Strengthening Global Food Security Through Plant Genomics
At the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, we’re unlocking the genetic potential of plants to enhance yield, resilience, and nutritional value for a growing world.
Agriculture has sustained humanity for millennia. From the early days of domestication 10,000 years ago in the Fertile Crescent, farmers have continuously refined wild plants, selecting for desirable traits like larger fruits or disease resistance. This careful cultivation transformed wild species into reliable, large-scale food sources.
Today’s farmers face challenges on a scale like never before:
- Rising global population
- Changing weather patterns
- Emerging plant diseases and pests
To ensure a stable food supply, crops must be more productive, more resilient, and more nutritious, grown with fewer resources in increasingly unstable environments.
Our team studies plant genomes to identify valuable traits, then uses advanced tools to translate those findings into improved crop varieties.
We apply a comprehensive approach to crop improvement that includes:
Whole-Genome Sequencing
We sequence entire plant genomes to get a complete blueprint of their genetic makeup.Pangenomics
We analyse the genomes of multiple plant varieties to capture all genes within a species and discover genetic diversity.
Robust Analysis Pipelines
We use sophisticated computational tools to analyze vast amounts of genomic data and pinpoint genes linked to desirable traits.
Trait Discovery
We identify and validate genes that control key characteristics, such as disease resistance, drought tolerance, and nutrient content.
Targeted Trait Improvement
We use a variety of breeding techniques and advanced tools to develop new varieties with enhanced traits.
Translational Partnerships
We collaborate with growers, industry leaders, and academic partners to move discoveries from the lab into the field, ensuring research creates real-world impact.
At HudsonAlpha, our work in crop improvement spans the entire process, from trait discovery to targeted engineering and real-world application. We’re accelerating the development of crops that are more productive, resilient, and nutritious.
Peanut Smut Resistance
Combating a Devastating Fungal Disease
Peanut smut is a devastating fungal disease that destroys peanut seeds from within the pod, severely reducing yield and farmer livelihoods. If you open a peanut pod of a plant severely affected by the disease, you will just find dust inside instead of a seed. While currently confined to Argentina, the risk of international spread is growing.
Working closely with collaborators in Argentina, HudsonAlpha Faculty Investigator Josh Clevenger, PhD, and his lab identified a region of the peanut genome that controls resistance to peanut smut. This discovery led to the development of a genetic marker that can be used by breeders to select for smut resistance in peanut varieties. By equipping breeding programs with precision tools, the team is helping safeguard global peanut production and food security.
Pangenomics for Global Crop Improvement
Bringing genomic innovation to farms
Pangenomics, the study of the full range of genetic variation within a species, holds promise for unlocking traits like drought tolerance and pest resistance. At HudsonAlpha, we’re working to turn that promise into practical impact, especially for small-scale farmers who grow their food in some of the world’s toughest conditions.
As part of a global pangenomic breeding network, researchers at HudsonAlpha’s Genomic Sequencing Center are helping accelerate crop improvement in sorghum, a staple grown across Africa’s drylands. By teaming cutting-edge genomic tools with deep local breeding expertise, the project has developed and deployed markers for traits like resistance to the parasitic weed Striga. These markers help breeders incorporate resilience traits into locally adapted, farmer-preferred varieties, moving trait-enhanced crops from the genome to the field.
Apple and Pear Biomarkers
Minimizing waste, maximizing freshness
Apples and pears grow on trees and must be picked at the exact right time to stay crisp and delicious for months outside of their normal growing season. When picked too early or too late, fruit ripens too quickly in storage, resulting in significant food waste. This level of food waste could be avoided if we better understood the underlying biology behind apple and pear reproduction and the timing of fruit maturity.
HudsonAlpha Faculty Investigator Alex Harkess, PhD, and his lab, along with collaborators at Washington State University, are exploring the biology behind fruit development and maturity to identify molecular markers that predict the ideal harvest window. This research could help reduce food waste across the supply chain and improve year-round access to fresh, nutritious food.
Food security is one of humanity’s greatest challenges, and genomics is helping sove it. At HudsonAlpha, we’re accelerating plant innovations that will strengthen harvests, empower farmers, and nourish communities worldwide.