Key Takeaways
- Wild Bio, a startup focused on evolutionary biology and crop resilience, has partnered with the University of Oxford on a new initiative called OPTIMiSE.
- The collaboration has received multimillion-pound support from the UK’s Advanced Research + Invention Agency (ARIA).
- OPTIMiSE aims to develop a new method for improving chloroplast genomes in crops to enhance productivity and sustainability.
- The project is part of ARIA’s Synthetic Plants programme, targeting transformative innovations in agriculture.
- Wild Bio’s leadership highlights the potential of chloroplast breeding as a next frontier for sustainable crop development.
Wild Bio and Oxford Target Chloroplast Innovation with ARIA Support
Wild Bio announced its collaboration with scientists at the University of Oxford to co-lead OPTIMiSE (Oxford Plastid Transformation for an Improved Sustainable Economy), a project focused on revolutionizing plant breeding through chloroplast genome enhancement. The initiative has been awarded multimillion-pound funding by the Advanced Research + Invention Agency (ARIA), a UK agency focused on high-risk, high-reward R&D.
The OPTIMiSE project seeks to unlock new pathways for crop improvement by enabling modification of the chloroplast, an organelle essential to photosynthesis and plant metabolism. This development could allow for traits like improved productivity and resilience to be introduced into crops in ways previously considered unfeasible.
Scientific and Commercial Expertise Combined
According to Prof Steve Kelly, Project Director and Oxford research lead: “The chloroplast powers plant growth. It contains many important genes that plants use to harness sunlight and CO2 and channel them into growth. Until now, breeding to improve these critically important chloroplast genes has been almost impossible. The OPTIMiSE project has discovered a way to enable chloroplast breeding for the first time.”
By merging academic research capacity with Wild Bio’s evolutionary biology expertise, the team aims to translate fundamental discoveries into applied solutions for agriculture.
Dr Samuel Gattis, CTO of Wild Bio, commented: “Wild Bio is thrilled to be a part of this project. Our track record in leveraging evolutionary biology to discover and deliver significant improvements to crops like wheat positions us perfectly to do the same with the untapped potential of chloroplast optimization.”
Supporting ARIA’s Mission for Disruptive Innovation
The OPTIMiSE initiative is part of ARIA’s Synthetic Plants programme, led by Dr Angie Burnett, which focuses on developing a new class of major crops that are productive, sustainable, and resilient in the face of environmental and agricultural challenges.
Dr Ross Hendron, CEO of Wild Bio, emphasized the broader importance of such public-private collaborations: “We’re looking forward to collaborating with Oxford University and ARIA on this bold initiative. From GPS to the internet, the world has been profoundly shaped by breakthroughs from government-backed moonshot R&D. We’re proud to carry on that incredible tradition as we lead the development of next-generation crops for a changing planet.”
Outlook for Wild Bio and OPTIMiSE
Through its partnership with the University of Oxford and support from ARIA, Wild Bio is positioned to advance a novel approach to crop improvement via plastid genome engineering. If successful, OPTIMiSE could set a precedent for how evolutionary biology and synthetic genomics intersect to address global food security and climate-resilient agriculture.
