Beneficial soil and plant-associated microbes serve several critical roles in plant and crop care, including decomposition of organic matter detoxification, nitrogen fixation and transformation, and transformation of important micro and macro nutrients. The typical biosphere of air, water, and soil contains countless species of microorganisms. This biological diversity represents a potentially powerful crop enhancement tool.
Joyn Bio is a joint venture between Ginkgo Bioworks and Leaps by Bayer, founded to solve the urgent agriculture challenges threatening our global food supply and environmental health using the combination of synthetic biology and beneficial microbes. Joyn's microbe engineering platform starts with a library of highly characterized plant- associated microbes and engineers them with naturally occurring traits to develop solutions that deliver a specific benefit to the plant, such as crop protection or nutrition. Joyn is seeking to expand its existing library of plant-associated microbes to add to its chassis pipeline for generating engineered microorganisms for crop care.
We are seeking a unique library of microorganisms (Bacteria, Fungi, Yeast, or other unicellular organisms) which are capable of colonizing various plant tissues. Entries can include single strains or libraries of strains. Target applications may include microbes with biofertilizer or crop protection capabilities.
Deadline: March 31, 2022
Additional funds will be available based on the level of characterization and colonization performance of the strain(s) versus like strains along with any tasks associated with a proposal which further qualifies our needs and must-haves. The funding can range from $10,000 to $500,000 based on the project requirements. The funding will take place over the course of up to one year.
