A new project led by Dr. Joshua James and Professor Patrick Cai of the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, in collaboration with the John Innes Centre and the Earlham Institute, aims to harness engineering biology to boost global food security. Focusing on potatoes—a vital staple crop—the initiative will explore how to protect yields from climate-related threats and pests.
Backed by an £8.5 million grant from the UK Government’s Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA), the team will develop synthetic plant chromosome (synPAC) technologies. These cutting-edge tools offer new possibilities for introducing traits like enhanced nutrition and pest resistance without altering the plant’s core characteristics, according to a press release.
“This project will address these challenges by increasing plant resilience to climate change and pests, therefore reducing the need for harmful agrochemicals such as pesticides, and supporting more sustainable farming which is better for the health of both people and the planet,” said Dr. Joshua James, Research Fellow, Manchester Institute of Biotechnology. “We hope that our work will support global ambitions of finding a sustainable way to secure our food supply chains.”
Inspired by Nature: Advancing Crops for a Sustainable Future
Modern agriculture is under pressure from climate change, soil degradation, and growing food security demands. Traditional breeding methods, which depend on slow, random genetic mixing across generations, are often too time-consuming to keep pace.
This project aims to develop synthetic plant chromosomes (synPACs) — a groundbreaking system that mimics natural processes to rapidly and precisely deliver beneficial, multi-gene traits into crops. By offering greater speed, accuracy, and control, synPACs present a powerful new alternative to conventional plant breeding.
To achieve this, researchers at The University of Manchester will develop innovative technologies that enable crop scientists to design and construct synthetic chromosomes carrying specific, beneficial traits. The synPAC system will use Saccharomyces cerevisiae (common baker’s yeast) as a biological assembly platform to efficiently piece together large segments of plant DNA. These synthetic chromosomes will then be transferred into crop plants using advanced delivery techniques developed at the John Innes Centre and analysed in detail at the Earlham Institute.
“This vital funding means we can begin to programme and engineer plants at scale, creating and testing custom-built plant chromosomes to help crop resilience against disease and climate change, and to make crops more nutritious,” said Professor Anne Osbourn FRS, Group Leader and Deputy Director of the John Innes Centre. “At the John Innes Centre we will be testing bespoke techniques and refining each stage of the synthetic chromosome creation process in potatoes, ensuring safety and effectiveness, with a view to trialling different plants too. This innovation has the potential to transform plant science, breeding and agriculture, allowing fast and large-scale improvements at a genetic level, to support farmers and food security in the UK and worldwide.”
The Earlham Institute will lead three key aspects of the project: creating a comprehensive potato tissue atlas and identifying regulatory elements, assembling and testing a potato regulatory element library via the Earlham Biofoundry, and engineering as well as maintaining synPAC components.
The project’s initial focus will be on potatoes — a vital global crop — with the aim of establishing streamlined technology pipelines for rapid plant engineering. Early target traits include improved nutritional content, greater resilience to environmental stress, and enhanced sustainability through reduced reliance on chemical inputs while boosting yields. By enabling plants to efficiently produce high-value compounds, synPACs also hold promise for developing new plant-based sources of essential nutrients and bioactives, advancing both human health and environmental sustainability.
Ensuring Stability, Safety and Ethics
The synPAC initiative is committed to transparent collaboration with industry partners, regulators, and the public to ensure the responsible development and use of its technology. The research team aims to deliver clear benefits for both farmers and consumers, with a strong focus on safety, sustainability, and public acceptance. To support this, the team will work closely with ARIA-funded social science groups to explore these important dimensions.
Looking ahead to Phase Two, the synPAC team plans to extend the platform to additional staple crops, paving the way for a new generation of climate-resilient, nutrient-rich, and sustainable agriculture.
