Curvularia: Fungal Symbiosis for Drought Protection in Wheat

There is a critical need for technology to reduce drought induced crop losses on more than 45million acres of US dryland grown small grains.Montana BioAgriculture MBAI licensed patentsfor a plant symbiotic fungus Curvularia protuberata which confers tolerance to drought in wheatand barley.MBAI sees opportunity to bring C. protuberata to commercial use and to demonstratethe company's expertise in production formulation and delivery systems for other plant symbioticmicrobes.Phase 1 demonstrated proof of concept: Low cost spore production using commercially scalableculture conditions; Efficient delivery by spore coating seeds; Up to 10 days of increased toleranceto water stress in wheat grown from nonsterile seed planted in nonsterile soil. Phase II will advanceC. protuberata to a commercial product with objectives and work plan to:1. Ensure efficacy in commercial production and delivery2. Confirm efficacy across multiple wheat varieties3. Use C. protuberata in combination with other beneficial fungi4. Integrate C. protuberata with agronomic practices5. Determine capital and operating cost for commercial production6. Determine regulatory requirements and cost7. Demonstrate efficacy in field trialsMBAI will raise capital for commercial production and marketing to help grain farmers respond toclimate change and unpredictable rainfall. Based on phase 1 results MBAI can sell C. protuberataas low cost "drought insurance" while providing attractive return to investors.As a commercial product C. protuberata will contribute to food security and advance developmentand delivery of science for agricultural to mitigate climate impacts.