
Launch HN: Boost Biomes (YC S19) – Microbes for better crop yields, shelf life - jbacher
Hi Hacker News, we&#x27;re Jamie and Adam, cofounders of Boost Biomes (<a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;boostbiomes.com&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;boostbiomes.com&#x2F;</a>).  Boost is developing spray treatments for fruits and crops to prevent mold, mildew and fungi.  Packagers can use our products to extend shelf-life for fruits, and farmers can increase yield of crops.  The active ingredients are live microbes.<p>I (Jamie) have been in biotech for over a dozen years.  A decade ago, I was at a biofuels company working to grow algae, and fungi ruined our crop.  At the time I realized that if we could control the ecosystem, we could prevent these kinds of agricultural disasters.  In the meantime, Adam, as a professor at Berkeley National Lab and UC-Berkeley over the last two decades, had been developing a technology platform to understand microbial ecology.  When Adam and I met a few years ago, we realized that his technology could address these kinds of challenges.  No longer interested in algae as a crop, we saw the opportunity in high-value crops.  These include strawberries in the field, apples post-harvest and cannabis as an exploding opportunity.<p>We&#x27;re clearly not the first ones to think about microbial products for ag.  What sets our approach apart is the technology that Adam developed.  Using his approach, we are able to determine what we call an interaction map - the complete set of interactions between microbes from a given environment.  The interaction map generates leads for us, including groups of microbes that work together as &#x27;consortia&#x27;.  Our current lead product candidates are in fact consortia.<p>Our first product is a soil amendment being sold into the cannabis market.  There&#x27;s a real excitement of the opportunities for the market to expand, and it&#x27;s an industry full of early-adopters.  We&#x27;re looking longer term, though, as our products will address food production and waste.  Fungi destroy enough food to feed 600M people every year—this represents 60% of the people going hungry every year!  This is the kind of impact we&#x27;re after with our tech and with the company.<p>We look forward to discussing the opportunity and technology!
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pazimzadeh
I was under the impression that the presence of fungi often boosts crop
yields, not the other way around. i.e.
[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28708056](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28708056)

I'm assuming that when you say microbes, you mean bacteria. What about using
engineered fungi, which often already act as pesticides? i.e.
[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28905488](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28905488)

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jbacher
From the pub you reference, it looks like some fungi can be beneficial. But
many are not - many fungi cause wilts, rots, etc.

We only use naturally-occurring microbes, without genetic engineering. We
focus on the unit of the cell, rather than the unit of the gene, to make our
products.

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pazimzadeh
Are you able to target detrimental fungi while sparing nitrogen-fixing
species, along with those that naturally prey on insects?

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aldoushuxley001
I dig the concept and the name. Have you done any testing? (greenhouse or
field)

In regards to the "consortia" products, how many different species/genera/etc.
are we talking about here? Is it just bacteria or are fungi part of this? What
about e.g. nematodes, etc.

Would love to get some more info, but currently website is a little light on
the details. Otherwise, kudos and good work. The more development in this
space the better.

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jbacher
We've done over 25 field trials, including post-harvest trials.

The first consortia we've assembled is just two members, one bacteria and one
yeast. We envision that it can get pretty complex (but probably won't include
multicellular organisms like nematodes).

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aldoushuxley001
Interesting that you’re inoculating with yeast. I imagine it’s a very
particular strain? Seems like yeast would be everywhere and in the soils
already, but I guess maybe not in the required amount?

How are you profiling the microbial ecosystem anyway? E.g. how do you know
that 2+ species actually work synergistically with one another? I suspect a
lot of trial and error based on what your profiling data suggests?

Sry for the many questions, it’s a fascinating topic.

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jbacher
Yes, it's an uncommon yeast - not Saccharomyces. And, yes, the product is
meant to 'bring forward' the effects from these members of the soil
microbiome, from minor players to treatments at higher concentration.

The microbial ecology work comes from Adam's lab at LBNL. His tech (that Boost
has licensed) experimentally determines interactions (ie, causative
relationships, not correlations).

