Periodic Reporting for period 1 - PLANeT (PLant AdaptioN to Elevated Temperatures: mitigating crop losses caused by climate change)
Reporting period: 2023-11-01 to 2025-04-30
Climate change is making droughts and heatwaves more frequent and intense, causing billions of euros in crop losses every year. These extreme weather events threaten food security and create urgent challenges for agriculture, especially in regions that rely on rainfed farming. Traditional strategies like irrigation, genetic breeding, and soil treatments offer only partial or limited solutions. There is a growing need for new, scalable, and effective tools to help crops withstand these stresses.
PLANeT addresses this challenge by combining advanced plant science with innovation in biotechnology. The project developed EARTH®, a high-throughput screening platform that rapidly tests thousands of natural or synthetic compounds to find those that help plants tolerate drought and heat. This platform uses precise, stress-relevant assays in model and crop plants, enabling early identification of bioactive molecules with real agronomic potential.
As a result of this project, a number of lead compounds were identified and validated in relevant crops, including tomato and wheat. These compounds improve plant survival and growth under stress conditions and have shown promising results in pilot field trials. They are now protected by patent filings and positioned for further development and commercialization.
To support broader scientific discovery, PLANeT also created an interactive database that integrates transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic datasets related to plant stress, which allows researchers to identify biomarkers and explore regulatory networks involved in resilience, accelerating future breakthroughs in crop improvement on desertic ecosystems.
In parallel, the project developed a market-oriented strategy to bring its results beyond the lab. A detailed business model, pitch deck, and investor roadmap were created, and the project team participated in major innovation forums across Europe. These efforts have already attracted early interest from the agri-biotech sector and investors.
PLANeT contributes directly to the European Green Deal and Sustainable Development Goals by offering tools that reduce crop losses, improve water use efficiency, and reduce the need for inputs like fertilizers. By helping farmers adapt to climate stress while preserving resources, PLANeT supports a more sustainable and resilient food system.
PLANeT addresses this challenge by combining advanced plant science with innovation in biotechnology. The project developed EARTH®, a high-throughput screening platform that rapidly tests thousands of natural or synthetic compounds to find those that help plants tolerate drought and heat. This platform uses precise, stress-relevant assays in model and crop plants, enabling early identification of bioactive molecules with real agronomic potential.
As a result of this project, a number of lead compounds were identified and validated in relevant crops, including tomato and wheat. These compounds improve plant survival and growth under stress conditions and have shown promising results in pilot field trials. They are now protected by patent filings and positioned for further development and commercialization.
To support broader scientific discovery, PLANeT also created an interactive database that integrates transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic datasets related to plant stress, which allows researchers to identify biomarkers and explore regulatory networks involved in resilience, accelerating future breakthroughs in crop improvement on desertic ecosystems.
In parallel, the project developed a market-oriented strategy to bring its results beyond the lab. A detailed business model, pitch deck, and investor roadmap were created, and the project team participated in major innovation forums across Europe. These efforts have already attracted early interest from the agri-biotech sector and investors.
PLANeT contributes directly to the European Green Deal and Sustainable Development Goals by offering tools that reduce crop losses, improve water use efficiency, and reduce the need for inputs like fertilizers. By helping farmers adapt to climate stress while preserving resources, PLANeT supports a more sustainable and resilient food system.
We implemented a phenotypic screening cascade in Arabidopsis to identify bioactive compounds that improve plant resilience to drought and heat. The platform included stress-specific assays and was validated in tomato and wheat. A number of lead compounds were identified and confirmed effective under greenhouse and pilot field conditions. Their strong performance allowed us to bypass further tool development and focus on IP protection and field validation.
A structured multi-omics database was created to integrate phenotypic and molecular data under stress across species. It enables comparative analysis, biomarker discovery, and supports future screenings.
Two patent applications were submitted to protect the lead compounds. The project also delivered a market analysis and business plan, which supported early engagement with investors and participation in startup programs. Presentation at key agri-biotech events led to ongoing field trials and industrial interest in the platform.
A structured multi-omics database was created to integrate phenotypic and molecular data under stress across species. It enables comparative analysis, biomarker discovery, and supports future screenings.
Two patent applications were submitted to protect the lead compounds. The project also delivered a market analysis and business plan, which supported early engagement with investors and participation in startup programs. Presentation at key agri-biotech events led to ongoing field trials and industrial interest in the platform.
The PLANeT project has implemented a scalable screening platform to identify bioactive compounds that enhance crop resilience to drought and heat. The EARTH® platform was validated in model and crop species, leading to the identification of lead compounds with agronomic relevance.
These compounds improved biomass and survival in greenhouse trials and showed promising yield effects in tomato and vineyard pilot tests. To advance towards market adoption, the project initiated regulatory and industrial engagement, supported by a solid IP strategy and early field collaborations.
PLANeT has delivered validated leads, initial field data, and a commercialization roadmap, contributing practical tools for climate-resilient agriculture.
These compounds improved biomass and survival in greenhouse trials and showed promising yield effects in tomato and vineyard pilot tests. To advance towards market adoption, the project initiated regulatory and industrial engagement, supported by a solid IP strategy and early field collaborations.
PLANeT has delivered validated leads, initial field data, and a commercialization roadmap, contributing practical tools for climate-resilient agriculture.