Fields

Plant Biology

Plant biology investigates the growth, development, physiology, and evolution of plants that produce the oxygen we breathe and the food most life on Earth depends upon. Enhancing photosynthetic efficiency via the RIPE project aims to boost staple crop yields by engineering carbon fixation pathways. CRISPR-based crop editing accelerates the introduction of disease resistance, drought tolerance, and improved nutritional profiles without regulatory barriers associated with transgenic approaches in some countries. Root microbiome research reveals how plant-associated bacteria fix nitrogen and solubilize phosphorus, informing sustainable agriculture and fertilizer reduction. Speed breeding under continuous light cycles compresses generation times, enabling six crop generations per year in wheat and barley.

Details

Avg Funding

$420K

Key Technologies

CRISPR Crop EditingSingle-Cell Plant OmicsChlorophyll Fluorescence ImagingRhizosphere Microbiome SequencingSpeed Breeding

Subfields

Photosynthesis ResearchPlant GeneticsPhytohormone SignalingPlant-Microbe InteractionsCrop Improvement

Top Institutions

Salk Institute for Plant BiologyMax Planck Institute for Plant Breeding ResearchJohn Innes CentreWageningen UniversityIRRI Philippines