Global Centers: International Research Center for Enhancing Plant Resilience

This award is funded by NSF Global Centers program, an innovative partnership with funding agencies in Canada, Finland, Japan, Republic of Korea, and the United Kingdom, to jointly support use-inspired research addressing global challenges through the bioeconomy. These partnerships leverage resources to tackle challenges at a larger scale than would be possible for one funding agency alone. This Center is jointly supported by NSF, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Japan Science and Technology Agency, the National Research Foundation of Korea, and UK Research and Innovation. The International Research Center for Enhancing Plant Resilience addresses the critical challenge of stabilizing global food production amid unpredictable weather patterns. It brings together experts from the United States, Canada, Japan, Republic of Korea, and the United Kingdom, to explore sustainable solutions for agriculture. By discovering and harnessing natural products from plants and microbes, it aims at enhancing plant and soil health. The goal is to ensure crop productivity despite increasing environmental stressors. By creating natural solutions to stabilize crop productivity, the Center addresses urgent agricultural problems. It reduces reliance on non-sustainable practices like synthetic fertilizers and extensive irrigation. It engages industry and agricultural stakeholders. This ensures that the developed solutions are practical, scalable, and adopted widely. The international collaboration also fosters multidisciplinary knowledge exchange and skill development across borders. It strengthens global scientific capabilities. It plays a pivotal role in training the next generation of scientists and leaders in sustainable agriculture. A particular focus on public engagement and technology adoption aims to build trust and facilitate the widespread implementation of sustainable agricultural practices. This effort contributes to the broad bioeconomy and societal well-being. The Center harnesses the natural chemical diversity harbored in plants and microbes. It generates green chemistry solutions to enhance crop resilience against stresses like drought and heat waves, minimize external fertilization, and protect crops against increasing pest and pathogen load. The research involves a detailed exploration of plant and microbial metabolites that can improve crop resilience. The team samples, annotates, and synthesizes key metabolites, using advanced genomics, AI-based strategies, and synthetic biology. The research pipeline includes identifying biosynthetic pathways, validating bioactivity through lab and field testing, and assessing the environmental and animal toxicity of these compounds. By integrating international expertise and resources, the Center develops new, natural agricultural products that enhance crop resilience, reduce dependency on non-sustainable farming practices, and support global food security. This technical work is complemented by rigorous public engagement and outreach efforts, ensuring that its outcomes are accessible and beneficial to society at large. The Center establishes an international training program to promote cross-lab, institute, and country collaboration, enhancing global knowledge and workforce development. The overarching goal is to transition to the early operational stage with contracts from governments, academic institutions, and industry partners. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.