by Arthur Friedman

Applied DNA Sciences has received a new U.S. patent set to strengthen the company’s cotton genotyping and traceability portfolio.

The Stony Brook, N.Y.-based company said the patent protects its proprietary methods of cotton species identification in a manufactured product through the extraction and analysis of target sequences found in the plant’s DNA.

“With the allowance of this patent application, we have now successfully protected both means by which the chloroplast DNA of cotton fibers can be analyzed, giving us a strong patent position in the cotton genotyping market,” Dr. James Hayward, president and CEO of Applied DNA, said. “Our fiberTyping technology, coupled with our patented SigNature T molecular tags, are the ultimate combination for the corroboration of cotton content label claims. No other system can provide the immutable forensic level identity and traceability proof our technology provides.”

SigNature DNA describes the core technology as an ingredient at the heart of a family of uncopyable, security and authentication solutions—such as SigNatureT and fiberTyping—targeted toward textiles and apparel. There’s also BackTrac, DNAnet andSmartDNA technologies for for anti-theft and loss prevention, and digitalDNA that provides track-and-trace capabilities. Each provides a forensic chain of evidence and can be used to prosecute perpetrators positioning a fiber as something it’s not.

Hayward said with the recent announcement of its GeoTyping technology, Applied DNA is “continuing to pushing the boundaries of cotton genotyping science.”

Last month, Applied DNA introduced a GeoTyping beta program to brands and retailers interested in identifying country-of-origin in cases of cotton fiber substitution. The GeoTyping program uses a known library of biomarkers that designate the DNA fingerprint of the cotton cultivar, including genus, species and one of 70 different geographic-cultivar-dependent genotypes.