Switch Bioworks has entered a strategic collaboration with Bayer Crop Science to explore next-generation biologicals built on its genetic switch technology.
Nitrogen fixation is the first target. The challenge is a familiar one. Microbes engineered to make nitrogen fertilizer often struggle to establish on the root. Strains that colonize reliably tend to produce too little nitrogen to matter to growers.
Switch says its approach avoids that trade-off. The company’s engineered microbes, first developed at Stanford, colonize the root first. Only then do they switch on nitrogen production. In grow-room studies, this programmed timing produced five times more nitrogen than control strains that stayed on all the time.
The company describes the work as programmable biology and a new category of biofertilizer. Its genetic switch technology is protected by seven patent families. Switch says the platform could also apply to energy, industrial biotechnology and human health microbiomes.
Field work is already underway. The company has USDA and EPA authorization for field trials of its engineered microbial fertilizer. Trials are running at multiple sites across the U.S. Midwest. Switch also received approval in Brazil from the National Technical Biosafety Commission, known as CTNBio.
Founder and CEO Tim Schnabel said the partnership reflects the potential of the platform and marks a major milestone for the company. He noted that Bayer understands the complexities of nitrogen performance in corn.
Benoit Hartmann, who leads insights, innovation and partnerships at Bayer Crop Science, said growers need more options for unpredictable conditions and crop nutrition. He said biologicals are one way to address that. Bayer works with outside innovators and adds its strengths in product development, formulation, field testing, commercialization and crop genetics.
