Sugar signalling applications could boost wheat yields by up to 12%

Long term field study confirms effectiveness of new technology

Oxford & Harpenden, UK. 29 April 2025. Enhancing wheat plants’ sugar signalling ability could deliver increased yields of up to 12%, according to researchers from Rothamsted, Oxford University and the Rosalind Franklin Institute in a study published today in the journal Nature Biotechnology. That is an order of magnitude greater than annual yield increases currently being achieved through breeding.  

The effect was achieved by applying a Trehalose 6-phosphate (T6P) pre-signalling molecule to the plants. T6P is a signalling molecule that regulates the plant equivalent of “blood sugar.”  It is a major regulator of metabolism, growth and development including activating the pathway for the synthesis of starch, the world’s most significant food carbohydrate.

The link was discovered during research started at Rothamsted in 2006. Now a four year-long field study using plots at CIMMYT, Mexico and INTA, Argentina has confirmed that the new technology could deliver major yield improvements.

Wheat has complex genetics and targeting genetic bottlenecks in germplasm makes improvement through breeding far from straightforward. A chemical application of T6P acts as a switch for starch biosynthesis in grain, which forms the basis of wheat yields. This in turn this stimulates photosynthesis in the flag leaf, due to greater demand for carbon building blocks for grain filling.

Experiments in controlled environments looked promising, but this new study shows the application can deliver in field conditions. Not only did T6P increase wheat yields in each of the 4 years in the trials in Argentina and in an additional year at CIMMYT in Mexico, but it did so irrespective of rainfall, the major uncontrolled abiotic factor that limits crop yields globally.

It may even be possible to reduce fertiliser applications as T6P treatment activates genes for amino acid and protein synthesis in grain as well as the pathway for starch synthesis. This is important because a major issue in new higher-yielding wheat varieties is dilution of protein content requiring increased fertiliser to maintain quality for bread making.

“The path from discovery to translation has taken 25 years,” says Rothamsted’s Dr Matthew Paul who led the research with Professor Ben Davis at The Rosalind Franklin Institute and Oxford University. “Such timeframes are not untypical in blue-skies plant research, but we do hope new technologies, such as AI and faster analytical techniques, can accelerate this process. We will need many more innovations like this to create sustainable and resilient agriculture in the coming decades. I am so grateful to my excellent people, co-workers and teams and for grants from UKRI-BBSRC which made this work possible. Getting this far has been hard work but extremely rewarding”.

Rothamsted and Oxford have created SugaROx, a spinout company, to deliver this research to farmers. Dr Cara Griffiths, lead author of the research paper and CEO of SugaROx, said, “It’s exciting to be able to take cutting-edge technology from the bench to the field. Getting this kind of impact is often difficult to translate to the field, and this work demonstrated that novel crop inputs have huge promise to enhance yield and resilience in our cropping systems, something that is particularly important in a rapidly changing climate”.

“This work provides an excellent example of a case where direct selective manipulation of key molecular structures, rather than genetics or gene editing, inside a living system is a game changer," said Professor Davis. "It has been very inspiring to design and discover this new class of ‘drug for plants’ together.”

NOTES FOR EDITORS

Contacts for interviews and queries:

Rothamsted Research: James Clarke james.clarke@rothamsted.ac.uk, Mob: 07964 832719

Oxford University: Caroline Wood caroline.wood@admin.ox.ac.uk

Rosalind Franklin Institute: Caitlin Higgot  Caitlin.Higgott@rfi.ac.uk

The study ‘Membrane-permeable trehalose 6-phosphate precursor spray increases wheat yields in field trials’ will be published in Nature Biotechnology at 10:00 BST / 05:00 ET Tuesday 29 April at https://doi.org/10.1038/s41587-025-02611-1.

Professor Ben Davis leads the Molecular Perturbations Challenge at the Rosalind Franklin Institute, which aims to be able to use chemistry to engineer biology by modifying specific functional biomolecules in specific locations inside living organisms. This research could have additional real-world applications for human health in the creation of new diagnostics and therapeutics. 

Rothamsted Research is the longest-running agricultural research institute in the world with a proud history of ground-breaking discoveries. Our founders, in 1843, were the pioneers of modern agriculture and, through independent science and innovation, we continue to make significant contributions to improving the sustainability of agri-food systems in the UK and internationally. Our strength lies in our gene to field approach, which combines science and strategic research, interdisciplinary teams and partnerships. Rothamsted is also home to three unique resources, open to researchers from all over the world: The Long-Term Experiments, Rothamsted Insect Survey and the North Wyke Farm Platform. We are strategically funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), with additional support from other national and international funding streams, and from industry. We are also supported by the Lawes Agricultural Trust (LAT).  https://www.rothamsted.ac.uk  @Rothamsted

About the University of Oxford

Oxford University has been placed number 1 in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings for the ninth year running, and ​number 3 in the QS World Rankings 2024. At the heart of this success are the twin-pillars of our ground-breaking research and innovation and our distinctive educational offer.

Oxford is world-famous for research and teaching excellence and home to some of the most talented people from across the globe. Our work helps the lives of millions, solving real-world problems through a huge network of partnerships and collaborations. The breadth and interdisciplinary nature of our research alongside our personalised approach to teaching sparks imaginative and inventive insights and solutions.

Through its research commercialisation arm, Oxford University Innovation, Oxford is the highest university patent filer in the UK and is ranked first in the UK for university spinouts, having created more than 300 new companies since 1988. Over a third of these companies have been created in the past five years. The university is a catalyst for prosperity in Oxfordshire and the United Kingdom, contributing £15.7 billion to the UK economy in 2018/19, and supports more than 28,000 full time jobs.

The Rosalind Franklin Institute

The Rosalind Franklin Institute is a technology institute for life science, creating innovative technologies that transform our understanding of life. Our technologies, borne out of innovation in physical sciences, create collaborations and new avenues in life science which will lead to new therapeutics and advance our understanding of human biology.

The Franklin is an independent organisation funded through the UK Research and Innovation’s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).

Follow us on LinkedIn or bluesky @RosFrankInst or find out more at www.rfi.ac.uk.

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