Venkatesan Sundaresan, Distinguished Professor in the Departments of Plant Biology and Plant Sciences at the University of California, Davis, has been awarded a 2024 Wolf Prize in Agriculture for key discoveries on plant developmental biology of relevance to crop improvement. The Wolf Prize in Agriculture, considered by many the Nobel Prize for agriculture, has been awarded annually since 1978 and carries a monetary award of $100,000. Sundaresan shares the award with Joanne Chory of the Salk Institute and Elliot Meyerowitz of the California Institute of Technology.

“This prize is a very well-deserved recognition of Professor Sundaresan’s groundbreaking work applying an understanding of the basic biology of plant reproduction to create a highly impactful propagation process for hybrid crop strains that are critically important in developing countries,” said Mark Winey, dean of the College of Biological Sciences. “His work will continue to have a positive impact on farming for generations in many communities.”

The Wolf Foundation selected Sundaresan for his groundbreaking molecular research on plant reproduction, which led to a method for producing clonal seeds from hybrid plants. The method mimics a process called “apomixis” that occurs naturally in many plants including blackberries, dandelions, and many citrus species. In bypassing sexual reproduction, apomixis—and “synthetic apomixis,” Sundaresan’s lab-generated version—results in plants that are genetically identical from one generation to the next. This makes it simple to generate and perpetuate high yielding hybrid crops without having to cross different strains, which is an expensive and time-consuming process.

“With these clonal hybrids, farmers can save some of their harvested seeds and replant them for the next year’s crop,” said Sundaresan. “This is very good news for smallholder farmers in developing countries who cannot afford to purchase hybrid seeds every year.”

Driven by curiosity

Sundaresan is honored by the Wolf Foundation’s recognition, particularly because his breakthrough came from basic “curiosity-driven” science.

“I’m especially pleased that in conferring this award to three basic scientists, the Wolf Foundation is encouraging and recognizing fundamental knowledge as important and deserving of this kind of honor,” said Sundaresan. “People often think that to solve an applied problem, we have to tackle the problem directly, but quite often the solution comes from basic science, where you’re not aiming at an application.” 

He also wanted to acknowledge that the work to develop synthetic apomixis was a team effort that involved many lab members. 

“The concept of apomixis in a crop plant is decades old,” said Sundaresan. “The eventual realization of this dream was built upon the foundation of a fundamental understanding of plant reproduction, achieved through the efforts of many talented lab members and collaborators over several years.”

In particular, Sundaresan said that Imtiyaz Khanday, who worked on the project as a postdoctoral fellow and is now an assistant professor and assistant agronomist for the Agricultural Experiment Station in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, was pivotal to the project’s success, “creativity and perseverance in the face of setbacks and dedication in pursuit of the final goal.”

“The success of this research is a testament to Professor Sundaresan’s brilliance and the collaborative spirit of his team,” said Helene Dillard, dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. “Their work exemplifies how academic endeavors do not exist in isolation but are part of a broader, interconnected community effort aimed at creating real-world solutions. We celebrate his dedication to pushing the boundaries of science to benefit humanity while inspiring a new generation of scientists and farmers around the world.”

Sundaresan is the seventh professor from UC Davis to receive the Wolf Prize in Agriculture. Previous UC Davis-affiliated recipients include Pamela Ronald, Jorge Dubcovsky, Harris Lewin, Roger Beachy, Gurdev Khush and Shang-Fa Yang.