Milestones
- Boosted Breeding announcedMay 2024Complete.
- Expanded field trialsNowCurrent milestone.
- Commercial potato seed launchNot yet reached.
Most important updates
- 28 May 2026
- 10 Mar 2025
- 23 May 2024
Current obstacles
- Genome stability across generationsPlants with extra DNA sets can be unstable, and every seed batch must be shown to grow the same.
Physics limits
- Doubling the genome every generation can't go onPassing on whole genomes doubles chromosome sets each cross. Plants with too many sets become unstable and less fertile, so the method must be controlled and used for one or a few generations.
- Changing how plants make sex cells hurts fertilitySkipping the normal halving of DNA means altering core cell-division genes. Such plants often set fewer seeds, and stable, fertile lines are hard to get in every crop.
How it works
Switch
Turn off the halving step
Normally pollen and eggs carry half a parent's DNA. Ohalo edits parent plants so they skip that halving and pass on their whole genome.
Combine
Offspring get everything
Crossing two such parents gives a child with both parents' complete genomes, keeping all their good genes instead of a random half.
Seed
Potatoes from true seed
For potatoes, this lets growers plant uniform, disease-free seed instead of tubers, which carry diseases and are bulky to ship.
Update log
Thu 28 May
- Minor: BlogPartnership
Mon 10 Mar 2025
- Minor: BlogPartnership
Thu 23 May 2024
- Major: PressResearch
About Ohalo Genetics
Ohalo Genetics
Boosted Breeding, polyploid hybrid crops
California plant-breeding company led by David Friedberg. Its Boosted Breeding lets offspring inherit all of both parents' DNA instead of half of each, stacking good genes to raise yields. First target: potatoes grown from seed.
- Announced Boosted Breeding in 2024, reporting large yield gains in early potato trials.
- Aims to replace seed potatoes, which carry disease, with true seeds.
- Could work in other crops by stopping both parents from halving their DNA in pollen and eggs.
- Founded
- 20197 yrs
- Headquarters
- United States
- Status
- Private
- Valuation
- private
- Works in
- AgricultureGene-edited crops
- Coverage
- 1 program · 3 updateslatest 28 May 2026checked 25 Sep
- People
- David Friedberg (opens en.wikipedia.org)Founder & CEO