USA
July 22, 2019
In recognition of the crucial role soybeans play in U.S. agriculture, the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR) awarded a $942,000 Seeding Solutions Grant to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS), alongside scientific partners North Carolina State University and VIB (Institute for Biotechnology in Flanders, Belgium), to improve soybean crop resiliency. The FFAR grant has been matched with funding from Benson Hill Biosystems, BASF, and VIB for a total $1.89 million award.
Soybean is a complete source of protein that contains all the essential amino acid for human nutrition. Soy meal demand is projected to grow as protein demand increases worldwide. This surge in demand is happening concurrently with global climate shifts and more frequent extreme weather, including cold snaps and heat waves. Extreme weather is devastating to soybean crop yields and nutritional content, making it imperative that researchers determine how to increase soybean resiliency in response to climate change.
“Our research demonstrates that the response of soybean protein content to temperature varies among different genetic varieties,” said Dr. Anna Locke (USDA-ARS), the principal investigator of this project. “Using deep learning techniques, we can analyze the effects of weather variability on soybean yield and protein production and work to develop high protein varieties that can withstand the stresses associated with changing climates.”
Dr. Anna Locke and her team, including co-principal investigators of this project, Dr. Ive De Smet (VIB) and Dr. Ross Sozzani (NCSU), will use advanced machine learning algorithms to leverage the natural genetic diversity of plants and improve the sustainability, nutrition and flavor profiles of crops with greater precision than previously possible. Researchers will evaluate key temperature stress regulators, develop a test to rapidly screen soybean genotypes for temperature tolerance, and ultimately provide data that will allow crop breeders to identify new temperature tolerant soybean varieties more efficiently.
“We share FFAR’s vision to foster innovation and collaboration to address complex challenges in food production,” said Matthew Crisp, CEO and co-founder of Benson Hill Biosystems. “By applying data analytics and machine learning, we can gain insight into how to optimize the nutrition and yield of soybean simultaneously for different climatic conditions.”
“Soybean is a fundamentally important crop that plays a vital role in a healthy food system,” said Sally Rockey, Ph.D., FFAR’s executive director. “FFAR is excited to support this groundbreaking research that will increase our understanding of the relationship between a soybean plant’s genetic makeup, its environment, and its performance.”
FFAR’s Seeding Solutions Grant is an open call for bold ideas that address a pressing food and agriculture issues in one of the Foundation’s Challenge Areas. USDA ARS’s research supports FFAR’s 2018 Protein Challenge Area, currently the Next Generation Crops Area. FFAR’s work in this area supports the advancement of novel, nutritious, profitable, and resilient farm crops.
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VIB-UGent Center for Plant Systems Biology
The VIB-UGent Center for Plant Systems Biology wants to gain insight into how plants grow and respond to the environment. Scientists study how leaves and roots are formed, which micro-organisms live on and around the plant and which substances the plant makes. They map out the genetic diversity of the plant kingdom. This knowledge can lead to sustainable innovations in agriculture and food.
VIB
Basic research in life sciences is VIB’s raison d’être. VIB is an independent research institute where some 1,500 top scientists from Belgium and abroad conduct pioneering basic research. As such, they are pushing the boundaries of what we know about molecular mechanisms and how they rule living organisms such as human beings, animals, plants and microorganisms. Based on a close partnership with five Flemish universities – Ghent University, KU Leuven, University of Antwerp, Vrije Universiteit Brussel and Hasselt University – and supported by a solid funding program, VIB unites the expertise of all its collaborators and research groups in a single institute. VIB’s technology transfer activities translate research results into concrete benefits for society such as new diagnostics and therapies and agricultural innovations. These applications are often developed by young start-ups from VIB or through collaborations with other companies. This also leads to additional employment and bridges the gap between scientific research and entrepreneurship. VIB also engages actively in the public debate on biotechnology by developing and disseminating a wide range of science-based information. More info can be found on www.vib.be.
Ghent University
After more than twenty years of uninterrupted growth, Ghent University is now one of the most important institutions of higher education and research in the Low Countries. Ghent University yearly attracts over 41,000 students, with a foreign student population of over 2,200 EU and non-EU citizens. Ghent University offers a broad range of study programs in all academic and scientific fields. With a view to cooperation in research and community service, numerous research groups, centers and institutes have been founded over the years. For more information www.UGent.be.
The Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research
The Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research, a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization established by bipartisan congressional support in the 2014 Farm Bill, builds unique partnerships to support innovative and actionable science addressing today’s food and agriculture challenges. FFAR leverages public and private resources to increase the scientific and technological research, innovation, and partnerships critical to enhancing sustainable production of nutritious food for a growing global population. The FFAR Board of Directors is chaired by Mississippi State University President Mark Keenum and includes ex officio representation from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and National Science Foundation.
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