A new £1.8 million research project aims to position the UK as a global leader in the responsible and ethical development of synthetic plants.
Funded by the Advanced Research + Invention Agency (ARIA), the three-year project is part of ARIA's £62.4 million Synthetic Plants programme.
Synthetic plants contain chromosomes and chloroplasts engineering by humans to change the traits of the resulting plant.
The new initiative seeks to develop new crops that are more productive, resilient, and sustainable-offering alternatives to carbon-intensive fertilisers and pesticides.
At the University of Exeter, the project is led Professor Sarah Hartley (University of Exeter Business School), who is also Director of Exeter's newly launched Centre for Responsible Innovation.
Exeter is collaborating with leading social scientists including Principal Investigator Dr Rob Smith (University of Edinburgh), and Professor Adrian Ely (University of Sussex).
The research will explore if and how synthetic plants, particularly potatoes, can be developed in UK agriculture in ways that are ethical, inclusive, and aligned with public values.
It will involve collaboration with stakeholders and the public to identify key issues, anticipate future developments, and test new models of governance.
Exeter's contribution, supported by new Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Dr Cecilie Hilmer, will focus on how public groups understand and relate to synthetic plants through in-place focus groups, public events, and debates held across the UK.
Insights from this engagement will inform governance strategies and contribute to national discussions on responsible innovation in plant synthetic genomics.
The team will also produce two documentary films in partnership with filmmaker Tom Law to promote public dialogue that can contribute to way in which the technology is developed.
Professor Hartley said: "I'm excited to be part of such a forward-thinking team exploring the governance of this emerging scientific field.
"Our research will help shape new governance approaches to emerging technology and inform both the science and policymaking.
"It's important to go beyond understanding public and stakeholder concerns by actively collaborating with different groups to shape the governance of synthetic plant technologies.
"Our goal is to ensure that these new technologies are more democratic, more useful, and less risky than they might otherwise be."
Key partners include the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, the Natural History Museum, and A Bigger Conversation.
