Sweet Cherry Culture Shoots

Sources Sought Notice

Sweet Cherry Culture Shoots

Sources Sought #1143796-SS

This is a Sources Sought notice Only.  This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations.  This Sources Sought is issued for information and planning purposes only as part of USDA ARS market research and does not itself constitute an RFQ.

General Information

We recently developed a genetic modification protocol for sweet cherry as part of an ongoing cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) with Pairwise, Inc. This protocol relies on sweet cherry shoot cultures that are grown by a private tissue culture company, Micro Paradox.  Pairwise previously contracted with Micro Paradox to develop a sweet cherry shoot growth protocol and are the only provider of the specific sweet cherry variety needed for our experiments (‘Sweetheart’). The propagation protocol used and developed by Micro Paradox was paid for by Pairwise and is the proprietary property of Pairwise, Inc. The protocol took 2 years to develop and the cultures are currently not sold to any other parties. Pairwise had been purchasing these cultures for us as part of our CRADA but have recently completed their scope of work. Pairwise has given permission to continue propagation and sale to us as their CRADA partner. Pairwise has provided us with the propagation protocol developed by Micro Paradox, but despite extensive in-house testing, we have not been able to replicate the quality of the cultures produced by Micro Paradox. All cultures produced in-house, at Pairwise, or at an alternative tissue culture company failed to work in our experiments due to unknown reasons. Therefore, our research Unit needs to purchase them directly from Micro Paradox to continue our genetics research on sweet cherry that is not related to the CRADA.

Requirements

The sweet cherry shoots must be propagated from the sweet cherry variety ‘Sweetheart’. The cultures must be healthy and free from bacterial or fungal contamination.  

Testing and Verification

The starting material must be genetically confirmed to be the correct ‘sweetheart’ cherry variety.

Packaging and Shipping

The cultures must be shipped overnight in sterile containers to avoid contamination.

This Sources Sought is only for the purpose of identifying potential sources as part of USDA ARS market research. The Government does not intend to make an award based on responses to this inquiry. This notice does not constitute a commitment by the Government.

Responses to the information requested will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a set-aside is possible.  

The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding the availability and capability of qualified sources including any Small Businesses; HUBZone small business; service-disabled, veteran-owned small business; 8(a) small business; veteran-owned small business; woman-owned small business; or small disadvantaged businesses. Please state if you are a large business or a small business according to the NAICS code listed in this Sources Sought.

All information submitted in response to this announcement is voluntary, and the Government will not pay for information requested nor will it compensate any respondent for any cost incurred in developing information provided to the Government.

Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response defines how it can specifically meet the specifications for the items requested.  Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted.  After reviewing the responses received, a Combined Synopsis solicitation notice may be published on Sam.gov.

Submit ALL the Following in order to be a valid response to this Sources Sought Notice:

1. Capability Statement and/or product descriptions that demonstrate your ability to meet all of the specific requirements, including Company Contact Info.
2. SAM.gov UEI Number.
3. Identify if you are a Large business or a Small business with NACIS 111339.

Original Point of Contact: All responses to this Sources Sought Notice must be received by December 16, 2024, by 2:00 PM PST/PDT, the specified due date and time to be considered and must include all items requested above. 

Email responses to Elizabeth Wilson at Elizabeth.Wilson2@usda.gov.

Responses will not be returned. Responders are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this Inquiry.

Do not submit pricing information in response to this Request.