Gene-edited wheat harvested in Norfolk ahead of farm trials

The John Innes Centre, near Norwich, is part of the £2.2m Probity project (a Platform to Rate Organisms Bred for Improved Traits and Yield), funded by Defra’s Farming Innovation Programme and led by the British On-Farm Innovation Network (Bofin).

The three-year initiative brings farmers, scientists and food manufacturers together to evaluate the production and processing of precision-bred crops, and their value to sustainable food and farming.

Precision-bred crops are created using modern techniques such as gene editing, a technology enabling scientists to make targeted changes to plant DNA, by removing or "editing" parts of its existing genetic sequence.

This process can improve crops much faster than traditional plant breeding - but it differs from genetic modification (GM) as no material is introduced from other species.

Using new laws under the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act 2023, which allow for the release and marketing of certain gene-edited plants, the project team says the trials will bring precision-bred cereal crops onto commercial farms for the first time in Europe.

The seed harvested this summer from trial plots at the John Innes Centre will be multiplied up during 2025, to enable farmers in England to grow trials of the crop the following year.

Two further cereal varieties are being grown in glasshouses at Rothamsted Research in Hertfordshire which, once harvested this autumn, will also be multiplied up to be trialled on commercial farms.

The three varieties include a wheat with superior baking, toasting and processing properties, a barley making high-energy forage aimed at lowering livestock methane emissions, and a wheat with a bigger, bolder grain size, promising a step change in productivity.

They will all be "subjected to testing and scrutiny by farmers, scientists and food manufacturers to establish their potential".

Prof Cristobal Uauy is a wheat geneticist at the John Innes Centre in Norwich (Image: John Innes Centre)

Prof Cristobal Uauy, a plant scientist at the John Innes Centre who developed the bigger wheat variety said: “This project provides a unique opportunity to work with farmers and test precision-bred crops directly in their fields.

"We are extremely excited as this brings us one step closer to delivering wheat varieties with traits which will help us towards regenerative agriculture, a greener farming system and enhanced nutrition and quality."

Bofin founder Tom Allen-Stevens said: "This is an incredibly important project for farming and food production in this country.

"We need to produce more, nutritious food with fewer resources and with less impact on the environment. Scientists have been developing new crop varieties that could help us rise to that challenge. This project will bring those varieties from the laboratory to farmers’ fields where we can fully assess their potential, explore barriers to their adoption and pave the way for future innovation."

Farmers are encouraged to get involved with the project by joining the Sequence Circle at probityproject.co.uk - a new community set up to lead discussion on precision-bred crops and help steer the project.

Plant scientist is an industry 'Game Changer'

One of the leading Norfolk researchers within the Probity project has won national recognition for his work to improve crop yields and quality.

Prof Cristobal Uauy a wheat geneticist at the John Innes Centre, is nominated in the Game Changers category at the Farmers Weekly Awards in October, which recognises "innovation that has had a positive impact on food and farming in the past 20 years".

Prof Uauy's team of scientists is behind many recent developments in UK plant breeding – including identifying genetic traits which help protect wheat crops against pests and diseases.

"I’ve always been fascinated with the idea of producing enough food to feed the world in a way that is healthy," he said.

"With genetics and modern plant breeding technologies, we are improving food security too."

Prof Uauy's work involves collaborating with scientists around the world to identify the genes which control desired traits, and then provide plant breeders with tools they can use in their breeding programmes to create new varieties.

He said gene-editing promises to be a "game changer" to help speed up the plant breeding process.

"It is extremely exciting," he said. "It’s not just about developing gene-editing in the laboratory, it is about genetically editing commercial cultivars and Recommended List varieties.

"That is something we can now do. It is going to be a big change."