Engineering Quillaja saponin biosynthesis pathways for bio-production of QS-21
Lead Research Organisation:
John Innes Centre
Department Name: Metabolic Biology
Abstract
Plants are a rich source of drugs and other high-value compounds. Morphine was the first plant drug to be purified and sold commercially and salicylic acid the first to be chemically synthesized. However, despite these and other successes, the vast majority of plant metabolic diversity has remained untapped due to the problems of accessing source species, purifying compounds and the challenges of chemical synthesis. We have established transient plant expression technology for the rapid reconstruction of plant metabolic pathways and demonstrated that this system can be used to access gram-scale quantities of products. This technology is readily scalable and has been used for commercial production of vaccines. The engineering and production of the highly potent Quillaja adjuvant QS-21 using the Hypertrans system will provide a flagship proof of concept to demonstrate the power of this platform for accessing high-value products from plants and pave the way for a new commercial venture.
People |
ORCID iD |
| Anne Osbourn (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
Reed J
(2018)
Engineering terpenoid production through transient expression in Nicotiana benthamiana.
in Plant cell reports
Orme A
(2019)
A noncanonical vacuolar sugar transferase required for biosynthesis of antimicrobial defense compounds in oat.
in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Louveau T
(2019)
The Sweet Side of Plant-Specialized Metabolism.
in Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in biology
Stephenson M
(2020)
Comprehensive Natural Products III
Lee N
(2020)
The Global Garden project: Imagining plant science
in PLANTS, PEOPLE, PLANET
Stephenson M
(2020)
Making drugs out of sunlight and 'thin air': an emerging synergy of synthetic biology and natural product chemistry
in The Biochemist
Polturak G
(2022)
New and emerging concepts in the evolution and function of plant biosynthetic gene clusters
in Current Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry
Reed J
(2023)
Elucidation of the pathway for biosynthesis of saponin adjuvants from the soapbark tree.
in Science (New York, N.Y.)
Spence P
(2024)
Harnessing plant biosynthesis for the development of next-generation therapeutics.
in PLoS biology
Goddard ZR
(2024)
Advances in triterpene drug discovery.
in Trends in pharmacological sciences
Winegar PH
(2024)
Verazine biosynthesis from simple sugars in engineered Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
in Metabolic engineering
Liu Y
(2024)
Complete biosynthesis of QS-21 in engineered yeast
in Nature
Martin LBB
(2024)
Complete biosynthesis of the potent vaccine adjuvant QS-21.
in Nature chemical biology
Jo S
(2025)
Unlocking saponin biosynthesis in soapwort.
in Nature chemical biology
| Description | The focus of this project is to elucidate the biosynthetic pathway for the saponin QS-21, which is an important vaccine adjuvant. We have now elucidated the entire QS-21 pathway and reconstituted it by transient heterologous plant expression in Nicotiana benthamiana, a wild relative of tobacco. We have also collaborated with the Keasling Laboratory at UCB (S) to engineer this pathway into yeast (work now published in Nature). Our findings open up for the first time opportunities to make 'free-from-tree' QS-21, and to engineer other structurally related saponins for the development of next generation vaccine adjuvants. A BBSRC Super Follow-on-Fund grant has been secured to progress this work. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2018 |
| Sector | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Chemicals,Environment,Healthcare,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology,Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology |
| Impact Types | Cultural Societal Economic Policy & public services |
| Description | Advice for Government Report on Synthetic Cell. |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to new or Improved professional practice |
| Description | Attended Roundtable meeting to discuss how Government might further help in the UK's engineering biology sector. |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| Description | BBSRC Global Carbon for Manufacturing Working Group |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Description | Member, UK Engineering Biology Steering Group (not the Engineering Biology Advisory Panel |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| URL | https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/engineering-biology-advisory-panel |
| Description | Visit by Minister of State in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Description | EBioAct: Environmentally sustainable production of bioactive triterpenes |
| Amount | £1,395,148 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | BB/Y007751/1 |
| Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 02/2024 |
| End | 02/2026 |
| Description | Engineering saponin biosynthesis pathways for bio-production of novel vaccine adjuants |
| Amount | £646,458 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | BB/W017857/1 |
| Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 04/2022 |
| End | 04/2024 |
| Description | Engineering wheat for take-all resistance |
| Amount | £663,638 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | BB/Y513544/1 |
| Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 01/2024 |
| End | 01/2026 |
| Description | Harnessing plant metabolic diversity for human health |
| Amount | £4,817,214 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | 227375/Z/23/Z |
| Organisation | Wellcome Trust |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 01/2024 |
| End | 12/2031 |
| Title | Transient plant expression technology for triterpene production at preparative scale |
