Senesco and Rahan Meristem Announce Results of 2nd Year Israeli Banana Harvest; Senesco's Gene...

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. -- Senesco Technologies, Inc. ("Senesco" or the "Company") (AMEX:SNT) and Rahan Meristem, Ltd. ("Rahan") announced today that its second round of banana field trials in Israel yielded positive results. Rahan Meristem, Senesco's 50/50 joint venture

partner for development of delayed-senescence bananas, confirmed that harvested fruit from the second trial showed a shelf-life enhancement of up to 100% in comparison to control fruit. In addition to the shelf-life benefits, field trials are being conducted in tropical locations through this winter to generate disease resistance data for banana plants.

Senesco has shown that its Factor 5A technology confers resistance to common bacterial and fungal plant diseases by preventing the induction of premature death caused by pathogens. Tests conducted both in-house and in conjunction with Senesco's lettuce development partner, the Harris Moran Seed Company, show that the development of disease symptoms caused by both fungal and bacterial pathogens is inhibited by up to 99% in plants incorporating Senesco's proprietary Factor 5A gene technology.

The tests were conducted using three different plant species, canola, a major oil seed crop, Arabidopsis and lettuce, and two different pathogens, Sclerotinia, which is a major fungal pathogen that infects many commercial crops, and Pseudomonas syringae, a bacterial pathogen that is also a major cause of disease in crops. The studies show that premature senescence driven by these pathogens is inhibited in Senesco plants relative to control plants. For example, leaves of control canola plants infected with Sclerotinia turned yellow, wilted and died within five days, whereas the leaves of Senesco canola plants remained robust and green. Similar levels of resistance to the pathogens were obtained for Arabidopsis and lettuce. Pictures of the results of these tests are illustrated at www.senesco.com.

"We believe these data indicate that the pathogen-induced isoform of our Factor 5A gene is driving the premature death of cells caused by fungal and bacterial diseases," commented Dr. John E. Thompson, the Company's Chief Scientific Officer. "The ability to inhibit the induction of pathogen-induced cell death has potentially broad application as a means of controlling plant disease in both horticultural (flowers, fruits and vegetables) and grain crops. We are particularly interested in how our technology can be used by the banana industry to combat the Black Sigatoka fungus, which can account for losses of over 50% of the banana crop in some parts of the world."