8 Years of OpenPlant

As the final round of OpenPlant funding comes to a close, we look back on the past eight years of work contributing to academic excellence in plant synthetic biology, open and responsible research and creating a community of like-minded scientists across Cambridge and Norwich.

In 2015, OpenPlant was established as one of six National Synthetic Biology Research Centres. A collaboration between the University of Cambridge, the John Innes Centre and the Earlham Institute, OpenPlant was founded with three aims:

1. to​ ​create​ ​a​ ​hub​ ​for​ ​interdisciplinary​ ​exchange​ ​between​ ​Cambridge​ ​and​ ​Norwich,​ ​between the​ ​fundamental​ ​and​ ​applied​ ​sciences,​ ​that​ ​will​ ​underpin​ ​advances​ ​in​ ​UK​ ​agriculture​ ​and bioproduction.

2. to​ ​establish​ ​systems​ ​for​ ​the​ ​open​ ​exchange​ ​of​ ​new​ ​plant​ ​tools​ ​and​ ​DNA​ ​components that​ ​will​ ​promote​ ​commercial​ ​innovation​ ​and​ ​international​ ​scientific​ ​exchange.

3. to​ ​explore​ ​the​ ​wider​ ​implications​ ​of​ ​the​ ​technology​ ​at​ ​local​ ​and​ ​global​ ​scales.​ ​This​ ​will bring​ ​together​ ​a​ ​wide​ ​range​ ​of​ ​engineers,​ ​scientists​ ​and​ ​policy​ ​developers​ ​to​ ​explore new​ ​technologies​ ​and​ ​possible​ ​models​ ​for​ ​sustainable​ ​agriculture,​ ​bioproduction​ ​and land​ ​use.

Over the years, these aims have been achieved in various ways, including over 230 academic publications, 90 invited lectures, 130 collaborations, 320 engagement activities and 8 spin-outs, amongst others. To round up our achievements we wanted to highlight a few of the areas in which we believe OpenPlant has excelled and added immense value, both to the academic community and beyond.

Development of New Tools and Technologies

As set out in our original aims, the development of new tools for plant synthetic biology has been a core element of OpenPlant throughout the years. This aspect has focused not just on creating new tools, but also on ensuring that our research tools can be shared and freely used by academia and industry across the world. This “two-tier” model of innovation highlights the need for a shared base of basic resources that can be used to make innovation both more efficient and more equitable. OpenPlant has been instrumental in helping to develop this shared base of tools for the plant science community. Achievements include the development of multiple plant synthetic biology toolkits, including the OpenPlant toolkit, the Cyanogate toolkit and the Chlamydomonas reinhardtii MoClo toolkit, as well as the development of more efficient transformation systems in wheat. Additionally, the establishment of a common syntax for plant DNA parts and the development of the OpenMTA, have allowed open sharing and reuse of our materials.

OpenPlant Toolkits

Wheat Transformation

Common Syntax

OpenMTA

Training and Career Development

Beyond our core research, OpenPlant has also worked hard to support our researchers with training and career development. Over the years, OpenPlant has employed 56 postdocs, students, research assistants and administrators, along with 23 group leaders. Of those, 23% have gone on to lead their own research groups, 16% have gone into industry, and 5% have gone into policy work. Workshops and initiatives to support our staff and students have included 14 technical training courses, 98 teams participating in the Biomaker Challenge, 73 teams funded by the OpenPlant Fund and two No-Code Training for Biology courses for researchers at Cambridge and Norwich.

Biomaker Challenge

OpenPlant Fund

No-Code Programming for Biology

OpenPlant Events

Influence on Policy, Practice & the Public

In line with the OpenPlant ethos of open and responsible research and innovation, we have made a concerted effort to understand and translate our research in the wider context of society, into policy, education and public engagement. Projects such as DNA Dave and Global Garden Workshops, as well as our long-standing collaborations with the Science and Art (SAW) Trust have communicated work done by OpenPlant researchers to the general public, as well as inspiring young scientists to engage with art and science practice. The SynBio4Schools initiative has also brought plant synthetic biology into schools, introducing students and teachers to cutting edge research aligned with the UK national curriculum. OpenPlant researchers have also contributed to discussions on development of appropriate regulation for new genome editing technologies, for example through workshops and seminars for DEFRA, contributions to the Food Standards Agency advisory committee, horizon scanning workshop and public dialogue. OpenPlant working groups have also addressed the use of genetic resources in the age of the Nagoya Protocol, capacity building for the bioeconomy in Africa and the development of an Open Material Transfer Agreement.

