Resurrection is now a thing: Reviving plant immunity for a sustainable future
Resurrect Bio is pioneering sustainable agriculture through Disease Resistance Resurrection. By enhancing natural plant defenses of our crops, our London based startup is reducing the need for harmful chemicals and safeguarding global food security.
How It started
In the ever-evolving field of plant pathology, breakthroughs often come from the most unexpected places. This story begins with Cian Duggan, an ambitious Irish scientist who was wrapping up his PhD under the mentorship of Tolga Bozkurt at Imperial College London. Cian’s research was groundbreaking; he demonstrated that plant immune receptors can accumulate precisely at the sites of pathogen infection — a novel concept that challenged existing paradigms in plant immunity.
Cian had also a knack for taking chances and forging his own path. Despite his academic success and the excitement surrounding his findings, Cian harbored an enduring dream: to bridge the gap between academia and industry by founding his own biotech company. He envisioned leveraging his research to develop innovative solutions that could revolutionize agriculture and safeguard global food security.
An auspicious meeting over tacos
Our paths crossed in the most unassuming way. It was a late summers’ evening when Cian, Tolga and collaborator Sophien Kamoun at The Sainsbury Laboratory in Norwich met at a chill taco joint in London’s Notting Hill. The aroma of freshly made tortillas and spicy salsa filled the air as they sat down to discuss future plans.
Over plates of scrumptious tacos al pastor and hearty laughs, Cian shared his vision of translating academic discoveries into real-world applications. His passion was palpable, and his ideas were not just ambitious but also deeply rooted in scientific rigor. As they delved deeper into conversation, it became clear that there was a unique opportunity to collaborate and bring his vision to life.
By the end of the meal, the team had scribbled down a rough plan on napkins stained with salsa — plans that would soon evolve into something much bigger than either of them had anticipated.
Disease Resistance Resurrection explained
The concept that became the cornerstone of our collaboration was something we termed “Disease Resistance Resurrection”. But what does this mean?
In simple terms, Disease Resistance Resurrection involves reactivating dormant or lost immune responses in plants to protect them against pathogens. Our crops carry immune genes to fight off the myriad diseases that afflict them, but many of these genes are made ineffective through the evolution of new types of pathogens and parasites. Disease Resistance Resurrection consists of introducing minute changes to the immune genes to make them effective again.
Fast forward one year: From vision to reality
Just over a year later, what started as an idea over tacos has blossomed into a thriving venture. Cian successfully raised over $2 million in seed funding and established Resurrect Bio, a biotech startup dedicated to reviving and enhancing disease resistance in crops.
Today, Resurrect Bio boasts a dynamic team of 7 dedicated researchers and scientists, all working tirelessly to bring the concept of Disease Resistance Resurrection from the lab to the fields. Their mission is clear: to develop crop varieties that can withstand the increasing pressures of pathogens, ensuring food security for a growing global population.
The science behind resurrection
While the entrepreneurial journey was gaining momentum, the academic community also took note of our work. The team and their collaborators published the first proof-of-concept study in Science Advances under the title “Resurrection of plant disease resistance proteins via helper NLR bioengineering.”
In this study, they detailed how to engineered a specific type of immune receptor known as helper NLR (Nucleotide-binding, leucine-rich repeat receptors) to be insensitive to inhibition by the potato cyst nematode, a pest costing UK farmers £50M annually.
The implications of this research are profound. It opens up new avenues for developing crops that are not only resistant to current diseases but can also adapt to emerging threats, thereby reducing crop losses and contributing to sustainable agriculture.
Resurrection is now a thing
Since the publication of the initial study and the launch of Resurrect Bio, the concept of Disease Resistance Resurrection has gained traction in the scientific community. New papers have emerged, expanding the methodology and applying it to different crops and diseases.
One study by a team at Ehime University in Japan demonstrated the successful application of disease resurrection to tobacco, making it resistant to a virus, using gene editing technology.
Another study by the team of Ksenia Krasileva at University of California, Berkeley, showed how a wheat resistance gene can be engineered to detect an escape mutant of wheat stem rust, a devastating disease of huge worldwide economic importance.
Conceptually, these studies can be likened to how new human vaccines are developed to be effective against new variants (escape mutants) of the viruses that afflict us, such as influenza and the COVID-19 coronavirus. These studies showcase the versatility and wide-reaching potential of Disease Resistance Resurrection.
Resurrect Bio in a changing world
As climate change accelerates and global trade continues to introduce pathogens into new regions, our agricultural systems are under unprecedented threat. Traditional methods of disease control, such as chemical pesticides, are becoming less effective and pose significant environmental and health risks.
The scientific advances described above underscore the critical importance of Resurrect Bio’s mission, especially in the face of increasing challenges such as global trade expansion, climate change, and other environmental stressors that exacerbate the spread and severity of plant diseases and can even accelerate the emergence of new races of plant pathogens and pests.
Disease Resistance Resurrection offers a sustainable and scalable solution to these challenges. By empowering plants with enhanced and durable immunity, we can reduce our reliance on harmful chemicals, increase crop yields, and ensure food security for future generations.
Expanding our network
And so, that’s the story of Resurrect Bio — a journey from a passionate idea to a pioneering enterprise that’s poised to make a significant impact on global agriculture. But this is just the beginning.
We are now gearing up to raise Series A funding to expand our research and bring our solutions to farmers worldwide. We are actively seeking collaborations with investors, scientists, and agricultural experts who share our vision of a sustainable and secure food future.
If you’re interested in joining us on this exciting journey, whether through investment, collaboration, or simply sharing ideas, please reach out. Together, we can make Disease Resistance Resurrection not just a concept, but a global standard in agriculture.
Meet the Team
Miles is our Senior Computational Biologist — he predicts protein-protein interactions and finds pathogen effectors and plant NLRs.
Miles did his PhD investigating the evolutionary genomics of adaptation to heterogeneous environments in three-spined sticklebacks at Queen Mary University of London, followed by a postdoc in anopheline vector control biotechnology at Imperial College London.
Miles has a fixed-wing pilots licence that he gained whilst living in New Zealand, albeit one that is very much expired.
Imogen is our Senior Scientist — she leads the wet lab team and develops our high-throughput screening platform.
Imogen did her PhD at the MRC LMB, Cambridge, researching how translation of misfolded membrane proteins is regulated at the ER.
When she’s not in the lab you will probably find her training for her next triathlon 🚴♀️ or knitting a pair of socks!
3. That’s Cian — enough about him!
Pankhuri was our first hire. She’s a Research Technician, the backbone of the lab and focuses on screening for NLR suppressors.
Pankhuri did her Masters in Applied Biosciences & Biotechnology from Imperial. Her research during this time was in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells.
Outside of work, she enjoys cooking, travelling and being amidst nature.
Rovena is also a Research Technician and currently focuses on boosting immune receptor functionality.
Rovena did her MRes in Plant and Microbial Biosciences at Imperial where she worked with potato blight.
Outside of work Rovena is a foodie, has a sweet tooth and the best person to ask for tips on London!
6. Rob Lo Bue
Rob is our first non-scientist hire, he works on Operations — making sure everything in the company works smoothly and we have processes for everything. Rob studied International Management at Bath and has just completed a Masters in Economics and Finance at Cardiff School of Management. Rob is also an ex-founder, he built his tech company, ran it for 10 years and sold it. Rob likes to travel, but he loves to come home to a welsh cake.
Not pictured — Tolga, Sophien and our new hire starting in September Ji Soo Nah, another Research Technician, who’s joining us from Syngenta!