| Description | We have develop a method for transient heterologous expression of biosynthetic enzymes in N. benthamiana for production of high-value triterpenes. Agro-infiltration is an efficient and simple means of achieving transient expression in N. benthamiana. The process involves infiltration of plant leaves with a suspension of Agrobacterium tumefaciens carrying the expression construct(s) of interest. Co-infiltration of an additional A. tumefaciens strain carrying an expression construct encoding an enzyme that boosts precursor supply significantly increases yields. After a period of five days, the infiltrated leaf material can be harvested and processed to extract and isolate the resulting triterpene product(s). This is a process that is linearly and reliably scalable, simply by increasing the number of plants used in the experiment. We have developed a protocol for rapid preparative-scale production of triterpenes utilizing this plant-based platform. The protocol utilizes an easily replicable vacuum infiltration apparatus, which allows the simultaneous infiltration of up to four plants, enabling batch-wise infiltration of hundreds of plants in a short period of time. |
| Type Of Material | Technology assay or reagent |
| Year Produced | 2017 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | Generation of gram-scale quantities of 98% pure triterpenes and demonstration that we can rapidly carry out combinatorial expression of enzymes from our triterpene toolkit to generate known and new-to-nature compounds. This had attracted considerable interest from industry and led to four new projects directly funded by different companies in the pharma, ag, food and drink and home and personal care sectors. |
| URL | https://www.jove.com/video/58169/transient-expression-nicotiana-benthamiana-leaves-for-triterpene |
| Description | Drug delivery |
| Organisation | University of Fribourg |
| Country | Switzerland |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | We have initiated a collaboration to investigate the anti-cancer properties of plant medicinal compounds |
| Collaborator Contribution | Collaborative work involving assays of purified compounds |
| Impact | This is a multi-disciplinary collaboration involving plant metabolic biology and medicinal chemistry |
| Start Year | 2024 |
| Description | UCB |
| Organisation | University of California, Berkeley |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The QS-21 pathway genes and intermediates that we identified were transferred to UCB to enable pathway engineering into yeast (work now published in Nature). |
| Collaborator Contribution | Yeats bioengineering of the QS-21 pathway |
| Impact | A joint publication of engineering the QS-21 biosynthetic pathway into yeast (published in Nature, 2024). |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Company Name | HotHouse Therapeutics |
| Description | HotHouse Therapeutics develops natural biotechnology solutions. |
| Year Established | 2020 |
| Impact | Company operational from July 2024, with a seed fund raise of ~£3.7 M |
| Description | "A million shades of green: Harnessing plant metabolic diversity for therapeutic applications" |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | SCI Engineering Biology Conference, theme of translation out of academia into industry. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | "Discovery of the biosynthetic pathway of QS-21 for engineering sustainable bio-production" - PostDoc Talk |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Talk at the 11th PSEPB Conference in Poznan, Poland. Audience was exclusively academic. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | "Discovery of the biosynthetic pathway of QS-21 for engineering sustainable bio-production" - PostDoc Talk |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Talk at GRS Plant Metabolic Engineering, Spain. Audience primarily academic, with industry and science journal editors present. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | "Unlocking a pharmaceutical treasure trove-Elucidation of the pathway for biosynthesis of saponariosides from the soapwort plant" |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Post Doc talk at Plant Genomes, Systems Biology & Engineering Conference Nov. 29th - Dec. 2nd 2023, at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | AO attended Synthetic Biology Industrial Translation Showcase @Synbio_Showcase:Synbite Showcase Programme at the Royal Academy of Engineering 17.11.22 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | The aim of the 1-Day SynbiTECH Showcase was to reflect important issues and changes in the field of synthetic biology/engineering biology. As with the previous SynbiTECH meetings, the focus was primarily be on the development of the U.K.'s industrial and commercial synthetic biology/engineering biology sector. Consequently, the programme did not only reflect industrial and company development, but, also, important associated matters including strategy and policy, finance, policy and biosecurity. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | http://www.synbicite.com/news-events/2022/nov/17/synbicite-showcase-2022/ |
| Description | Activity stand at mixed arts festival |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | We put together an activity for the science marquee at the Latitude Festival, working with colleagues from the University of East Anglia, Food and Farming Discovery Trust, CEFAS, Precious Plastics East and some local artists with the overall topic of microplastics in the environment. Some of the activity was focused on the problems microplastics cause as pollutants in the ocean and in food chains but we also had a section on plastics in our daily lives that enabled exploration of alternative plant-based materials and the potential for greener alternatives from both biological engineering for new materials and better recycling and remaking processes. We feel that by looking at a problem (microplastics in our environment) but then exploring better alternatives we conveyed a sense of agency to the families to seek out and support alternatives in their daily lives. We were particularly pleased to hear many people pledge to give up using clingfilm in favour of beeswax and paper alternatives to wrap their lunch! |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Anne Osbourn Novozymes Prize Symposium - 'A million shades of green: Understanding and harnessing plant metabolic diversity' |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This Novozymes Symposium was focused on cutting edge research in understanding and harnessing plant metabolic diversity. Plants are chemical engineers par excellence, collectively making a vast array of structurally diverse natural products. These molecules have important ecological functions in nature. They are also important to humans for food, health and other industrial applications. The