep growing.
Finally revealed Pima cotton as the first blend.
That will also keep growing.
Reading the December newsletter and now this one the progress is there to see.
Like this
Opportunities in the protective and defensive textiles markets are at the top of the Company’s list for collaborative developments.
Now we have 2 countries mentioned in the last month.
Another lame Kim communique - and not even a PR at that. The only good I took from it was that he actually submitted something to the DOD - time will tell whether AF sees Kim as a slam or scam dunk. Beyond that it was pablum - more excuses and BS serving to yet again, yet again kick the can further down the road and keep _______s (fill in the blank) on the hook well into 2024. THIS after the 2022 Christmas letter stretched the time frame (and credulity) the end of 2023 and a PR or two from over a year earlier crowed 2022 as “the year” and there were even more well before then. Jeez…. I’m kinda surprised the stock price didn’t go lower as more people sold upon finally realizing, fool me once shame on you; fool me twice…; fool me thrice… Kim ain’t nice. If it weren’t such a tragic and utter fleecing of shareholders it’d be funny.
<< This is why I would have rather Kim just create 100% spider silk products >>
That will probably never happen, since the Scumbag CEO adds in complex processes so that there will be an excuse as to why there is no production.
I have no idea what the internal communication between KBLB and Polartec is. But Maybe the extent of their relationship is that Polartec is willing to collaborate on a fabric with KBLB, not help them create a yarn. I'm not sure.
But I think very few people on this board understand the intricate process of creating a desirable and highly differentiated yarn composite. Maybe 80 years ago it would have been easy to compete with the natural fibers out there. But now a fiber>yarn>fabric>product has a much higher bar to pass in order to have something marketable.
This is why I would have rather Kim just create 100% spider silk products, but the decision was made to target performance apparel first. I'm not privvy to the reasons why.
Thank you for your insight, incredible posts and DD.
"When He was first contracted, he informed Kim and Jon that hardly any performance apparels are created solely out of a single material. They are all composites"
all that time collaborating with Polartec and Dorton had to inform them of this?...
If this one strain comment is supposed to be some sort of “I told you so” moment, you may want to revisit today’s communication.
"THE NEXT BIGGEST TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENT IN CLOTHING" comes to mind for me.
I think there is something pretty interesting disclosed in this letter.
The process for creating a silk/cotton composite is a bit more complicated than most here would believe.
The nature of how silkworms are immediately spun from boiled cocoons necessitates a process where the raw silk is a spun fiber consisting of usually 8-12 individual filaments.
It's possible to create a composite silk/cotton yarn by simply twisting a (spider)silk thread with a cotton thread and getting a yarn. The only issue is that it wouldn't feel consistent or fine enough. It would feel bulby almost like 3 strand rope.
However, if you want to make a fine and seamless composite, you would need a process to open up or "untwist" the silk fiber before you twist in the cotton. This process would make an excellent fiber and is exactly what Dorton was brought in for. When He was first contracted, he informed Kim and Jon that hardly any performance apparels are created solely out of a single material. They are all composites, so if that's the space they'd like to sell to, they would need to make an excellent one that integrated the cotton in between the individual silk filaments.
It looks like we now have the process and equipment to do that. I'm hoping they didn't lose to much spider silk during this R&D process and have enough for a launch (like they indicated last year).
Nonetheless, it looks like Kim is holding out for the perfect materials instead of moving ahead with materials that could be seen as ones that don't highlight the amazingness of spider silk. We'll see how this goes from here, but it seems like Dorton's expertise, connections, and past positions at The North Face, has been very valuable so far.
About the only thing this letter showed is Kim is still alive and that hes able to type even while
in mime mode.
Patrik
Oh my God ...."Coming Soon'....THAT is Hilarious !!
AND I am sure there will be many many more of those excuse PR's down the road ....This will be YEARS before there is any share price movement ...YEARS !!
I posted the news but few took heed to it.
Cest lavie.
You can lead a horse; yada, yada, yada.
