A Kerry-based company is among an international consortium working on a €4.9 million EU project aiming to create climate-resilient cereals.
BioAtlantis is part of the BOOSTER project, funded by the EU Commission under the Horizon Europe programme, is seeking to improve the drought tolerance for both maize and teff.
The global team is simultaneously exploring the potential for transferring species-specific drought responsive features.
Project
The four-year project will firstly use a new approach to identify natural genetic variations to achieve drought-tolerant genotypes.
By developing “plant biostimulants” derived from living organisms, the researches hope to harness the natural resources available to develop new varieties of drought-tolerant agricultural crops.
The information gathered by the project team will inform efficient breeding efforts to create new drought-tolerant cereal varieties.
Secondly, BioAtlantis and Aphea Bio in Belgium, will develop “novel molecular priming techologies” from seaweed and microbial-based biostimulants.
The two strategies will be tested on European maize and Ethiopian teff which have different degrees of responsiveness to drought.
The BOOSTER consortium, led by the Council for Agricultural Research and Analysis of Agricultural Economics (CREA) in Italy, comprises a highly-qualified team of academics and industry representatives from Europe, the USA, South Africa and Ethiopia.
BioAtlantis employs over 50 people at its headquarters in Tralee.
The marine biotechnology company produces natural compounds for crops, animals and humans and sells to more than 30 countries.
The company said that its involvement in the BOOSTER project builds on its “strong reputation as a disruptor in the European biotechnology sector and in the delivery of environmentally friendly and sustainable solutions to crop growers worldwide”.