News: Major Grant Awarded For New Innovative Research Into Programmable Plants.
- Manuel Basegla
- Jul 25
- 2 min read
Updated: Sep 8
Published 12:00 AM EST, Fri Jul 25, 2025
The research will focus on Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus, a type of bacteria that lives inside plant cells. This microbe will be used to introduce beneficial traits into a wide variety of crops quickly and cost-effectively. The technique could allow farmers to enhance plant performance, resilience, and nutritional value without permanent genetic modification.
A groundbreaking research project under the UK’s ARIA Programmable Plants initiative has been launched in collaboration with Azotic Technologies to develop a novel method for temporarily programming plants with new traits using Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus, a naturally occurring, plant-dwelling bacterium. This technology enables traits to be introduced into crops quickly, cost-effectively, and without permanent genetic modification, representing a paradigm shift in how plant traits can be enhanced.
The research seeks to address major agricultural challenges such as climate resilience, food security, and sustainable farming by reducing dependency on chemical inputs and enabling crops to better tolerate stressors like heat, drought, and disease. Importantly, the technique allows for temporary expression of traits, offering farmers adaptability and control while preserving the plant’s natural genetic makeup, potentially improving yield, nutrition, and environmental impact. The project is jointly led by academic and industry experts from Durham University and Azotic Technologies, with work spanning laboratory experiments, crop trials, and the development of advanced genetic and cell-biology tools. It also includes new research appointments to strengthen expertise in plant-microbe interactions, supporting future innovation in programmable plant systems. This programmable plant technology represents a paradigm shift for cannabis genetics, offering unprecedented control over cannabinoid and terpene expression without permanent genetic modification. The ability to temporarily program cannabis plants with enhanced stress tolerance, pathogen resistance, or specific metabolite profiles could revolutionize cultivation efficiency and product consistency. For Alphatype's breeding operations, this technology could enable rapid phenotype evaluation, accelerated trait introgression, and dynamic response to market demands for specific cannabinoid ratios, all while maintaining genetic stability in core breeding lines and potentially reducing the 4-month embargo periods currently required for comprehensive quality validation.
Source: Durham University
