Consortium wins guayule grant

PHOENIX (Jan. 9)—A consortium of researchers from three universities and two federal agencies has been awarded a four-year, $2.3 million grant to conduct research that may lead to the commercialization of guayule rubber latex. The grant was made by the Cooperative State Research Extension and Economic Service to researchers at the University of Arizona, which leads the project; U.S. Department of Agriculture agencies in Albany, Calif., and Phoenix; Texas A&M University; and New Mexico State University. The prime recipient of the research will be Yulex Corp., a Carlsbad, Calif.-based company that, through a license with the USDA has the exclusive rights to use USDA technology to commercialize products derived from the desert shrub. Ultimately, the company hopes to replace about 15 percent of natural rubber.