rapidly growing body of available plant genome sequence data is leading to a marked acceleration in the discovery of new biosynthetic pathways and chemistries. The focus of the symposium was on plant natural products - biosynthesis, function, mechanisms of metabolic diversification, and metabolic engineering. It included exciting talks from 12 invited speakers - experts in computational biology, integrated 'omics, biochemistry, metabolic biology, plant diversity and evolution, a mix of early career group leaders and more established research scientists from Europe, Asia and North America. Participants had ample opportunity to enjoy good food and networking in the coffee breaks, at lunch and dinner, and during the poster sessions. Registration was free for all attendees. Two publications have been generated as an outcome of this symposium, one already published in PLOS Biology, and another under submission (a commissioned highlight review for EMBO J, written by a team of five postdoctoral researchers from the Osbourn lab). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.tilmeld.dk/anneosbournnovozymesprizesymposium |
| Description | Anne Osbourn meeting with George Freeman MP during visit to Norwich Research Park |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Anne Osbourn met George Freeman MP (Minister of State in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology) as one of the NRP Entrepreneurial Researchers. Professor Anne Osbourn, Founder of Hothouse Therapeutics, spoke about Unlocking Nature's Inaccessible Chemistry. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Article - Vaccine Adjuvant QS-21 Produced in Tobacco |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | GEN Article quoting AS-21 Work. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Article on Spin out - Hothouse Therapeutics |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Article published in Biosciencetoday - New spin-out at Norwich Research Park harnessing plant power for next generation drugs |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.biosciencetoday.co.uk/new-spin-out-at-norwich-research-park-harnessing-plant-power-for-n... |
| Description | Biodiversity Workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | New SAW workshop delivered at Bignold Primary School on World Biodiversity Day to introduce year 4 children to the importance of biodiversity for people and the planet and to some of the factors that are causing species decline across the globe. The children were amazed by the wealth of species, their importance in the ecosystem and how humans utilise natural products and shocked by the driving forces to extinction, a term they believed to only apply in the past, linked to dinosaurs, and not something that was ongoing. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.sawtrust.org/in-schools/world-biodiversity-day-at-bignold-primary-school/ |
| Description | Biological Diversity Work Group Panel Member |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | UKRI/BBSRC Biological Diversity Working Group in person and on zoom held on 23rd November 2023. Included 5 minute presentation on perspectives on biological diversity (including own research and wider opportunities, trends and drivers relating to biological diversity) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Conference Participant SynBITECH: Company Reviews and Panel Discussion: Women in SynBio |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Conference Participant SynBITECH: Company Reviews and Panel Discussion: Women in SynBio, Panel discussions |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Cracking Natures Code, Engineering Biology (House Magazine) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Content in magazine following an interview, which is targeted at the Houses of Parliament. Article Title: "Cracking Natures Code" |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Discussion with Counsellor Kay Mason Billig - Leader of Norfolk County Council |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Visit to discuss site development |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | GEN Article on Vaccine Adjuvant QS21 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | See article |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.genengnews.com/topics/bioprocessing/vaccine-adjuvant-qs-21-produced-in-tobacco/ |
| Description | Global garden |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Following on from the pilot of the Global Garden workshop in 2017 we ran a public workshop as part of the Norwich Science Festival that invited anyone to explore plant natural products and the regulations and ethics around access and benefit sharing. We then ran another session for a group of scientists which provided an interesting contrast of opinions around ethics compared to those shared by members of the public. This is an ongoing project that seeks to raise awareness of these issues as well as to get people thinking and talking about the importance of plants. In 2019 we took the Global Garden workshop to Cambridge as part of the Festival of Ideas and ran the workshop at the Cambridge Botanic Gardens. We also had garden curator Dr Sam Brockington attend and give a presentation on the importance of plant collections for research as well as for enjoyment. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017,2018,2019 |
| Description | Hosted school visit to our institute |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | We worked with the Country Trust to host a group of children from a local Primary school to visit the John Innes Centre to do some experiments in the training lab on natural products. The children were very excited to come into the lab and enjoyed wearing lab coats and goggles and using real science equipment. We had lots of PhD students help with the activity and the children liked chatting to them about what it's like to be a scientist. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Interview with The House Magazine |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Interviewed for The Hot House Magazine about work with HotHouse Therapeutics in an article about Engineering Biology. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://library.myebook.com/thehouse/house-supplement-focus-on-dsit-house-1760/5275/#page/28 |
