Seeds Hold
Untapped Genetic Potential
A plant’s life begins as a seed, a small packet of genetic information. This protective capsule contains all the biological instructions needed to grow a plant.
BioLumic’s xTraits™ Platform programs genetic expression, rather than modifying the genome itself. Activating Genetic Expression Traits — xTraits™ — unlocks key agronomic advantages such as yield potential, stand establishment, plant composition (e.g., lipid content), and abiotic stress resilience. This novel approach enhances crop performance by leveraging multiple modes of action to turn on beneficial traits.
Building on
Decades of Proven Science
The science behind photomorphogenesis—how plants respond to light signals—is well established. BioLumic’s xTraits™ Platform is the first technology to program traits in seeds through precise light exposure.
By activating precise xTraits in seed, our platform influences plant development at a genetic expression level without genetic modification. With 20 years of R&D, we’ve validated 200+ trait responses across 12 crops, demonstrating how light can enhance plant performance at scale.
Partnering with leading seed companies and producers
BioLumic partners with seed companies to develop targeted xTraits™, enhancing their cultivars without altering the genome. Unlike traditional biotech solutions, our approach has no regulatory barriers, making it faster and more cost-effective to bring innovative traits to market.
BioLumic programs genetic expression at the seed production level, ensuring that each seed carries activated traits before reaching growers. The process is rapid — just seconds or minutes per activation — yet its effects persist through the plant’s lifecycle and across generations. These traits are stackable, working alongside conventional seed improvements like genetic modification for greater impact.
The platform’s impact on row crops
BioLumic is the only company that programs genetic expression with light to activate plant traits. In corn and soybean, xTraits™ demonstrably increases yield potential and stand establishment. Our field trials across 3,000+ plots in the U.S. validate these benefits, helping seed companies and growers unlock greater performance from their genetics.
Explore the results in our Corn Case Study, where we highlight how BioLumic’s approach strengthens inbred lines, enhances hybrid productivity, and delivers scalable advantages across breeding and production systems.
Our focus now is on embedding these trait advancements directly into breeding and parent lines, ensuring that future seed generations inherit and express these benefits. This represents a 100x to 200x scale improvement, maximizing the genetic potential of every seed.
Bringing in-seed light treatments to commercial scale
BioLumic has partnered with Gro Alliance, North America’s largest independently owned contract corn and soybean seed production company, to propel commercial-scale entry of UV light technology into the global row-crop seed industry. We are working with select seed companies to activate in-seed light treatments on their cultivars in a multi-year development program, with commercialization targeted for 2025.
Learn more about our Light Treatment program for seed companies.
Illuminating the future of farming with Seed World
Seed World awarded BioLumic’s in-seed light treatments its Top Innovative Products of 2023. The award recognizes the technology’s unique impact as a chemical-free seed treatment and potential game-changing solution for the seed industry as a new tool with accelerated time frames and lower unit costs compared to other crop performance indicators.
Keep reading our award profile in Seed World.
Unlocking sustainable global rice production
BioLumic received $2.1M in grant funding from The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to use BioLumic’s proprietary in-seed light treatment technology to enhance the crop performance of rice - specifically Direct Dry Seeded Rice (DDSR), rice grown using sustainable practices. Our approach will be to rapidly unlock essential plant traits, including uniform and early rice seedling growth, weed competitiveness and drought tolerance to support in India, a nation accounting for nearly one-fourth of global rice production.
Read more about the Gates Foundation grant.
back to our science
Changing how seedlings grow
High-value agricultural traits