US biotech company expands sunflower rubber research

St. Louis, Missouri – US agricultural biotech company Edison Agrosciences is expanding its research on sunflower rubber technology following a $1 million (€840,000) government funding.

The phase II of the research project, sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), will further develop Edison’s initial technology for the production of natural rubber from sunflower plants, the company announced 5 March.

As part of the project, Edison will collaborate with St Louis-based Donald Danforth Plant Science Center to increase the level of rubber naturally produced in the leaves of the sunflower plant.  

According to Edison, sunflower leaves contain 1–2% of their weight in natural rubber. 

“Increasing that amount by a few percentage points would make sunflower an economical – and geographically diverse – source of natural rubber,” it added.

“We are pleased that DARPA has moved to continue this project to a second phase," siad David Woodburn, CEO of Edison Agrosciences.

Edison, he said, is using "an already commercialised crop" to develop NR supply, in order to leverage grower experience.

"By applying standard agricultural biotechnology, we plan to provide farmers with a profitable new crop while addressing vulnerabilities in the supply of a strategic material,” he added.