ARIA: Synthetic Plants - call for concept papers

ARIA (the UK’s Advanced Research and Innovation Agency) see a vital opportunity to unlock new plant capabilities that can meet the future needs of humankind.

They aim to develop synthetic chromosomes and chloroplasts that are viable in a living plant. This will move beyond what can be accomplished with gene editing and imbue plants with new functionalities, from reducing agricultural water use to protecting crop yields in uncertain conditions.

The goal: to unite expertise in synthetic biology and plant biology, opening pathways to a new generation of major crops and future-proofing our agricultural system.

This solicitation seeks R&D Creators, which are individuals and teams that ARIA will fund to:

• Demonstrate that developing and implementing a functioning synthetic unit is possible, paving the way for progress in future decades;
• Overcome historic bottlenecks to breakthroughs in the overlap between synthetic and plant biology, specifically delivery of units to cells and maintenance of units in cells, to increase the number of plant varieties that can be transformed and sustained;
• Understand the ethical and social considerations around synthetic plants and what’s needed to navigate them.

*Concept papers are designed to make the solicitation process as efficient as possible for applicants. By soliciting short concept papers (no more than three pages), ARIA reviewers are able to gauge the feasibility and relevance of the proposed project and give an initial indication of whether we think a full proposal would be competitive.

ARIA have also launched a teaming tool to help potential Creators form teams to collaborate and produce a proposal together: visit the link below to register for their in-person teaming event on 11 September in York.

This programme has five technical areas (TAs). TAs 1, 3, 4, and 5 relate to the development of synthetic units. TA2 encompasses socioethical work related to the synthetic units.

TA1: Design, Build, Deliver

• TA1.1 Design. Design the synthetic unit: develop design options, refine designs based on progress in Build and Deliver, and develop biological switches to turn the unit on and off in vivo (including a consideration of nuclear genes, for synthetic chloroplasts, and including consideration of recoded genome approaches for genetic isolation).
• TA1.2 Build. Build the synthetic unit: synthesise and assemble large pieces of DNA, test physical viability of the designed unit, and build units in vitro and in vivo.
• TA1.3 Deliver. Deliver the synthetic unit into plant cells: develop delivery methods for entire units or for components of units that can be assembled inside cells, achieve assembly of components of units inside cells if applicable, and develop selection procedure for transformed organisms. During the early stages of Phase One, a range of possible delivery techniques for both synthetic chromosomes and synthetic chloroplasts will be tested, and the potential for cross-species transferability will be assessed. Delivery techniques with the highest potential for cross-species transferability will be selected as the focus methods for the remainder of Phase One.

TA2: Social and Ethical

Understand opinions and concerns of diverse stakeholders from different sectors, and review ethical issues around synthetic plants. This will include, but is not limited to:

• Studies of the possible opportunities and projected implications of synthetic plants (including advantages and disadvantages) for a range of stakeholders including farmers, industry supply chains, governance stakeholders and public
• Review of ethical issues around synthetic plants
• Public engagement to understand public opinion on synthetic plants and engage with public concerns, including understanding which of the proposed benefits of synthetic plants are considered credible and acceptable, and under which circumstances

To maximise the potential for the sharing of technical advances, work in Phase One will focus on a single crop species, potato (Solanum tuberosum) with expansion to additional species (including a monocot) in Phase Two. The specific variety of potato to be used will be determined in consultation with all Creators at the beginning of the programme. ARIA expect to see results in potato within 3 years.

ARIA expect to allocate £62.4m across this programme (TA1-TA5). In Phase One, they expect to allocate £44.5m across 9 Creator teams: £41.4m across 6 teams in TA1, and £3.1m across 3 teams in TA2. For both TA1 and TA2, they may decide to fund a larger number of smaller teams than indicated in this document. Therefore, applications for smaller projects are welcome.

ARIA welcome applications from across the R&D ecosystem, including individuals, universities, research institutions, small, medium and large companies, charities and public sector research organisations.

If you would like help to find a project partner, register for the 11 Sep team-building event in York at the link below, or contact Innovate UK Business Connect’s Agrifood or Biotechnology teams.