A gene-edited barley is the first crop to receive a Precision Bred Organism (PBO) marketing notice confirmation through the UK’s new regulatory system for precision bred varieties.
The barley, developed at Rothamsted Research, was bred using CRISPR gene-editing to increase the lipid content of the plant tissues, which researchers say will create a high energy forage crop for ruminant livestock. Increased lipid levels in forage would both improve feed efficiency while having the potential to reduce the methane emissions produced during digestion.
The marketing notice confirms that the barley meets the criteria of a precision-bred organism under the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act 2023 and the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Regulations 2025. This enables the crop to progress towards a wider evaluation through research and analysis before the trait’s eventual commercial deployment. The trait has also been approved by the Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment.
Rothamsted developed the barley through small edits to genes that normally break down plant oils. By reducing this metabolic pathway, it says the plants accumulate higher levels of lipids in their vegetative tissues. This results in a forage crop with increased metabolisable energy, helping livestock gain more energy from the same feed intake.
The trait will be evaluated on-farm through the Platform to Rate Organisms Bred for Improved Trait and Yield (PROBITY) collaboration between researchers, farmers and supply chain partners, with the work led by the British On-Farm Innovation Network (BOFIN) and funded by Defra’s Farming Innovation programme, delivered by Innovate UK.
“This barley has been designed to increase the energy density of forage by boosting lipid levels in the plant,” explains Prof Peter Eastmond, who led the research at Rothamsted. “Higher-energy feed can improve livestock productivity and offers a promising route to reducing methane emissions from ruminant agriculture.
“Receiving the first precision-bred marketing notice for a crop in the UK is a major milestone and reflects many years of research into plant lipid metabolism and gene editing at Rothamsted.”
Prof Eastmond says the increase in lipid content is mainly in the stem and leaves of the barley plant, with some gain in the grain. While his team recognises that barley is not a conventional wholecrop, he says the PBO for barley provides an opportunity to test the trait on farm as a whole crop silage and feed it to dairy herds as part of the publicly funded PROBITY project. His team is also working on the high lipid trait in ryegrass and in wheat.
Prof Freddie Theodoulou, who leads the Green Engineering Strategic Programme at Rothamsted adds: “The PBO confirmation represents an important step under the UK’s new regulatory framework for precision breeding, which allows plants with targeted genetic changes that could arise naturally to be developed and assessed more efficiently.
“This decision demonstrates how the UK’s precision breeding framework can enable responsible innovation in crop science. It allows researchers to translate discoveries into crops with real-world benefits while maintaining rigorous scientific oversight.”
PROBITY is also assessing precision-bred wheat varieties with traits aimed at improving grain quality and yield, led by Rothamsted Research and the John Innes Centre, respectively.