Sunflowers are known for seeds, oil, and cheerful flowers. But they have a hidden trait: leaves with 0.5% rubber content, previously too low for commercial use. We're unlocking this potential, transforming sunflowers into America's rubber source.
We use advanced computational tools to determine which genetic crosses will yield higher rubber content
This process gave us a precise breeding strategy. We predict we can increase sunflower natural rubber content by ≥10x
Our computer models are able to simulate ~500,000 possible breeding combinations looking for desirable hybrid traits, and rank them by predicting offspring performance
We systemically breed to identify the best sunflower hybrids
We are able to produce hybrids that outperform their parent plants, producing greater plant biomass and increased rubber yields of at least 4x.
