Breeding program 3: Hemp Stalk Optimisation
Revolutionising Industrial Hemp: Precision Plants Engineering the Future of Fiber
As consumers and manufacturers alike seek more sustainable options for everyday products, industrial hemp is emerging as an exciting alternative raw material.
With properties rivaling wood and cotton, hemp fiber has the potential to revolutionise industries from textiles to construction - insulation. And thanks to recent advances in precision gene editing, the UK now has an opportunity to lead a revival of this versatile crop.
Rising demand for hemp fiber products as a sustainable alternative to wood and cotton
Consumer preference for eco-friendly and renewable materials is driving up demand for hemp.
Compared to resource-intensive counterparts like cotton and timber, hemp offers similar functional properties while requiring fewer pesticides and less land and water to grow.
Major clothing and furniture brands have already launched popular hemp lines. With increased investment in processing infrastructure, industrial applications from bioplastics to insulation also present massive markets for quality hemp fiber.
The opportunity for the UK to lead in the hemp fiber industry
The UK has an extensive history cultivating industrial hemp.
While the industry declined in the 20th century, the country's temperate climate, expertise, and agricultural innovation capabilities make it an ideal location to spearhead a hemp resurgence. By focusing research and funding on optimising genetics and agronomics for regional growing conditions, the UK can take advantage of this early-mover opportunity and cement itself as a world leader in high-quality hemp production.
Precision Plants using CRISPR gene editing technology to enhance hemp fiber quality
A key challenge holding back the hemp fiber industry is that existing varieties produce stalks with low fiber content and physical properties that restrict commercial-scale processing and manufacturing.
To overcome these genetic limitations and maximize the crop's economic and environmental potential, UK startup Precision Plants deploys CRISPR technology for precision gene editing.
By identifying and modifying key genes related to stalk formation and cell wall development, they aim to engineer elite hemp lines with optimised architecture and enhanced fibers for diverse industrial applications.
The Challenges Holding Back UK Hemp Fiber
The UK has historically been a major producer of industrial hemp, valued for its strong and versatile fiber. However, most current hemp varieties fall short of their potential for fiber production.
On critical stalk metrics like bast fiber content and stalk strength, UK varieties lag behind top European lines.
Underperforming Varieties
Several factors contribute to the underperformance of UK hemp varieties:
- Lack of dedicated fiber varieties - Most UK hemp is dual-purpose, balancing both fiber and seed production.
- Inadequate stalk thickness and height - Critical for high fiber yields, current varieties have thinner, shorter stalks than ideal.
- Susceptibility to lodging - UK hemp often suffers from stalk breakage and lodging issues, reducing fiber quality.
Complex Genetics
Hemp has complex genetics not well suited to traditional breeding techniques.
It is predominantly an outcrossing species with significant genetic heterogeneity between varieties.
This makes it difficult to lock in beneficial traits related to stalk development and fiber production through selective breeding programs.
Precision Editing Advantages
CRISPR gene editing provides key advantages for enhancing UK hemp varieties:
- Ability to target multiple genes simultaneously across the genome.
- Rapid introgression of valuable traits from high-fiber lines without linkage drag.
- Precision control over editing events for optimal fiber improvements.
By leveraging CRISPR technology, the UK can overcome longstanding challenges holding back the hemp fiber industry and reclaim its position as an industrial hemp leader.
CRISPR Gene Editing for Next-Level Fibers
The key to boosting hemp fiber production lies in identifying and editing specific genes related to stalk growth and development.
Researchers at Precision Plants will use advanced genomics techniques to pinpoint genes that control fiber content, stalk thickness, and cell wall structure.
By understanding how these genes regulate plant growth, the team can precisely edit them using CRISPR technology to optimise stalk traits.
Targeting Fiber Biosynthesis Pathways
Initial proof-of-concept edits will focus on boosting the expression of key genes related to cellulose and lignin production.
Cellulose gives strength and structure to plant cell walls, while lignin adds rigidity.
