Production of Plants with Increased Biomass and Seed Yield

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will establish the feasibility of generating plants with enhanced biomass and seed yield by introduction of a particular transgene. Mendel Biotechnology, Inc. generated transgenic Arabidopsis plants in which one transcription cofactor of the AT-hook class was over-expressed. We found that these plants displayed dramatic increases in biomass production and seed yield. It is well-known that environmental factors such as water, light, and nutrients significantly affect plant growth, biomass accumulation and seed yield. The results from Arabidopsis will indicate the technical feasibility of producing high-yield crops, including corn, rice, soybean, wheat, alfalfa, eucalyptus, tomato and canola (a Brassica crop that is highly related to the model plant, Arabidopsis) by introducing a plant transcription cofactror. This would have implications for all areas of agricultural bitechnology and would undoubtedly attract significant commercial interest. A mere 0.5% increase in the production of major row crops due to increased yield would generate an extra $1.5 to $2.0 billion per year.