10137504Innovative CRISPR Solutions for Optimising Nitrogen Management in Agriculture – “ICON”ActiveGrant for R&DInnovate UKThis project will deliver proof of concept prototypes for the control of key steps in the soil nitrogen cycle using GAIN Holdings Ltd. proprietary CRISPR/Cas microbiome engineering technology and the expertise in soil microbiology and measurement of soil nitrogen transformation at the John Innes Centre (JIC). A successful outcome will provide the foundation for the development of new agricultural biological products which will enable farmers to sustainably inhibit ammonification/ nitrification/ denitrification processes in their soils. This will facilitate increased nitrogen nutrient use efficiency (with commensurate reduction of requirements for synthetic fertiliser application) and will reduce environmental pollution by ammonia, nitrates and nitrous oxide (N2O; a greenhouse gas 300x more potent than CO2). Additional benefits will come from the biological nature of these products and their precise mode-of-action enabling a step-change in sustainable nutrient management practise, providing farmers with tools to regenerate their soils and increase beneficial microbial diversity.