A Brazilian forestry company will be sharing yield-enhancement traits used in woody crops with a nonprofit research institute to improve the resilience of staple crops grown by small farmers in arid and semi-arid regions of Asia, Africa and Brazil. On May 29, Sao Paulo-based FuturaGene, a wholly owned subsidiary of forestry and paper company Suzano Pulp and Paper, based in Sao Paulo signed an agreement with the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, a large nonprofit research institute based in St. Louis. The Danforth Center will use the agbiotech company's technology, already tested in genetically modified (GM) eucalyptus and poplar, to boost plant biomass levels, improve crop adaptation to climate change and facilitate processing for animal feed in strategic crops. The technology hinges on the endo-β-1,4-glucanase CEL1 gene isolated from Arabidopsis thaliana, which encodes an enzyme implicated in cell wall metabolism. Expressing this gene relaxes the crystalline matrix of the plant cell wall facilitating cell expansion. Eucalyptus variants overexpressing this glucanase gene are currently in regulatory trials in Brazil. The Danforth Center expects to introduce the transgene into the model grass setaria and, if successful, to millet, sorghum and cassava. “We can envisage applications to increase biomass accumulation or to reduce crop-cycle duration,” says Mike May, FuturaGene vice president of public affairs. This alliance “is an example to follow on what is possible when the public and private sector break down the barriers and join forces towards putting advanced technologies in the hands of resource-poor farmers,” says Marc Van Montagu, chairman of the FuturaGene scientific advisory board and recent winner of the 2013 World Food Prize. “I believe that Brazil has a powerful role to play in guiding and training other countries, particularly in Africa,” he says