MTRAC Funded Research

Michigan Translational Research and Commercialization (MTRAC) has awarded the Brandizzi lab it’s second year of funding.

Translational research steps toward commercialization of single-modifier strategy for plant biomass and productivity enhancement

In an effort to address food security issues related to increasing land scarcity for crops, Dr. Brandizzi has established a new technology based on the overexpression of a single gene.  This overexpression causes an increase in photosynthesis, biomass, and digestibility.  With Tier I MTRAC funding, Dr. Brandizzi’s lab will transfer the technology from a model plant species into two crops of high economic relevance, soybean and alfalfa.  The expected outcome of this approach is an increase in seed yield of soybean plants and also an increase in biomass and improved quality of alfalfa plants. 

http://innovationcenter.msu.edu/news/msu-mtrac-awards-six-agbio-translation-grants

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Images taken from Starla Zemelis-Durfee and Alexis Lockett)