A new chapter for crop innovation
What if plants could fine-tune photosynthesis on a cloudy day, defend themselves against emerging pathogens, or even manufacture vitamins on demand?
Those advances are now one step closer. ARIA — the UK’s Advanced Research and Invention Agency — has launched its £62.4 million Synthetic Plants programme, supporting efforts to make future crops more productive, resilient, and resource-efficient.
Bright Biotech has been awarded £1 million in Phase One funding to contribute its expertise in advanced chloroplast technology. The company will apply its proprietary platform to help develop enhanced crop plants that are more productive, resilient and sustainable — advancing ARIA’s goal of increasing global food security.
Bright Biotech is one of seven R&D Creator teams selected by ARIA to build, deliver and maintain improved chloroplasts and chromosomes in plants, enabling complex traits that are not achievable using conventional gene editing methods. The company will provide its expertise in chloroplast genome biology to improve water-use efficiency, reduce fertiliser dependence and strengthen disease resistance in plants.
Bright Biotech joins leading researchers from University College London (UK), the University of Tennessee (USA), the University of Cambridge (UK), Holzer Scientific Consulting GmbH (DE), the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA), the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (UK), and the Quadram Institute (UK) — forming an interdisciplinary team with more than 60 years of combined leadership in chloroplast synthetic biology.
“We are proud to be part of this visionary programme,” said Dr Anil Day, CTO of Bright Biotech. “By being able to program new functions into bespoke chloroplasts, we would unlock the full potential of these photosynthetic powerhouses to address some of the world’s most urgent challenges — from food security to climate adaptation.”
Beyond the science lies a wider public mission: ARIA’s programme, which funds two teams focused on social and ethical aspects, seeks transparent and responsible innovation that blends cutting-edge synthetic biology research with open dialogue on the ethics and societal benefits of this research.
Success could lead to future potato, tomato, and wheat lines that, for example, are more tolerant to drought, fix nitrogen from the air, and are able to sustainably manufacture high-value compounds for applications in industrial biotechnology.
Why it matters:
Sustainability – Smarter chloroplasts could mean less fertiliser, less water and lower carbon footprints.
Food security – Global yields must rise even as climate volatility increases.
New plant functions – Fully programmable genomes unlock possibilities that conventional gene editing cannot reach.
The programme aims to streamline breeding timelines, equip scientists with a safer toolkit for complex genetic advances, and deliver crops that actively strengthen global food security and sustainability.
We’ll continue to share milestones on our website and social channels as the programme progresses — stay tuned.