Boosting these pathways can result in plants with up to 20% more fiber content compared to standard varieties in greenhouse trials.
Realising the Potential of UK Hemp
By testing a wider range of gene targets across more diverse hemp varieties, the goal is to develop edits that maximise fiber content and quality across different regional growing conditions in the UK.
Expanding Edits and Testing to Optimise Fiber Improvements
The initial gene edits will focus on a handful of high-priority fiber-related genes.
By screening a broader range of gene targets, including those related to stalk strength, plant architecture, and flowering time, the aim is to stack multiple favorable traits for optimised varieties.
Exploring the Combination of Enhanced Fiber Traits with Other Yield and Resilience Traits
In addition to fiber improvements, gene edits are being explored to boost overall plant yield and resilience to environmental stresses like drought.
Combining the most promising fiber edits with yield and resilience traits will enable the development of elite regional hemp varieties tailored to UK growing conditions.
The Goal of Enabling High-Performance Regional Hemp Varieties
By leveraging precision gene editing, the goal is to develop exceptional regional hemp varieties that significantly outperform current varieties across key agricultural metrics.
This will revitalise the UK hemp fiber industry and catalyse the adoption of hemp as a mainstream sustainable crop.
Partnerships for Market-Ready Varieties
Bringing enhanced hemp varieties from the lab to the field requires collaboration across the supply chain.
As a start-up company, Precision Plants must partner with other key players to ensure successful translation of our gene-edited lines into viable commercial products.
Building Domestic Supply Chain Infrastructure
For UK farmers to fully capitalise on the promise of improved hemp varieties, the downstream processing infrastructure must expand in parallel.
As hemp acreage scales up, facilities for decortication, spinning, weaving, and manufacturing will need to grow to meet demand.
Our partnerships aim to strengthen connections across this nascent supply chain, paving the way for large-scale production of UK-grown hemp into fibers, textiles, biocomposites, and other products.
Driving Market Adoption Through Strategic Partnerships
Transitioning hemp from niche crop to mainstream commodity will hinge on market adoption by major consumer brands.
We plan to forge partnerships with leading manufacturers in target industries like automotive and construction.
Joint development projects and off-take agreements with key end-users will provide the pull-through demand needed to incentivise farmers to plant our elite varieties at scale.
These collaborations will also generate real-world performance data to reinforce the value proposition of our gene-edited hemp lines.
The Future of Hemp Fibers
Precision Plants envisions a future where hemp once again becomes a versatile and widely grown crop, providing sustainable fibers for industries ranging from textiles to construction.
As one of humanity's oldest cultivated plants, hemp has been an integral part of economies and cultures across the world for millennia. However, restrictive policies and lack of innovation have hampered the crop in modern times.
Revitalising a Historic Crop
By using advanced gene editing techniques to enhance key fiber traits, Precision Plants aims to catalyse a hemp fiber renaissance.
Initial field trials of gene-edited plants have shown remarkable improvements in stalk quality and fiber content compared to conventional varieties.
As edits are refined and combined, the company believes yields and uniformity can reach levels that make large-scale hemp cultivation attractive and profitable for farmers.
Driving Sustainability Through Materials Innovation
The exceptional durability and renewability of hemp could significantly reduce the environmental impact across manufacturing sectors as it displaces more resource-intensive materials.
For example, using hemp fiber composites instead of glass fibers for insulation or natural fibers in place of synthetic fibers like nylon or polyester in textiles and automotives.
Realising hemp's full potential rests on increasing fiber quality and agronomic competitiveness.
Economic and Environmental Benefits
Revitalising hemp production will bring new opportunities for jobs and investment at every link of the supply chain, from farming to processing and product manufacturing.
Additionally, scaling such a fast-growing and low-impact crop supports environmental goals by sequestering carbon, reducing pesticide use, and preserving forestry resources.
Precision Plants seeks partners across academia, industry, and government to fulfill the immense promise of 21st century hemp.
Support innovation in this versatile, sustainable crop and be part of enabling the hemp revolution.