Freezing Tolerance

Freezing results in severe damage or death of plant tissue due to formation of ice crystals that rupture the delicate system of membranes within plant cells. As such, annual crop losses in the US due to frost damage are estimates to range from $200 million to $1 billion per year. We have identified a number of transcription factors that control the synthesis of particular metabolites which protect the cells against freezing damage. WeatherGard is one of Mendel's most advanced technologies for this trait area and has been proven effective across a very wide range of target species including oil crops such as Canola and trees species such as Eucalyptus.