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brenschluss
Have you thought about the potential harmful side effects this might cause,
and what are your thoughts/strategies on it?

‘Controlling the environment to make things better’ has a spotty history (DDT,
Monsanto, etc), and I would evaluate good biotech/agtech by how they are
actively thinking about these issues.

~~~
jbacher
The microbes we're using as products come from the soil. The tech to identify
them uses understanding the interaction between microbes, so that we can
thoughtfully determine which microbes are best suited for a product - we can
exclude candidates with any known toxicity issues or negative externalities.

Biological pesticides have a much lower threshold for regulatory approval
specifically because they are deemed safer than chemical pesticides.

Customers like replacing their chemical pesticides with our product to lower
residual levels of chemicals on their produce. Other countries have more
restrictive MRLs (maximum residue levels) permitted on imports than the US
does, so products like these are valuable.

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carapace
To me it sounds like your 'consortia' are much like what Permaculture calls
'guilds': sets of species that work together synergistically.

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jbacher
I'm not familiar with Permaculture, but yes, that sounds right.

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rbart
Are these synthetic bio constructs of the single bacterium and yeast? Or are
these soil isolates?

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jbacher
These are soil isolates - no generic engineering of the strains. One of the
lead product active ingredients includes both the bacterium and the yeast.

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billiamyu
Love the work that you guys are doing here - coming up with permutations of
natural basic organisms that may result in synergistic effects for human
consumer benefit!

Have you found any interesting, but not marketable interactions while looking
for viable solutions?

Is Boost Biomes planning on granting academic or other licensing to other
parties?

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jbacher
Interesting question! We're not currently granting licenses, but may be
interested in research collaborations in the future. We did find one very
interesting mystery, three morphotypes of a single bacteria (as determined by
16S sequence), that could grow together and influence each others' frequency
in the population.

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carapace
How do you track changes in micro-ecosystems over time?

How aware are you guys of the recent work in mycoremediation?

Congratulations and good luck.

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jbacher
Thanks for the good wishes!

We can track changes in the micro-ecosystems by sequencing the soil or root
metagenomes. We aren't doing this yet, but it's on the path forward.

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autojoechen
Can you share any data on how the consortia works relative to existing
products on the market?

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jbacher
In grapes, our lead consortium prevented botrytis, a key fungal pathogen, to a
level statistically indistinguishable from chemical pesticides. Biological
don't typically do that well.

We anticipate benefits that we have yet to prove: higher efficacy, lower risk
that the target will evolve resistance, and better persistence in the soil.

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baron816
Best of luck. Something like 25% of food that’s grown won’t be eaten because
of, among other things, spoilage. Keeping food fresh for longer would mean not
using as much land or as much fertilizer for agriculture.

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refurb
Isn’t a decent amount of spoilage due to processes internal to the product
(e.g. over ripening) versus some external microbe?

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jbacher
Yes. There are other companies that seek to preserve freshness. Our products
specifically target fungal infections.

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all2
I am concerned that a one-size-fits-all approach could introduce in invasive
species to regions that don't have them.

What steps are you taking to prevent damaging existing ecosystems with your
products?

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jbacher
The types of microbes used in our products naturally occur in the soil. Our
products pass through the required registration processes to ensure safety.

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all2
Yes, but which soil and sourced from where? This is an insufficient answer to
the question "will our selection of microbes destroy existing biomes?"

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senith
Very nice! How is this different from compost teas & ACT?

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person_of_color
Off topic but are there any startups working on GM foods that modify food to
increase protein/nutrient content for poor communities with systemic
deficiencies?

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jbacher
I'm not aware of these.

There are a number of meat-replacement startup companies, developing
replacements for fish, chicken, beef, etc., either by formulating products
with protein or animal cells, or with vegetable protein that is formulated to
taste and mouthfeel of actual meat.

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alpineShu
really impressed by your work! Best wishes for the demo day!

