SBIR-STTR Award

The long-term goal of the collaboration between Southern Sun BioSystems and the University of South Carolina (USC) is to transfer technology to support an environmental plant breeding and remediation technology-development center supplying hardware, protocols for breeding-selection and mass production, commercial numbers of elite plants for nurseries and remediation businesses, with licensing and tracking mechanisms for protecting intellectual property. This project supports the initial development of a novel technology for breeding a large biomass, monoculture forming wetland plant for phytoremediation. The technology transfer capitalizes on Southern Sun's innovative plant culture technologies and equipment. The critical element of somaclonal breeding is amplification of the genetic variation-generating step, that is the number of cell divisions in the totipotent cell culture phase and the overall biomass subjected to selection. It is hypothesized that the exponential growth phase of the embryogenic tissue culture can be extended by providing optimal conditions with minimized disturbance, and this will result in increased overall growth rates. Secondly application of a selection pressure by exposure to the targeted pollutant with alters the frequency of somaclonal variants. Supporting Phase 1 Objectives: (1) acceleration of mass propagation of the shoot regenerating tissue culture; (2) frequency of somaclonal variation: role of the extended exponential growth phase of the cell culture; (3) frequency of somaclonal variation: the role of preselection; (4) certification of elite lines: first order detoxification rate constant; (5) test the stability of the new trait after nursery grow-out. Efficacy of this novel approach will be demonstrated by selection of elite lines with superior haloorganic detoxification from in vitro cultures at USC. Detoxification rates under hydrological conditions simulating field conditions will be determined in Southern Sun's culture vessels and environmental control units.

Thesaurus Terms:
chlorohydrocarbon, detoxification, environmental therapy, genetically modified plant, inbreeding, plant growth /development, technology /technique development, tissue /cell culture embryonic stem cell biotechnology

The long-term goal of the collaboration between the USC and Southern Sun BioSystems is to create a plant breeding and remediation technology-development center which would supply hardware, protocols for breeding-selection and mass production of elite plants for nurseries and remediation businesses, with licensing and tracking mechanisms for protecting intellectual property. This project is built on the successful demonstration of the feasibility of our novel technology for in vitro breeding of a large biomass plant for field-scale phytoremediation. The technology transfer capitalizes on Southern Sun's innovative mass propagation technologies and on somaclonal breeding by amplification of the genetic variation-generating step, that is the number of cell divisions in the totipotent cell cultures subjected to selection. A commercialization plan for elite plant sales and breeding technology is supported by letters of commitment from a variety of remediation and biomass utilizing businesses. Phase II objectives: (1) the frequency and extent of somaclonal variation in second round of culture and (2) preselection using the same pollutant (testing physiological constraints on dehalogenation); (3) add valuable new traits (morphological variations, higher cellulose to lignin ratio) to elite lines from Phase I and (4) to a salt tolerant line; (5) improve mass propagation, transportation, acclimatization by prevention of hyperhydricity; (6) certify elite lines by determining first order detoxification rate constant in hydroponic system, (7) by testing stability of the new traits, and by crop trials to demonstrate remediation of trichlorophenol (and biomass production) of TCP at Southern Sun (8a), and to demonstrate biomass production and remediation of a select pollutant in city sewage sludge at BioTech, Inc., Cayce SC (8b), and potentially in hog lagoons in Clinton, NC. Phase II will produce: elite lines with certified superior haloorganic detoxification ability with added traits to promote end uses, sufficient in vitro stock for mass propagation/field applications, an improved strategic efficiency, cost per unit output, of elite plants for phytoremediation, and pre-booked sales

Thesaurus Terms:
biotransformation, plant genetics, plant growth /development, plant physiology, technology /technique development