In the world of phosphorus, Matthias Wissuwa of the Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS) is somewhat of a ‘rock’ star. He has searched tirelessly for a rice gene that could improve rice yield in phosphorus-deficient soils –which make up half of the world’s soils, and this, even as he switched employers along the way. Rightly dubbed the ‘Guru’ and ‘Godfather’ of the Pup1 (phosphorus uptake) work, Mathias attributes the project’s success to fruitful collaborations and partnerships: in his words, GCP’s exciting collaborations brought to the Pup1 (phosphorus uptake) team answers whey wouldn’t otherwise have had, such as how root architecture influences phosphorus uptake. The Pup1 team’s work and findings were recently published in Nature.

See related press release and also tune in to Episode 3.1.