image: Veena Veena, PhD, MBA, principal investigator and director of the Plant Transformation Core Facility at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center
Credit: Donald Danforth Plant Science Center
ST. LOUIS, MO, January 24, 2025 - A new collaborative research team of leading plant scientists are developing sorghums with nitrogen-saving traits by utilizing the genetic diversity of wild relatives to improve resilience and productivity for grain sorghum producers.
The project is part of a $38 million investment in nine projects by the U.S. Department of Energy, DOE, Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, ARPA-E, to develop advanced technologies for plants to increase nitrogen-use efficiency and reduce nitrogen pollution from U.S. bioenergy feedstocks.
Veena Veena, PhD, MBA, principal investigator and director of the Plant Transformation Core Facility at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center is serving as a Co-PI on the project. Veena will provide specialized knowledge in genome modification technologies and will utilize advanced genetic engineering techniques to develop sorghum lines with enhanced traits, including improved nutrient cycling, increased resilience, productivity, drought resistance and.
The project is led by Sakiko Okumoto, PhD, AgriLife Research plant physiologist and associate professor at Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Department of Soil and Crop Sciences.
The Texas A&M AgriLife Research team has been studying the potential of biological nitrification inhibition, BNI, a unique trait found in wild relatives, through previous research efforts to reduce fertilizer application and enhance environmental benefits.
The technologies developed in the project will target the grain ethanol sorghum market, Okumoto said. By leveraging genetic diversity from wild varieties, new sorghum hybrids will offer unique opportunities for both growers and sorghum grain buyers to reduce costs by lowering fertilizer application levels.
Co-PIs at Texas A&M include, Nithya Rajan, PhD., Center for Greenhouse Gas Management in Agriculture and Forestry director, crop physiologist and professor; Bill Rooney, PhD., sorghum breeder, professor and Borlaug-Monsanto Chair for Plant Breeding and International Crop Improvement; Sanjay Antony-Babu, PhD., microbiologist and assistant professor in the Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology; and Aniruddha Datta, PhD., professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in the College of Engineering.
About the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center
Founded in 1998, the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center is a not-for-profit research institute with a mission to improve the human condition through plant science. Research, education, and outreach aim to have impact at the nexus of food security and the environment and position the St. Louis region as a world center for plant science. The Center’s work is funded through competitive grants from many sources, including the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Agency for International Development, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and through the generosity of individual, corporate, and foundation donors.
For more information contact:
Karla Roeber, Vice President, Public and Government Affairs, kroeber@danforthcenter.org