Indoor row crop R&D accelerates Genetic Expression Trait commercialization

The 2024 growing season is in full swing, and our field trials are making significant strides!

We're analyzing early-season data from thousands of inbred corn, hybrid corn, and soybean plots across the Midwest. However, our research journey begins long before these trials.

In growth chambers and greenhouses, we develop curated Light Recipes to activate specific traits using our novel Light Signal Platform. This platform combines agronomic data, biological insights (including proprietary genetic markers), and artificial intelligence-driven data algorithms to activate target traits such as stand establishment, plant composition (e.g. lipids), yield, and cross-generational inheritance – our focus for 2024.

First, we source cultivars from our seed company partners, and we use various assays to analyze a broad grid of Light Recipe performance against the target trait and corresponding molecular marker expression patterns. At this early stage, seeds are sown in environmentally-controlled growth chambers to compare key metrics like germination rates, root density, and other early phenotypic indicators – depending on the target trait or trait package.

From there, research moves to the greenhouse. Our goal is to gain early insights into how our Light Recipes affect plant performance objectives, bypassing the long wait until harvest. This is achieved through our genetic marker program, which identifies correlations between marker expression and phenotypic outcomes, allowing us to link Light Recipes with desirable traits in young seedlings. This cutting-edge technology enables rapid screening of our Light Recipes and selection of the most promising treatments for each cultivar to be trialed in the field.

Our molecular marker program has generated remarkable field results in past years, and the early data we’ve collected this season suggests a continuation of that success. Our team has been diligently traversing plots, collecting data, and observing early agronomic responses to Genetic Expression Trait packages. The controlled environment work facilitates the quick and effective deployment of Genetic Expression traits, advancing the Platform’s capabilities across cultivars and crops without the need for multiple seasons of field trials. 

Learn more about Genetic Expression Traits for seed companies on our row crop page here, or reach out directly: bd@biolumic.com