A Missouri agtech company is finding new ways to produce rubber – from sunflowers. Edison Agrosciences, based in St. Louis, Missouri, recently received a $1 million grant to research the crop’s viability for producing rubber in order to limit the Pentagon’s reliance on Asian supply.
With the Department of Defense using rubber for everything from truck tires to fighter jets, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Pentagon’s innovation arm, is concerned that if the Asian nations that produce 90% of the world’s latex should ever be hit by a fungus that severely limits production, the supply of the essential commodity would be in danger.
That is where Edison Agrosciences stepped in. It grew 120 sunflower varieties in greenhouses at Missouri’s Danforth Plant Science Center and found that their latex content varied from 0.2% to 1.8%. While the high end of that number is still small, Edison’s scientists also determined which genes control latex production and have shown how that can be increased through gene editing and predictive breeding.
Edison Agrosciences was founded in North Carolina in 2013 and moved to St. Louis three years later after BioSTL’s investment fund, BioGenerator, led an $800,000 investment round.
“There are great resources in Raleigh-Durham, but I was here and I felt the ecosystem was superior here for plant biotechnology opportunities,” said Edison Agrosciences CEO David Woodburn.
Missouri is the world leader in agtech, leading the way with innovative technology and research in plant science and animal health that is transforming agriculture. From Bayer’s global Seeds & Traits and North American commercial headquarters in St. Louis, to the Kansas City Animal Health Corridor, Missouri’s $88 billion ag industries encompass more than 378,000 jobs across the state.
What Next?
A Missouri agtech company is finding new ways to produce rubber – from sunflowers. Edison Agrosciences, based in St. Louis, Missouri, recently received a $1 million grant to research the crop’s ... Read More
Located in southwest Missouri, on the four-lane Highway 13 between Kansas City and Springfield, Bolivar Business Park is home to a 72-acre certified site. The site is zoned for industrial use ... Read More
Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri, is preparing to study the effects of COVID-19 vaccines on children and has launched an online registry for families who want to ... Read More
Those looking for an inexpensive place to live with a high salary shouldn’t have any trouble finding one in Missouri. St. Louis, and Kansas City, Missouri, were recently ranked among the ... Read More
John Deere Reman, the remanufacturing division of Deere & Company, has announced plans to invest and grow in Springfield, Missouri. The new investment will add drivetrain and hydraulic remanufacturing operations to ... Read More
When it comes to business expansion and new site selection, location is one of the most important factors. Centrally located in the Midwest, and in the center of North America, Missouri is ... Read More
Located in central Missouri, the Callaway Energy Centre is home to a 78 acre certified site, zoned for industrial projects. The site includes 11 lots, and lot sizes within tracts can ... Read More
Missouri is the global leader in agtech. To highlight the state’s tremendous innovation and success in this field, Governor Mike Parson proclaimed this week National Agriculture Week in Missouri. Governor Parson ... Read More
A new Missouri-made jet was recently delivered to the United States Air Force. Boeing, a global aerospace and defense company, was awarded a $1.2 billion contract for Missouri-made F-15EX fighter jets ... Read More
Missouri Partnership announced today that Kim Gerlt has been hired full-time as Business Recruitment Manager and Legal Specialist. In this role, Gerlt will further business attraction projects across Missouri by providing ... Read More