# STTR Phase I: Mitochondria-ON: a Platform for Light-Responsive Energy Generation in Plant Mitochondria

> **NSF 01002526DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT** · LUMINOVA BIOTECH LLC (NY) · $305,000

## Abstract

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project is a more productive and resilient food supply, enabled by enhanced growth and stress tolerance for a wide range of crop plants. This project aims to impart these benefits through the development of a technology that augments plant mitochondrial function using light to reduce oxygen instead of electron transfer. The technology offers an entirely novel means of accelerating plant growth and increasing plant stress tolerance, potentially leading to increased yields and crop loss reductions. Even marginal crop yield increases can have significant economic impacts; thus, the proposed technology—which can be introduced into any crop plant amenable to genetic modification—carries the potential to provide farmers growing a wide range of crops with sustained economic benefits. Moreover, this increase in productivity can help meet rising global food demand without the need for expansions in agricultural land. 

This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project aims to meet the need for novel traits that increase crop yield without an associated increase in nutrient demand. To accomplish this, the project will leverage a technology that enhances respiration in response to light. This technology has already been shown to be functional and impart benefits at the cellular and organism levels in animal models; the aim of this project is to build on this work by demonstra

## Key facts

- **NSF award ID:** 2507381
- **Awardee organization:** LUMINOVA BIOTECH LLC (NY)
- **SAM.gov UEI:** MFP1N5XT5EM1
- **PI:** Charles O Wolffsmith
- **Primary program:** 01002526DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
- **All programs:** AGRICULTURAL BIOTECHNOLOGY
- **Estimated total:** $305,000
- **Funds obligated:** $305,000
- **Transaction type:** Standard Grant
- **Period:** 06/15/2025 → 11/30/2026

## Primary source

NSF Award Search: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2507381

## Citation

> US National Science Foundation, Award 2507381, STTR Phase I: Mitochondria-ON: a Platform for Light-Responsive Energy Generation in Plant Mitochondria. Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-08 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nsf/2507381. Licensed CC0.

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