A new laboratory at Norwich Research Park will test whether genetically tweaked crops can resist disease without relying on chemical sprays. Plant diseases cost the global economy roughly £170 billion each year, and the UN projects that over 600 million people will still face hunger by 2030. Current methods of protecting crops rely heavily on agrichemicals derived from petrochemicals, which are both polluting and costly. Resurrect Bio has identified resistance traits through precision breeding, but needs a controlled environment to rigorously test how these traits perform when plants encounter real pests and pathogens. The new facility will provide that platform, scaling up from small experiments to a system that can evaluate multiple traits simultaneously. If the platform works, it could speed up the development of crops that need fewer chemical inputs while maintaining high yields. That would directly benefit farmers and local economies, reduce pollution from agriculture, and help the UK meet its net zero climate goals. The research is applied and market-focused—the company aims to bring these traits to commercial readiness.
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Protecting crops from disease is essential for ensuring high yields, global food security, and achieving net zero goals. Resurrect Bio is at the forefront of pioneering research into plant immunity, with the aim of developing an agile, rapid trait discovery platform for precision breeding. A key component of this groundbreaking research is testing the interaction between plants, pests, and pathogens. To achieve this, a robust plant disease interaction platform must be established to rigorously evaluate our resistance traits in a controlled environment. Scaling this research requires suitable laboratory space, and we have identified an ideal location within the world-class plant research cluster at Norwich Research Park. The benefits of precision breeding are extensive. Each year, plant diseases cost the global economy approximately £170 billion, with yield losses directly impacting farmers and local economies. Global food security is also at risk, as the UN projects that over 600 million people will still face hunger by 2030\. Precision breeding not only improves yields but also significantly reduces the need for agrichemicals, which are often polluting and derived from petrochemicals. This approach also supports the UK and other regions in achieving their net zero climate goals. In summary, our project aims to establish a scalable plant disease interaction laboratory within the renowned plant science cluster at Norwich Research Park. This platform will rigorously test productivity-enhancing traits, bringing our innovative biotechnology closer to market readiness.
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