Probiotics
for plants
We design microbes for more sustainable agriculture.
Every teaspoon of soil is home to billions of microbes
By engineering the bacteria that live in soil, we aim to nurture healthy and sustainable communities—from the ground up.
Microbes have evolved alongside plants and help them grow by giving them nutrients and protecting them from pests. We are plant scientists, microbiologists, and synthetic biologists looking to the soil microbiome for solutions for today’s farmers.
Our first challenge:
Reducing the amount of fertilizer
Our goal is to reduce the amount of industrial nitrogen fertilizer needed to grow crops like corn, wheat, or rice, to dramatically decrease the fossil fuel used and greenhouse gases produced by agriculture today.
Reducing the amount of industrial nitrogen fertilizer would:
Cut greenhouse gas emissions
Reduce fossil fuel use
Reduce water pollution
We are engineers, plant scientists, microbiologists, and synthetic biologists.
Our work combines the synthetic biology leadership of Ginkgo Bioworks with Bayer’s deep knowledge and experience in crop science and ag biologicals.
