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Grants4Ag: Climate solutions through plant modifications
Background

Rising levels carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases (GHGs) are driving global climate change. Climate change is already causing weather patterns to become more unpredictable and more extreme globally, and these impacts are predicted to worsen over time with rising GHG levels in the atmosphere. Without a global, multipronged strategy to decrease GHG emissions and sequester carbon, climate change will have dramatic, negative impacts on our environment and on agricultural food production. This will likely result in food security challenges and food scarcity in many parts of the world.  

 

As a science-based company, Bayer has recognized the risks posed by global climate change. We aim to continuously reduce GHG emissions within our company and along our entire value chain in accordance with the UN SDGs and the Paris Agreement to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. We at Bayer think that agriculture can also be part of the solution in the reduction of GHG emissions.  

 

Our goal is to identify and create new trait products to mitigate GHG emissions. Through this program, selected proposals will be enabled through transformation work performed at the University of Wisconsin Crop Innovation Center (WCIC), resulting in transgenic or edited materials suitable for further study.  

 

We will be awarding multiple unrestricted grants to researchers. There are no reporting requirements and applicants retain ownership of any IP developed. These grants are well-suited for principal investigators as well as postdocs and grad students, and are one of our primary ways for identifying research partners for larger-scale, long-term collaborations.

What we're looking for

Bayer Crop Science is seeking innovative trait approaches to mitigate the impacts of rising levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide on climate change using technologies that enable on-the-farm carbon sequestration or carbon removal.

We seek to fund transformation experiments that enable carbon sequestration or removal in cereals, legumes and pulses relying on the use of gene editing or transgenes.

Solutions of interest include:
  • Biosynthesis of long-lived biopolymers
  • Production of root exudates to increase carbon capture or its stabilization in soil aggregates
  • Interactions with soil microbes
Our must-have requirements are:
  • Submissions must include a hypothesis for a gene to trait effect that can be tested experimentally
Our nice-to-have's are:
  • Model system or enabling (including in silico) data to support hypothesis
What we can offer you
Benefits:
Sponsored Research
Funding is proposal-dependent and typically ranges from $5,000-$10,000. Funds will be in the form of a credit towards transformation work at the Wisconsin Crop Innovation Center. The final amount and scope of work will be based on discussions between the selected project teams, WCIC and the Bayer team.
Expertise
Each award recipient will be partnered up with a Bayer scientist who will provide guidance and feedback on the project.
Who we are

Bayer’s vision of #HealthForAll, #HungerForNone drives our need to strengthen innovation capabilities in all areas of agriculture. We know we can’t accomplish this alone, so we're always interested to hear about novel, early-stage scientific innovations that can contribute to feeding the world without starving the planet. You have our commitment to take a look, match with our R&D priorities and provide you timely feedback.

 Learn more
Reviewers
PT
Phil Taylor
Director of Open Innovation & Outreach
AF
Alessandra Frizzi
Innovation Scout
DR
Dan Ruzicka
Innovation Sourcing Lead - Biotech Breeding
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