SBIR Phase I: GABA-Mediated Nitrogen Efficiency

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I research aims to increase the efficiency in which plants use nitrogen (N) and to enhance their tolerance to water stress. The proposed project will introduce into oilseed plants a novel pathway that will increase production of the amino acid, gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA). GABA has been implicated in both N uptake and stress tolerance. Research objectives include testing how the novel pathway affects plant size and yield, as well as effects on seed viability and quality under limited N and water stress conditions. The broader impacts of this research are economic growth and environmental relief. Crop yield is directly related to N use. However, of the N fertilizer applied to the fields, plants use only a portion. Unutilized N runs off into rivers, lakes, and streams. N-based fertilizers are a major cost in crop production. Thus plants that can achieve high yield with significantly less N (i.e., increased N-use efficiency; NUE) could significantly reduce crop-production costs and help protect the environment while accommodating the growing demand for food, feed, fiber, and biofuel. A 20% (modest) increase in NUE is estimated to have a global annual savings of nearly $5 billion in cereal production alone. Weather changes also affect crop-production costs and yield. Droughts have incurred global annual crop losses of 5% to 30%. Plants with increased tolerance to drought could help sustain agricultural production. The proposed technology has great commercial potential in a market that is actively seeking crops with increased NUE and value-added traits.