Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

The UN's Zero Hunger sustainable development goal is to "achieve food security" and "promote sustainable agriculture". Food security exists when all people "have access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food". Chemistry can play a key role in addressing sustainable food security by developing new methods and tools to improve the efficiency with which crops receive vital nutrients, to protect crops from pests and stressors, and to monitor food safety and quality from farm to fork. Aptamers are DNA strands capable of selective, high affinity binding to a molecular target. They serve as the building blocks for biosensors, as targeting agents for drug delivery, and as inhibitors and therapeutics. The goal of this research program is to develop aptamer tools for advancing precision agriculture and food security through three aims: 1) Rhizosphere biomarker aptamers for biosensing: The thin region of soil in contact with roots, known as the rhizosphere, is a complex environment laden with chemical information about the interplay between the plant, soil, and microbes. The root signals found here are valuable clues for assessing the state of the crop and soil. Aptamer tools for quantifying these compounds could provide useful information on crop health and can be used to monitor and respond to localized crop conditions. This research axis will build on our expertise in aptamer development and their integration into low-cost, point-of-use tests. The combination of our expertise in aptamers and nano-biosensing gives us a solid foundation to develop tools for monitoring these biomarkers in complex soil medium. 2) Plant surface aptamers for targeted delivery: Aptamers have been applied as components of drug-carriers for their ability to deliver therapies to targeted cellular locations, including across biological barriers. Targeting aptamer technology for delivery of chemicals across plant surfaces would improve efficiency of agrochemicals. This research axis will apply our expertise with other delivery aptamers, including those able to cross the blood-brain-barrier, to unlock new transporters for plant treatments. 3) Aptamers for improved stress protection in crops: Crops are susceptible to stresses like heat and drought, and direct injury such as protein aggregates within the plant cells can result. Aptamers able to prevent protein aggregation in crops could be exploited for improving plant stress-tolerance. This research axis will apply our expertise in developing aptamer-based protein aggregation inhibitors for Parkinson's disease to methods to find new tools to help reduce crop losses. Canada has the technology and talent to be the global leader in agricultural innovation. Canada is the world's 5th largest agricultural exporter and agriculture contributes more than $100B annually to our economy. The research proposed here will provide both the fundamental knowledge as well the expert trainees equipped to propel the smart farm of the future.