Genetic Improvement of Salt and Drought Tolerance in Crop Plants

UT-Battelle, LLC, acting under its Prime Contract No. DE-AC05-00OR22725 with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for the management and operation of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), is seeking a commercialization partner for our innovation to genetically improve plants for salt and drought tolerance. The ORNL Technology Transfer Office will accept licensing applications through March 16, 2020. ORNL researchers have developed genetically modified crop plants that harness the power of a key gene for the resistance to both drought and salt stress, while also increasing the biomass yield under normal conditions. This key gene, the CAM gene, is found in a natural water-use efficiency mechanism based on the Crassulacean Acid Metabolism and facilitates a plant’s adaption to awater-limited and salinized environment. The CAM gene is native to the desert-dwelling plant Agave and simultaneously increases biomass yield under normal conditions and resistance to both drought and salt stresses. This technology has been successfully established in the model plant tobacco, and it is currently being extended to food crops (e.g., rice, soybean) and bioenergy feedstocks (e.g., poplar). Overexpression of this key gene enhances the expression of multiple genes relevant to carbon dioxide fixation, consequently improving photosynthetic efficiency and biomass yield, and increases the accumulation of proline, a key player in plant tolerance to drought and salt stresses. This technology facilitates the sustainable production of food and bioenergy on marginal lands or under seasonal drought conditions, with potential to generate significant positive impact on the food, bioenergy, landscape, and timber industries, which together represent a combined market opportunity of hundreds of billions of dollars each year. Such markets are essential for our national food, energy, and economic security. In an average year, the world experiences a 50–80% yield loss of crops due primarily to drought and high soil salinity. Application of this technology will help meet the increasing demand for food, biofuel, and animal feed while increasing the competitiveness of the U.S. agricultural industry in an environmentally friendly way. This technology was originally developed using federal funds and selected for further development under ORNL's Technology Innovation Program (TIP). TIP supports technology development using royalties from existing technology licenses to accelerate the market readiness of high potential technologies. License applications will be evaluated based on prospective partners' ability and commitment to successfully commercialize the technology. If a license is executed, the ORNL researchers developing the technology will be eligible to compete for additional TIP funding to further advance the technology. Please contact Jennifer Caldwell, Group Leader, Technology Commercialization, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 865.574.4180, [email protected] with any questions and to obtain a license application for this opportunity. Intellectual Property UTB ID 201804140, Gene for Enhancing Salt and Drought Tolerance in Plants and Methods of Use , U.S. Patent Application 16/774,552 and PCT Patent Application PCT/US2020/015389, filed on January 28, 2020. Additional information Please visit our ORNL webpage for additional information including technical overviews and videos at https://www.ornl.gov/content/tip-talks .