| Description | Magazine Interview |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Interview with Journalist writing a piece about the Department for science, innovation and technology's vision for engineering biology, for House Magazine. Focusing on the vision and the government's aspirations for the field. Particular interest in way work is becoming increasingly important to medicine. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Member of Group - UKRI BBSRC Biological Diversity Working Group Meeting |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Biological Diversity Working Group in person and on zoom held on 23rd November 2023. Included 5 minute presentation on perspectives on biological diversity (including own research and wider opportunities, trends and drivers relating to biological diversity) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | New Phytologist Workshop: Introducing Transformative Plant Biotechnology Interview |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Gave an interview introducing transformative plant biotechnology. Recorded during the workshop at the National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh in 2023. Published on YouTube in January 2024. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023,2024 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XrjN3Ye1XA |
| Description | News Article on QS-21 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | See article |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/science-and-disease/the-chilean-tree-that-could-cure-malar... |
| Description | Novozymes Prize Lecture - From plant defence to therapeutics: The metabolic poetry of science |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | From plant defence to therapeutics: The metabolic poetry of science - Anne Osbourn presented the 2023 Novozymes Prize Lecture at John Innes Centre on Monday 12 June 2023 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Oral Presentation - "Finding Drugs in the garden: Harnessing plant metabolic diversity for therapeutic applications" |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Oral presentation "Finding Drugs in the garden: Harnessing plant metabolic diversity for therapeutic applications" given at the New Phytologist Transformative Plant Biotechnology Workshop in Edinburgh on 20 September 2023. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Presentation - "A million shades of green: understanding and harnessing plant metabolic diversity" |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | "Using Bioinformatics to Guide Engineering Strategies in Crops" Masterclass (held Virtually). Audience mix of Research Scientists, plant breeders and agronomists (including some industry partners) from all over the world. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Presentation at Royal College of Physicians: "Finding drugs in the garden: harnessing plant metabolic diversity for therapeutic applications" |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Gave a presentation to Royal College of Physicians at their Medicinal Plant Lectures: July 2024, RCP at Regent's Park, London UK |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Presentation on HotHouse Therapeutics |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presented HotHouse Therapeutics at plenary event at the UKRI Connect Stakeholder engagement event. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Royal Norfolk Show plant science stand |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | We designed and delivered science activities in the Discovery Zone at the Royal Norfolk Show for visiting children to learn about the properties of gluten in wheat and the use of insect predators as biocontrol for crop protection. Hundreds of children participated in our activities and most had heard of gluten as it is commonly mentioned now in terms of food allergies so we were able to give them some context around what gluten actually is, where its found and the properties it has. Many children were surprised by this! |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | SAW Seminar - Sowing the seeds for science outreach |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presented creative outreach projects and ways to capture impact at the department seminar to encourage scientists to be bold with their outreach plans and to demonstrate the value of documenting the process and the outcomes for reporting, reflection and to improve the method. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | School Science Art and Writing Project |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | We visited a local Primary school to run a Science Art and Writing Project on the theme of plant pathogens. The children were able to explore their own school grounds to search for evidence of pathogenic microbes by gathering diseased leaf samples that were observed under microscopes. The class also made leaf pressings onto agar plates to grow microbes living in their environment and learned about plant defense responses to invading pathogens. They further explored the concepts and new vocabulary though poetry writing and visual art activities. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023,2024 |
| Description | School Visit (Cambourne) - SAW Trust |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | 2 day hands-on SAW workshop for year 6 children at a Primary school in Cambourne. Aim to inspire and inform school children - there were 4 science activity stations followed by a creative writing activity and art activity. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Sci Comm East Conference Workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Ran a Science Art and Writing workshop at Sci Comm East Conference for people interested in creative approaches to public engagement. The participants worked through a plant natural product activity to learn how to use science topics to explore real research and then extend learning through creative writing and art. