INNOVATION Alternative Proteins Magazine October 2024 49 The primary advantage of the M-BSF platform over selective breeding lies in its exceptional precision and the capability to rapidly modify a specific trait while leaving all other genes untouched. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the M-BSF technology, BugEra initially modified several phenotypic traits that can be easily observed. Following the successful demonstration of the technology's capabilities, BugEra is now positioned to alter nearly any gene of interest for various BSF markets. As the M-BSF platform enables the development of tailor-made strains with novel traits, it presents new opportunities for the BSF industry. For instance, through the utilization of the M-BSF platform, BugEra can improve the overall efficiency of BSF, resulting in increased yields, elevated protein content, enhanced nutritional values for animal feed, generate novel molecules for diverse industries, and much more. BUGERA’S FIRST PRODUCT: BSFx2 Positioned as an innovative company, BugEra's disruptive technology and novel strategy redefine the BSF industry borders. While the majority of BSF companies focus on protein and considers the oil as a by-product, BugEra’s is expanding the BSF industry into new value chains, following its motto “BSF is more than just protein”. Accordingly, BugEra’s first commercial product is a high-oil strain, named BSFx2, is specifically designed for the biofuel industry. Developed through BugEra’s advanced gene-editing technology, BSFx2 yields a significantly higher volume of oil, and an increased concentration of fatty acids compared to native strains, thereby addressing the economic buriers associated with BSF oil, and producing premium oil for biofuel production. Fossil fuels rank among the most significant pollutants globally, and there are huge efforts to develop biofuels as alternatives to fossil fuels. Currently, the primary sources of oil for biofuel production include crops, particularly soy and palm, and used cooking oil. While oil derived from crops is of superior quality compared to used cooking oil, it presents considerable environmental drawbacks, such as the use of huge agricultural land, soil contamination, excess use of water and fertilizers, resulting in a significant CO2 footprint. BugEra’s approach to producing BSF oil addresses these critical issues by providing the biofuel industry a sustainable oil source with lower CO2 footprint by up to 80% in comparison to crop oil used, while ensuring high quality. “BSF oil is perfect for biofuel production, particularly for sustainable aviation fuel. By focusing on BugEra’s R&D site and insectaries Screening for genetically edited larvae under the microscope
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