New tech could make soybeans more resilient to drought, heat waves

October 28, 2024

Yoon’s technology has shown promising results in a model species. I am excited to see how the results translate into a crop of economic importance, such as soybeans, both in the greenhouse and on a field scale. Should results translate well, and the technology be amenable to a gene editing approach, this work could be of significant interest to prominent plant breeding companies.

Nathan Smith

Licensing Associate

summary

By 2050, more than 75% of the world could be impacted by global drought. Purdue University researchers are developing resilient crops that can adapt to the changing climate.

PROBLEM

The United Nations reported that more than 75% of the world’s population could be impacted by global drought by 2050. Almost 50% of the contiguous United States is currently in drought conditions. The average costs associated with droughts and heat waves have been estimated at more than $6 billion annually.

SOLUTION

Purdue University researchers are conducting research on resilient crops adapted to the changing climate. They have identified that elevating the levels of a naturally occurring protein in a cell’s nucleus significantly enhances a plant’s drought tolerance.

The researchers have successfully incorporated their technology to generate soybean lines. They will further select and develop plants to test in controlled environments and field settings.