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Science Art and Writing (SAW) Project in school |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Delivered a SAW project on the theme of plants at Tacolneston Primary, a very rural school in Norfolk. The school were studying Arctic and Antarctic biomes and so we worked with them to add some plant stories to the very zoocentric approach schools usually take when exploring these regions as habitats. This enabled us to explain adaptations to environments which are particularly fascinating in plants and we touched on some local work by colleagues in Cambridge who discovered alpine plants making a fine wool out of flavonoids to cover its leaves. We explored chemical diversity and its many uses in plants and then looked at chemicals in plants that are useful to humans. The children were surprised to see this dynamic side of plants. We then focused on colours, flavours and fragrances and made extractions and then altered our extracts with acids and bases to make many new versions. The children enjoyed this plant-based chemistry session and then took their new facts, vocabulary and concepts forward to write poetry and create art to explore the topic further. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Science Art and Writing Workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | We visited a local Primary school to run a Science Art and Writing Project on the theme of natural products from plants. The children explored the diversity of natural products and had a go at extracting colour pigments from a variety of flowers and used acid/base reactions to identify chemicals. Then they learned about inflammation in our bodies and how some medicines have been developed to target this. We looked at boswellic acid which is extracted from frankincense trees and is a potent anti-inflammatory drug and passed around some frankincense for the children to feel and smell. The final experiment gave the children a mock ELISA assay plate and a selection of plant extract samples which they had to test for activity as anti-inflammatories. They further explored the concepts and new vocabulary though poetry writing and visual art activities. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Science Art and Writing Workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | We visited a local Primary school to run a Science Art and Writing Project on the theme of natural products from plants. The children explored the diversity of natural products and had a go at extracting colour pigments from a variety of flowers and used acid/base reactions to identify chemicals. Then they learned about adjuvants and which plants provide sources of these. We looked at soapwort plants and the children had a go at making foam bubbles using plant extracts. Then we introduced the story of the soapbark tree, the importance of the adjuvant QS21 for better vaccines and how scientists are replicating this molecule to try and protect the trees. In the final activity the children worked in groups and used molymod to build a range of triterpenes. They further explored the concepts and new vocabulary though poetry writing and visual art activities. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Science Communication Lecture |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Ran a science outreach workshop as part of the University of East Anglia's Science Communication module. Students were first encouraged to think about why sci comm is important and who the various audiences are. We worked through some example activities to show how complicated concepts can be broken down to make them accessible to a non-science audience and we also explored cross-disciplinary approaches to science outreach and the benefits seen by giving people different ways to explore science topics. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Science, Art and Poetry activity |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Delegates at the Anne Osbourn Novozymes Prize Symposium held at the John Innes Centre on Sep 9th and 10th 2024 participated in plant natural product-themed art and poetry activities run by the SAW Trust, during the refreshment and poster sessions. Colour pigments, ice cubes and diffusion were used to create flower-like patterns that were added to a display that grew over the course of the event and acrostic poems using key words related to the research topics were generated by people each adding a line. These were performed during the closing remarks of the event as a collaborative piece. The activities created an opportunity for delegates to work together, create and play which fostered an atmosphere for relaxed dialogue and a chance to consider novel approaches to science communication. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://sawtrust.org/ |
| Description | Seminar - "Harnessing plant metabolic diversity for food and health applications" |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Seminar given at VIB-UGent Center for Plant Systems Biology - Title: "Harnessing plant metabolic diversity for food and health applications" on 22nd February 2024 as part of a wider visit to the Center. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Talking Plants Conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Delivered a workshop at the Talking Plants Conference at Cambridge Botanic Garden. This conference takes place at a different botanic garden nationally each year and brings together garden staff and other organisations that work with plants and the public. Our workshop showcased some of the best plant-themed outreach projects we have delivered to share ideas and activities that provide a platform to engage people with plants. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://bgen.org.uk/conferences/talking-plants-2018-conference-proceedings/ |
| Description | Transforming Tomorrow Together Event Panel Member |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Attended UKRI Connect Transforming Tomorrow Together Event as a panel member. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Visit by Novo Nordisk |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | TBC |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | aBIOTECH Virtual Seminar by Professor Anne Osbourn. Title of talk: 'Harnessing plant metabolic diversity'. Zoom meeting. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | "aBIOTECH Virtual Seminar": Zoom Presentation: Presenter: Professor Anne Osbourn (John Innes Centre) at the invitation of Professor Xiaoquan Qi (CAS Institute of Botany, Beijing, China). Title of talk: "Harnessing plant metabolic diversity" JIC organiser: Dr Jie Li. Date and time: 10:00-11:30 (UK time), 24 February 2023. Audience of approximately 1000 people. Hosted by aBIOTECH editor in chief Professor Sanwen Huang. Keywords Notes |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |