THE CHALLENGE
The global agriculture industry faces a growing challenge: phosphorus, a key nutrient for crop growth, is both environmentally problematic and economically unsustainable in its current usage. Most soils lack enough bioavailable inorganic phosphate, yet overapplication of phosphate fertilizers leads to poor plant uptake, runoff pollution, and the depletion of limited phosphate rock reserves. While various technical strategies—like breeding crops with better root systems, engineering phosphate transporters, or using microbial or chemical soil amendments—have been explored, they often deliver inconsistent results, cause undesirable side effects like stunted growth or hormonal imbalances, and fail to perform across different environments. This creates an urgent need for scalable, cost-effective solutions that can reliably improve phosphorus-use efficiency without increasing production risks or compromising yield, especially as fertilizer prices rise and environmental regulations tighten.
OUR SOLUTION
We offer a breakthrough in sustainable agriculture by engineering crops to naturally optimize their internal phosphorus use, reducing the need for costly and environmentally harmful phosphate fertilizers. By overexpressing specific plant enzymes—ITPK and VIP kinases—we boost levels of inositol pyrophosphates, which are key signaling molecules that help plants sense and manage phosphorus more efficiently. This innovation reprograms how plants respond to low-phosphate conditions, enabling healthier growth, better root development, and improved resilience without compromising yield. Unlike traditional approaches that rely on adding external inputs or modifying transport proteins, our technology taps into the plant’s own internal regulatory system. This platform offers agribusinesses a scalable, science-backed path to lower fertilizer dependency, reduced input costs, and enhanced productivity in phosphorus-limited soils.
Figure: Arabidopsis rosette growth over the course of 50 days, each image representation of n = 3 independent experiments containing 15 or more plants per genotype. Scale bar = 1 cm.
Advantages:
- Enhanced phosphorus-use efficiency via elevated inositol pyrophosphates
- Sustained growth and yield in low-phosphate soils without toxicity
- Consistent performance across diverse environments, independent of soil microbiome
- Lower fertilizer input and environmental runoff, supporting sustainable agriculture
Potential Application:
- Low-phosphorus crop cultivation in major staples (maize, rice, wheat, soybean)
- Reduced fertilizer requirement in ornamental horticulture and turf management
- Bioenergy and biomass feedstock production on phosphorus-poor soils
- Sustainable phosphate recycling and phytoremediation strategies
