Pivot Bio joins the International Phytobiomes Alliance

The International Alliance for Phytobiomes Research announces that Pivot Bio has joined the organization as a sponsoring partner.

 

The Phytobiomes Alliance is an international, nonprofit consortium of academic institutions, private companies, and government agencies. The Alliance facilitates and coordinates international efforts toward expanding phytobiomes research to accelerate the sustainable production of food, feed, and fiber for food security.

 

Phytobiomes research is a system-level approach focused on the complex interactions between plants, microorganisms, soils, climate, environment, and management practices. The term “Phytobiome” refers to a plant growing within a specific environment, or biome. Phytobiomes consist of plants, their environment, and their associated communities of organisms. Interactions within phytobiomes are dynamic and profoundly affect plant and agroecosystem health.

 

Founded in 2011, Pivot Bio works at the intersection of synthetic biology and the plant microbiome to develop nitrogen-producing microbes as alternatives to synthetic nitrogen fertilizer for crops. Recognized by Fast Company as one of the Most Innovative Companies in 2019, the company recently announced its second season of selling its flagship product to U.S. farmers. Pivot Bio PROVENTM is the industry’s first sustainable nitrogen-producing microbe for corn.

 

“We are excited to join the Phytobiomes Alliance and to participate actively on the Alliance Coordinating Committee,” said Richard Broglie, Ph.D., Chief Technology Officer at Pivot Bio. “The Alliance brings together an impressive interdisciplinary community of industry and academic researchers committed to discovering and advancing new technologies that enable farmers to maximize outcomes while enhancing agroecosystem health.”

 

“We are very pleased to have Pivot Bio join the Alliance. Their approach on delivering sustainable nitrogen solutions for agricultural crops will help the industry meet the challenges facing agriculture,” said Kellye Eversole, the Alliance Executive Director. “The Pivot Bio team, with their extensive industry experience and scientific knowledge, will be an invaluable addition to the Alliance’s scientific Coordinating Committee and its working groups.”

 

The Alliance Coordinating Committee identifies research, resource and technology gaps, establishes priorities, and develops strategic plans to achieve Alliance goals.

 

Over the next decades, the United Nations predicts that the world population will reach 9.7 billion by 2050. To produce enough food for this growing population in less than 30 growing seasons requires a major paradigm shift in agricultural research and production. The Phytobiomes Alliance aims at addressing this challenge by establishing a foundation of knowledge on how phytobiome components interact and affect each other. Understanding entire systems of phytobiomes will be critical to ensuring sustainable global food security in the next decades in the context of population growth, climate change, the necessity to preserve biodiversity and natural resources, and maintain or enhance grower and farmer profitability.