Durham University has been awarded a major research grant to transform crops using naturally-occurring bacteria.

The project, in collaboration with Azotic Technologies, will develop an innovative method to temporarily programme plants with new traits using a natural microbe found in plants.

The research will focus on Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus, a type of bacteria that lives inside plant cells. The microbe will be used to introduce beneficial traits into a wide variety of crops quickly and cost-effectively.

By enabling plants to temporarily express new traits, the technology could offer “a safer, more flexible approach to crop protection and improvement”, the academics said.

“The technique could allow farmers to enhance plant performance, resilience, and nutritional value without permanent genetic modification,” they added.

Potential benefits include reducing the need for chemical pesticides, helping crops cope with heat, drought, and disease, and improving food quality and nutrition.

Genetic modification has proved controversial, but supporters say the approach is essential in developing crops that can deal with changing weather patterns and meet demand for food.

There is also growing support for gene editing. As Chemistry World explained: “Precision breeding refers to altering an animal’s or plant’s DNA using specialised enzymes to change its genome at specific points; the modification must be possible using traditional breeding to qualify. They do not apply in cases where genes are transferred from unrelated species – deemed genetically modified organisms (GMO).”

In June, the UK parliament signed into law rules for its Precision Breeding Act (2023), bringing the sale of gene-edited products to consumers closer. The new law applies only to England.