Spraying for Yield
Lead Research Organisation:
Rothamsted Research
Department Name: Plant Biology & Crop Science
Abstract
Crop yields must double in the next 35 years to meet projected global food demand. However, annual yield improvements of major crops are increasing below the rate required. We have pioneered new technology building on previous BBSRC funding that significantly increases grain size and overall yield of wheat. The sugar signalling mechanism mediated by trehalose 6-phosphate (T6P) regulates the allocation of sucrose within the plant and the conversion of sucrose to starch in grain. Through a plant science-chemistry collaboration, UV-cleavable T6P precursors have been developed that enable T6P to be increased in wheat grain to increase conversion of sucrose into starch increasing grain size and yield by up to 20%. To support translation of this fundamental research into commercialisation the project will: 1) to demonstrate efficacy in field environments typical of global wheat production; 2) to develop methodology for scale up synthesis of T6P precursor suitable for large-scale application.
| Description | We have discovered a new more efficient path for the synthesis of DMNB-T6P, which is precursor of sugar signalling compound trehalose 6-phosphate which has potential as a crop spray for crop yield improvement. Initial sprays have been conducted on field trial plots to optimise dosage and timing of spraying of DMNB-T6P. After initial range finding for concentrations and dosages of DMNB-T6P we are starting to achieve large yield improvements up to 17% in wheat field trials in Argentina. This is as large an increase as was observed under controlled environment conditions. The results establish without doubt that the technology works in the field as well as under controlled conditions. The data in Argentina were obtained under rain fed conditions. We think there is an interaction with water availability at key developmental stages and further experiments will establish the detail of this interaction. From field tests in the UK, in addition to effects of DMNB-T6P on grain size there appear to be previously unseen effects on grain numbers up to 18.7% increase. Where grain numbers are increased, grain size is slightly reduced. Nevertheless, overall yield improvements are observed between 12-15%. This work is now being followed up with further testing on the interaction between grain number and size. We have found that DMNB-T6P works in a dry year (2020) in addition to the wet year (2019). However, there were differences in how varieties responded in the two years. A variety that increased yield through grain size was favoured in 2019 (+18.7%), but a variety that increased grain numbers was favoured in 2020 (+15%). We have determined that T6P spray works in field conditions 1) in wet and dry years 2) in elite cultivars increasing yield by almost a fifth in field conditions. This may represent the upper limit of the yield increase in the field that can be achieved with T6P spray in elite cultivars. 3) through increases in either grain size or number depending on the cultivar 4) in a region of the world, Argentina, representative of global wheat production where wheat yields are typically between 3-6 tonnes per ha. 5) The best yield increase achieved in Argentina represents 22 years of breeding gains 6) Yield increases are achieved without any extra input of fertiliser or chemical therefore mitigating climate change by increasing yield with no extra CO2 output |
| Exploitation Route | We hope to develop the work as a spray to enhance yields of crops such as wheat and others, both in agriculture and horticulture. It is possible that yield potential, yield resilience and more specialised traits such as control of flowering time could be modified with T6P sprays. We have formed a spinout company SugaROx. |
| Sectors | Agriculture Food and Drink |
| Description | We have formed a spinout company SugaROx to develop the T6P spray technology to improve crop yields and traits in agriculture and horticulture. The company now employs 6 people. The work leading up to the formation of spinout company has been funded by BBSRC since 1999 (studentships, responsive mode, SCIBs and follow on fund). Non dilutive funding for the company is now £1.7 million. A share issue is proposing to raise a further £1 million before going into series A. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2021 |
| Sector | Agriculture, Food and Drink |
| Impact Types | Economic |
| Title | Sugar signal manipulation by T6P for yield on wheat grain - whole grain RNA-seq |
| Description | Trehalose 6-phosphate (T6P) is a powerful internal sugar signal in plants yet cannot be directly added nor fully genetically controlled. A timed microdose of a plant-permeable T6P signalling precursor, DMNB-T6P, causes substantial yield improvements. This repository contains normalised counts table for a RNA-seq of wheat (Triticum aestivum) whole grains after spray with mock/DMNB-T6P. DESeq2 normalised count table for raw reads deposited in ncbi SRA under Bioproject PRJNXXXX. Related manuscript submitted to XXX. (...) Following RNA integrity analysis and quantitation (Bioanalyser; Agilent, USA), poly-A enriched cDNA libraries were generated and sequenced on an Illumina Novaseq 6000 sequencing platform generating 30-50 million 150 bp paired-end reads per sample. Low-quality reads and adaptor sequences were removed with Trimmomatic (trimmomatic-0.39.jar PE ILLUMINACLIP:TruSeq3-PE.fa:2:30:10:2:True TRAILING:30 MINLEN:40). The reads were aligned to the wheat reference genome (Triticum aestivum iwgsc_refseqv2.1 using HISAT2/2.2.1-foss-2019b with default parameters and converted to Bam format with SAMtools. Gene abundance was quantified using featureCounts with the High Confidence iwgsc_refseqv2.1 annotation (counting only primary alignments of read pairs with a quality cut-off of 10). Raw counts were normalized using the trimmed mean of M-values method by DESeq2. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| URL | https://zenodo.org/record/8269040 |
| Description | T6P effects on roots and soil |
| Organisation | University of Nottingham |
| Department | School of Biosciences |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | We will assess the effects of T6P on root growth and soil carbon. Rothamsted will direct T6P applications to wheat plants and supply DMNB-T6P. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Nottingham will measure root mass and soil carbon. |
| Impact | no outcomes yet |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Company Name | SugaROx |
| Description | SugaROx develops a sugar-based compound that increases photosynthesis and starch synthesis in plants, increasing their food yield. |
| Year Established | 2018 |
| Impact | Attracting investment and now expanding activities |
| Website | https://sugarox.co.uk |
| Description | Modifying trehalose 6-phosphate (T6P) sugar signalling to improve yield potential and yield resilience |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | A talk to a group from KAUST (Saudi Arabia) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Talk "Enhancing plant "blood sugar" to increase wheat yields" to All India Wheat and Barley meeting |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presented a talk "Enhancing plant "blood sugar" to increase wheat yields" to All India Wheat and Barley meeting at Udaipur, India |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Talk at Cereals 2023 Enhancing plant "blood sugar" to increase wheat yields |
| 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 farmers at the annual cereals event |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Talk to HEDWIC group Can reproductive development be protected from heat stress by the trehalose 6-phosphate pathway |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presentation to the HEDWIC (heat and drought stress consortium) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Talk to farmers from Alabama Increasing crop yields through modification of sugar resource allocation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presentation to a group of farmers from Alabama |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Transforming Yield through Source-Sink Synchronisation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | A presentation to the International Wheat Yield Partnership |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |