Newswise — The International Alliance for Phytobiomes Research is pleased to announce that Novozymes has joined the organization as a sponsoring partner.

Launched in 2016, 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 in order to accelerate the sustainable production of food, feed, and fiber for food security.

The term “Phytobiome” refers to a plant growing within a specific environment, or biome; it includes the plant itself, all micro- and macro-organisms living in, on, or around the plant—such as microbes, animals, insects, and other plants—as well as the environment, which includes soil, air, water, weather, and climate.

Denmark-based Novozymes is a global market leader in biological solutions. The company produces a wide range of industrial enzymes and microorganisms for improved industrial performance with less impact to the environment. Novozymes’ microbial innovations enable higher agricultural yield through improved pest control, and enhanced crop health.

“Novozymes is focused on developing biological solutions to help feed our growing world in a more sustainable way. We believe microbes will play a major role in this, but we can’t solve this problem alone. We are pleased to join the Alliance because together, we will have more impact and help speed solutions to the marketplace,” said Jacob Parnell, Senior Scientist at Novozymes.

Jacob Parnell will represent Novozymes in the Alliance Coordinating Committee. This Committee identifies research, resource and technology gaps, establishes priorities, and develops strategic plans to achieve Alliance goals.

“Novozymes has been a pioneer in developing biological solutions designed to improve agricultural productivity for many years,” said Kellye Eversole, the Alliance Executive Director. “We are extremely pleased to have them join the Alliance, their experience in the development and commercialization of microbial solutions will bring invaluable value to the Alliance.”

Over the next decades, the United Nations predicts that the world population will grow by 83 million every year, to reach 9.8 billion by 2050 and 11.2 billion by 2100. Producing enough food for this growing population – in a sustainable way, while preserving biodiversity and natural resources – requires a major paradigm shift in agricultural production. By establishing a foundation of knowledge on how phytobiome components interact and affect each other, the Phytobiomes Alliance aims at addressing these challenges.

Later this year, worldwide scientists from the public and private sector working on phytobiomes research will gather in Montpellier, France, from 4 to 6 December 2018 for the International Phytobiomes Conference – an event co-organized by the Phytobiomes Alliance – to present their research, discuss, and share their expertise to advance knowledge on how phytobiome components interact and affect each other.

About the Phytobiomes Alliance 

The Phytobiomes Alliance is an international, nonprofit alliance of industry, academic, and governmental partners created in 2016. The goal of the Alliance is to understand, predict and control emergent phenotypes for sustainable production of food, feed and fiber on any given farm. The Phytobiomes Alliance is sponsored by Bayer CropScience, Eversole Associates, Monsanto, Novozymes, The Climate Corporation, INRA, Indigo, the Noble Research Institute, NewLeaf Symbiotics, Evogene, IRD, Colorado State University, the University of Maryland, Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences, the Waterloo Centre for Microbial Research, the Austrian Institute of Technology, the American Phytopathological Society, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and BioConsortia. www.phytobiomesalliance.org

About Novozymes

Novozymes is the world leader in bioinnovation. We work with our partners to innovate new solutions and rethink industries around the world. Our industrial enzymes, microorganisms, biopolymers and other proteins allow our customers to achieve more efficient use of raw materials, reduce energy consumption, replace traditional chemicals with more sustainable alternatives, and offer higher-quality products. We rethink everyday products every day. www.novozymes.com