Researchers at the Salk Institute are engineering soybeans with roots that penetrate far deeper into soil than conventional varieties, betting that the innovation could help address two of humanity's most pressing challenges: climate change and food security. An $18 million grant from the Bezos Earth Fund is backing the work, which involves field testing at sites across the Midwest, with initial results expected this fall.
The stakes are enormous. Wolfgang Busch, director of the institute's Harnessing Plants Initiative, put it plainly: "It will become harder to grow enough food for enough people." Climate change is already disrupting agriculture worldwide, and the window to act is narrowing. This research represents one of several technological approaches scientists believe could help stabilize both atmospheric carbon levels and crop yields as temperatures rise and drought becomes more frequent.
The project began six years ago when Salk scientists created what they call an "encyclopedia" of plant genomes, cataloging hundreds of versions of common row crops like soybeans and sorghum from around the world. That work led to a critical discovery: 347 genes related to carbon storage and root growth. Using genetic editing techniques, researchers have now created soybean plants whose roots grow straight down into the soil rather than spreading outward like typical varieties. On a recent visit to a research field in Urbana, Illinois, research scientist Ashish Rajurkar demonstrated the difference by kneeling in the dirt and lifting a large clod of soil tangled around one of the modified plants, its roots plunging deep below the surface.
How the Technology Works
Todd Michael, a research professor at the Salk Institute, explained the approach: "We wanted to leverage the natural variation of a given plant." Rather than creating entirely synthetic organisms, the team identified genetic traits already present in different soybean varieties worldwide and used selective breeding and genetic editing to combine them. The result is a crop engineered to accomplish multiple goals simultaneously.
Deeper roots allow plants to access water stored below the surface during droughts, potentially making crops more resilient as weather becomes more erratic. The roots also pull carbon from the atmosphere and store it underground, where it's less vulnerable to being released when farmers till their fields. The researchers are further boosting carbon storage by encouraging larger root systems and increasing suberin, a cork-like substance in roots that decomposes more slowly than other plant tissues, keeping carbon locked away longer.
There's an additional benefit that addresses a major source of water pollution. The larger root systems absorb more nitrogen and other fertilizer runoff, reducing the nutrient overload that causes algae blooms and creates low-oxygen "dead zones" in waterways that kill marine life. Some researchers also hypothesize that steeper root systems could allow farmers to plant more crops in the same area, potentially increasing yields without expanding agricultural land.
Testing Under Real-World Conditions
At the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, researchers are growing the modified soybean plants under a canopy that can open and close to simulate drought conditions. Underground cameras and sensing equipment track carbon levels in the soil and monitor root growth in real time. Similar field sites operate in Missouri, Kansas, and Iowa. Based on earlier laboratory results, Salk researchers estimate that one hectare—about 2.5 acres—of deeper-rooted soybeans could store an additional metric ton of carbon dioxide per year.
Busch acknowledged significant uncertainty. "We don't really know what the real trade-off is," he said. "You have to test it in the field." The researchers need accurate data on actual carbon storage and crop yield before claiming success. A 2025 study that Busch co-authored modeled something potentially transformative: if deeper-rooted versions of soybeans, corn, cotton, and canola were adopted across countries where genetically modified crops are already grown, they could remove about a gigaton of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere per year by 2040.
The Adoption Gap
But moving from laboratory success to widespread farmer adoption isn't automatic. Busch noted that herbicide-resistant crops spread through farmers' fields in less than a decade once introduced, suggesting that promising agricultural technology can spread rapidly if it aligns with market incentives. "Historically it's clear, if you have a technology that is interesting to a big seed company, it will go out there very, very fast," he said.
Yet Andrew Bovarnik, head of global food systems for the United Nations Development Programme, offered a more cautious assessment. He emphasized that farmers' decisions aren't made in isolation. "Farmers' decisions are shaped not only by what happens on their fields, but also by seed companies, commodity buyers, government subsidies, trade rules and access to financing," Bovarnik explained. The global agricultural system, he suggested, is deeply entrenched. "There's a sense that if you innovate and come up with a good idea, then boom, it can happen. But it tends not to."
Bovarnik also noted that farmers are understandably reluctant to risk unfamiliar crops without evidence they won't bring unintended problems—greater susceptibility to disease or heat stress, for instance. Government subsidies and financial incentives could accelerate adoption, but even if the technology proves successful, its real-world impact will depend on how land is used, how soils are managed, and whether crops like soy are grown for the most efficient or beneficial purposes.
Busch stressed the urgency. "It's a race against time," he said of climate change. "We are racing against limiting the damage and crossing tipping points, where it's much harder to return from." Crop development takes years, which is why ambitious solutions require fast funding and rapid implementation. The research community is betting that deeper-rooted crops could be part of a broader toolkit for addressing climate disruption while feeding a growing global population.
Why This Matters:
Climate change threatens food security for billions of people, particularly those in low-income regions least responsible for causing the crisis. This research addresses a genuine gap: most current agricultural innovation focuses on short-term yield, not on building resilience or reducing agriculture's own carbon footprint. The potential to store additional carbon while making crops drought-resistant and reducing fertilizer pollution demonstrates how technological innovation can serve multiple public goods simultaneously. However, the adoption challenge Bovarnik identified is real. Without government support, regulatory frameworks, and incentives that prioritize climate and environmental benefits over short-term profit, even effective technologies may languish unused. The research also highlights a broader truth: technological fixes alone won't solve food insecurity or climate change. Systemic change—in how we subsidize agriculture, manage land, and decide what crops to grow and why—remains essential. The deeper question isn't whether this soybean works, but whether our agricultural and economic systems are structured to deploy it equitably and at scale.