VIETNAM ..... SET RECORDS FOR HIGHEST-EVER TEMPERATURES
TRUISM
personally, this what i liked form the letter:
"Beyond the creation of additional robust production strains of our spider silk transgenics, our research team has been quietly working over the last months on multiple projects that we hope to begin sharing more details on soon."
im hoping this has to do with being able to make stuff like insulin cheaper...
as for the ally that is asking for ds samples, my guess is england...we are very close with them and share more with them than anyone else...i wonder if the AF tipped them off?...who knows...
but i also wonder what was the catalyst for the new interest in spider silk...the fact that kblb has what it has and is so close to production?...or do they have info about what China is doing?...if there was a way to weaponize spider silk, China would be all over it...did the U.S. find something out that we now need to match?...
on another note, it sounds like there were two issues with production....one was the fiber, spinning, yarn, blending and material process...it sounds like that has been resolved...
the second is the robustness of the worms...those issues were detailed in the 1-31-23 sticky post...supposedly that is going on schedule....the big difference i see is that DS was supposed to continue to be produced but it appears that GSS was in fact shut down while all the breeding and inbreeding or whatever the hell they are doing, is going on...
as i anticipated, no launch of sales will occur until we can mass produce...nothing else really made sense...
"After consultation with several mills"........."We have taken the detailed technical analysis from the spinning of the first yarn and revamped our staple fiber processing with the guidance and advice of top experts here in the U.S."
i hope kim went hat in hand back to Warwick and is trying to collaborate with them...Warwick already put in several years of working with and testing DS...they could pick up where they left off without needing to start from the beginning like some new mill would...
"Management believes that it would be a miscalculation to attempt an up-list while experiencing a production bottleneck."
sounds like kim learned his lesson here...
"Our focus is on building the Company and its fundamentals, most particularly larger scale production."....."Our focus remains on developing and improving the robustness of our silkworm strains that can sustain large-scale spider silk production and leveraging that to build a sustainable market presence for Kraig Labs, SpydaSilk, and other future partnerships."
glad to see this in print...that should be the FOCUS....
kblb has hired more workers and scientists and is still hiring more...they are working on current stuff and future stuff...still moving forward...this all bodes well for growth and the future...
again, it seems to be that prodigy works...they can do the sericulture and produce viable eggs.....the idea behind GSS was to grow quickly and bigly...the problem is the robustness of the worms...that is being addressed with breeding....
they refer to that as the bottleneck because everything else should be good to go....prodigy works on the one end and the fiber processing / material / blending etc issues are resolved on the other end....
once we get the breeding and mass production resolved, we should be good to go...but it looks like that will take some time...
but that doesnt mean the pps cant rise with other news...
Jake you are correct! They are in a losing game now. It is obvious the trajectory of KB! They will slowly start to strategically cut losses between now and Sept and you will see a precipitous increase in SP. Which is smart ! I believe .20 is within June without any major news
not for nothing, but it might help everyone understand a little better about whats going on if they read the shareholder letter and then read the sticky post from 1-31-23 by gtman...
from the letter:
"The program to increase robustness in our spider silk transgenics remains on track and is proceeding as scheduled."
"Production focus should be a gimme. Shouldnt have to verify in a news letter."
sort of like when kim stated he was responding to the AF RFI...and everyone kept clamoring for a pr to verify that he did....you mean like that?...
Hi Jet,
Production focus should be a gimme. Shouldnt have to verify in a news letter.
Take care,
Patrik
<< Did you read today's KBLB's PR? >>
It seems that there is some confusion between a PR and letter to shareholders.
There was no PR today. It was a letter to shareholders
From today's newsletter.........
"Production is our goal; production is our focus. Production is the key to our fundamentals and all the opportunities that lay ahead.
- - -
Kim Thompson, Founder and CEO
Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, Inc."
That says a lot and I believe it's just agead....
“I think you misunderstood. The January 26 PR indicates that the parent strains were sent directly to GSS for breeding. GSS had these eggs since January but has abandoned efforts to grow them by now.”
No, you misunderstood. There’s no way in hell KT sent his parent line eggs to GSS to grow the breeding herd. That would have been incredibly stupid. GSS is not set up for that purpose.
I think you misunderstood. The January 26 PR indicates that the parent strains were sent directly to GSS for breeding. GSS had these eggs since January but has abandoned efforts to grow them by now.
The first attempt at hybridization was a failure. KBLB is now back to the drawing board to develop new hybrids.
KBLB: wait until they’re cheaper than dirt.
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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!
.
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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