MOSS: A novel genetic technology for low-cost and rapid crop breeding in response to climate change and population booming

Plants directly provide over 80 % of the food consumed by humans and are the primary source of nutrition for livestock. However, environmental factors, plant diseases and pests constantly threaten the availability of food supply. The world population is estimated to reach 10 billion by 2050, increasing the demand for food by 70% (FOA). With the degradation of arable land and climate change, the current agricultural system will struggle to meet this demand. Better crop varieties that can withstand climate change and increase yield are urgently needed as the current annual yield gain (~1.5%) in crop varieties cannot meet the global food demand expected by 2050\. Chloroplasts and mitochondria are the natural powerhouses in plants but have not been improved in many crops due to the lack of effective technology. If we can improve important chloroplasts and mitochondria genes (cytoplasmic genes), we can develop safe, climate-resilient, high-yielding crops rapidly and cheaply.

Chlomita Bioscience, a University of Manchester Spinout, have developed a technology that can tap into the resources in crop chloroplast/mitochondrial genes, to rapidly breed climate-resilient and high-yielding crops within 1-2 years, with less resource investment than conventional solutions. For this project, Chlomita will demonstrate the capability of the technology by developing a mitochondrial trait leading to high-performing hybrid crops \>70% faster than currently available methods. Our solution will significantly reduce the breeding cost for seed companies and make high-performing seeds more affordable to farmers.