Farmers could soon apply microbes to crops to ‘reprogram’ them to be resistant against pests, diseases and environmental stress such as drought and heat, as a new research project gets underway.

Azotic Technologies has been awarded half-a-million pounds from the UK’s Advanced Research + Invention Agency (ARIA) to develop a low-cost, practical method of reprogramming plants by applying a microbial product to seeds or standing crops.

“The project, part of ARIA’s ‘Programmable Plants’ opportunity space, extends our utilisation of the same bacterium that we’ve successfully introduced to millions of crop acres with Encera and Envita,” says Dr. Adriana Botes, Azotic’s research and development director.

“The active ingredient in these products, Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus (Gd), possesses the unique natural ability to colonise a plant’s cells, fix nitrogen and promote growth. But that’s not all it can do,” Botes explains.

Once Gd has entered the plant cell, it can be used to produce and release a variety of bioactive molecules that can effectively ‘reprogram’ crops to display additional beneficial traits, or tackle – from the inside out – threats to yield and quality such as fungal disease, or insect pests.

The project will demonstrate how Gd’s unique ability to live and multiply inside plant cells can be harnessed, modifying the bacterium to produce and deliver bioactive molecules to reprogram plants from the inside out.

These molecules can reduce or replace the need for synthetic pesticides, as well as helping to protect crops against the effects of climate change without genetic modification or gene editing of the plant.

Of particular interest is its ability to produce dsRNA (double-stranded RNA). This can silence target genes by binding to mRNA, preventing translation of the mRNA to essential proteins.

The concept of gene silencing to program plants is not new, Botes says, but existing gene-silencing methods have limitations that make them expensive, unappealing, impractical or ineffective.

“For example, while we can genetically modify plants to silence one of its own genes or that of an insect, pest or pathogen that affects it, we all know that acceptance of genetically modified plants is difficult. But it’s also impractical. The AHDB’s winter wheat Recommended List contains nearly 40 varieties; you can’t engineer every one of those varieties with a specific trait,” Botes explains. “But you could easily produce and apply one microbial product to treat all 40 varieties.”

Gd, adds Botes, allows influence over any plant trait without permanent genetic modification. Multiple traits can be delivered in parallel with just one application, and the speed at which the bacterium can be constructed and produced makes it possible to combat in-season disease threats.

“Faced with a difficult blight strain, or a new variant strain of yellow rust such as NIAB confirmed in June, we could design and produce an appropriate product within a few weeks,” Botes says.

As well as dsRNA, Gd can be used to produce biomolecules such as enzymes, peptides or other small molecules that can influence, alter or enhance plant biological processes such as stress response or growth regulation.

“I’m absolutely thrilled with this funding,” she adds, “because we know the technology works, and we’ve already perfected Gd’s fermentation, formulation and application. Now we have the means to find the practical ways of extending its use and realising its wider potential.”

Funding the PoC will allow Azotic to secure follow-on funding to demonstrate efficacy in the field, developing new Gd strains that will provide protection against plant pathogens for which no effective solutions currently exist. Botes says the company will also engage with regulators to encourage the regulatory landscape to ‘keep up’ with the introduction of new biotechnologies.

The project will be managed from Azotic Technologies’ York-based Technology Development Centre in conjunction with the University of Durham’s Department of Biosciences.