Engaging Society

SynBio 4 Schools

Regulation of Genetic Technologies

Working Group Reports

Further Funding and Spin-outs

As a testament to the success of OpenPlant in academic excellence and collaboration building, OpenPlant research has attracted over £35.5 million in follow-on funding. This additional funding will allow the important work done by OpenPlant to continue, and has included funding for continuing collaborations between Cambridge and Norwich, including the Engineering Biology Transition Award granted to OpenPlant PIs Anne Osbourn, Nicola Patron, Jenny Molloy and Jim Haseloff. Moreover, OpenPlant is proud to have supported the establishment and growth of eight spin outs including Beneficial Bio, Colorifix, Persephone Bio, Leaf Expression Systems, Iceni Diagnostics, The Smarter Food Company, Tropic Biosciences and HotHouse BioEngineering.

Engineering Biology Transition Award

Sustainable Bioeconomy

OpenPlant Publications

OpenPlant Reports

Finally to say, the work of OpenPlant could not have been achieved without the commitment and dedication of our staff and students, and we would like to say thank you to everyone who has worked with, and engaged with, OpenPlant over the last eight years. OpenPlant has provided a core hub​ ​for​ ​interdisciplinary​ ​exchange​ ​between​ ​Cambridge​ ​and​ ​Norwich and we hope that collaborations between the OpenPlant partners continue to thrive and drive forward cutting edge and responsible research in future.

Biomaker Challenge 2020/21 Final Showcase

You are invited to join Biomaker participants and finalists for a virtual showcase of this year's projects.

Hear from the Biomaker Challenge 2020 finalists and find out more about their low-cost, open-source biological hardware projects.

Schedule:

17:00 Welcome and Introduction
17:10 Overview of 2020 projects
17:30 Finalist Presentations and Demonstrations
18:10 Q&A
18:30 Finish

Finalists

Pheno3D: A low-cost multi-purpose 3D digital photography phenotyping station

Automated plant growth chamber: An automated plant growth chamber to grow and monitor Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings for plant research

Monitoring Stress In Plants: The development of a low-cost CEA chamber with built-in stress monitoring systems

Microfluidic Device Fabrication using Laser Ablation: Direct fabrication of microfluidic geometries at 10 microns without a photomask

For more information please contact coordinator@synbio.cam.ac.uk

New report from the OpenPlant IP Working Group: Towards an Open Material Transfer Agreement

View the full report >>

The OpenPlant Intellectual Property (IP) Working Group was formed to examine IP norms and policies that impede innovation in plant synthetic biology. The result was the development of the Open Material Transfer Agreement (OpenMTA), a legal tool for sharing DNA parts and other biological materials that allows IP-free sharing of foundational tools while promoting the scaling and commercialisation of novel advanced technologies.

OpenPlant is a collaborative initiative between the University of Cambridge, the John Innes Centre and the Earlham Institute in Norwich. It is a synthetic biology research centre focused on the development of open technologies for plant synthetic biology. As part of this initiative, the OpenPlant Intellectual Property (IP) Working Group was formed to examine current IP norms and policies that impede innovation in plant synthetic biology and develop pragmatic solutions.

OpenPlant is building a collectionof promoters to drive expression of fluorescent markers in the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha which will be shared with the plant synthetic biology community. Image: Bernardo Pollak, Haseloff Lab, University of Cambridge

The Working Group met at the University of Cambridge on 30 July 2015 to solicit input on the design specifications for an open material transfer agreement (OpenMTA), a legal tool that complements the BioBrick® Public Agreement and supports the sharing of DNA components as tangible material. The second aim was to gather and prioritise actionable goals for creating and sustaining an international platform of open technologies for plant synthetic biology.

This report provides background and context for our discussions then summarises the observations of the 23 participants, who included researchers, technical experts, and legal practitioners from academic, industry, and non-profit organisations.

“We believe steps to facilitate exchange of DNA parts and tools will substantially speed the take-up of new technologies in plant synthetic biology.”

The OpenPlant IP Working Group continued discussions through monthly calls and drafted several comment pieces and conference presentations. After extensive consultation, the text of the OpenMTA Master Agreement is published, initial signatories are invited and the first transfers of materials are beginning to take place, including transfer of bacterial DNA parts from Stanford University to the J Craig Venter Institute. Work continues to address the other issues identified in this report in the context of sharing OpenPlant-derived tools and technologies.

The authors welcome feedback on this report and invite suggestions for concrete actions enabling the creation and maintenance of platforms for sharing open biotechnologies. 

For more information on the OpenMTA, see http://openmta.org