Danforth Center scientists to develop corn varieties with improved root systems to enhance nutrient uptake

ST. LOUIS, MO., January 29, 2025 - Danforth Center scientists are launching a major new project to develop corn varieties with improved root systems that enhance soil food web interactions. By focusing on the interaction of corn roots with soil fungi that mediate nutrient transfer to plants, new technologies could reduce the use of synthetic nitrogen and farmer costs.

The $5.6M project is part of a $38 million investment in nine projects by the U.S. Department of Energy, Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (DOE ARPA-E) and will be led by Christopher Topp, PhD, Danforth Center member and principal investigator. Danforth Center Co-PI’s include Ivan Baxter, PhD and Armando Bravo, PhD. The team also includes Cinta Romay, PhD and Ed Buckler, PhD (Cornell University, USDA-ARS), Ruairidh Sawers, PhD (Penn State University), Christine Sprunger PhD, (Michigan State University), and Shawn Kaeppler, PhD (University of Wisconsin-Madison).

Topp is the Director of the Danforth Center’s Subterranean Influences on Nitrogen and Carbon Center (SINC), which is dedicated to developing technology to reduce the amount of chemical nitrogen fertilizer used in agriculture without sacrificing crop yield. Baxter and Bravo sit on SINC’s leadership committee.

“A fundamental inefficiency in corn agriculture is that nitrogen fertilizer is most abundant in the early season, when the crop has a small, shallow root system and relatively low nutrient demand,” said Topp. “Much of the excess nitrogen is lost from the farm, including through emissions of nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas, and by leaching into waterways.”

The research will build upon recent discoveries by Danforth Center scientists in the genetics of root system growth and interactions with soil fungi. The team will mine the genetic variation within corn, its wild relative teosinte, and hundreds of other grass species, including native perennials that are nitrogen efficient and that rely heavily on interactions with soil fungi. Using artificial intelligence and cutting-edge gene editing techniques, they will introduce, or re-introduce, traits that synchronize N-demand with N-supply. These traits will be tested at the Danforth Center’s Field Research Site and in multiple field sites across the U.S. to evaluate their real-world potential for increasing nitrogen use efficiency at scale.

“Our ‘N-sync’ project aims to improve synchronization of supply and demand, both within a single growing season and across the years,” said Topp. “If we are successful, the approach will simultaneously reduce financial and environmental costs of corn agriculture, which scales quickly at ~90M acres we grow in the U.S. each year.”

Bringing new technologies to market will be an important part of the work. The research team will be guided to commercial impact by an Industry Advisory Board, leveraging the capacity of the Danforth Startup Initiative and Danforth Technology Company, with additional contributions expected by long-term research partner Valent Biosciences and newer partner, CQuesta.

The funding is part of ARPA-E’s Technologies to Emend and Obviate Synthetic Nitrogen’s Toll on Emissions (TEOSYNTE) program that aims to reduce the use of synthetic fertilizer by implementing innovative solutions through crop breeding, genetic engineering, and microbial technologies, and by reducing agriculture-related emissions and lowering operating costs for American farmers.

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, 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