Category: Citizen Scientists

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Citizen Scientists

Precision-bred crops

Rewriting Nature’s Code for Plants

Imagine you’re tending to your garden and notice a plant that’s struggling to thrive. What if you could rewrite its genetic instructions to make it stronger, more resilient, or even tastier?

That’s essentially what precision breeding for plants aims to do.

What are plant genes?

Just like humans, plants have genes that act as instruction manuals. These genes, made up of DNA, tell the plant how to grow, when to flower, how big its fruit should be, and even how to defend itself against pests. Every plant has its own unique set of genetic instructions.

So, what is precision breeding in plants?

Precision-bred crops can be created through gene editing.

Gene editing is a technique that allows scientists to make precise changes to a plant’s DNA.

It’s like having a pair of molecular secateurs that can snip out specific parts of the genetic code. The most well-known gene editing tool is called CRISPR, which has revolutionised plant breeding since its discovery.

It’s important to note here that gene editing is not the same as genetic modification as no foreign DNA is left in the plant. The changes made through gene editing are the same as those which could occur naturally.

How is gene editing useful in plants?

Gene editing in plants has several exciting applications:

  • Creating crops that are more resistant to diseases or pests, reducing the need for chemical pesticides.
  • Developing plants that can better withstand drought or extreme temperatures, helping farmers adapt to climate change.
  • Enhancing the nutritional value of food crops.
  • Improving the taste or appearance of fruits and vegetables.

Is it controversial?

Like many new technologies, gene editing in plants has sparked debate. Some worry about potential unintended consequences on ecosystems or whether gene-edited plants should be labelled differently in shops. But as the changes made through gene editing are the same as those that occur naturally, there is no greater risk than plants developed through traditional breeding.

Introducing the PROBITY project

The BOFIN-led PROBITY project was launched in August 2024. It brings together experts from 12 organisations including plant scientists, social scientists, supply chain experts and food manufacturers as well as farmers. 

Seed from precision-bred cereal varieties developed in small quantities by scientists at John Innes Centre in Norwich and Rothamsted Research in Hertfordshire will be multiplied up. This will then enable around 25 selected farmers to trial the crops on their own farms. 

Each of these varieties have potential benefits to sustainable food and farming:

  • A wheat with superior baking, toasting and processing properties
  • A barley that high lipid, high energy 
  • High performance wheat which promises a step change in productivity

Every step of the way the seed, crops and harvested wheat and barley will be tested and scrutinised by the farmers, scientists and food researchers. They want to find out how these traits perform and to fully understand the benefits and challenges. It will also include discussion with people from across the supply chain, including consumers, on their feelings and attitudes to producing, sourcing and ultimately eating food made from gene edited crops.

Interested? Find out more:

If you’re keen to explore this subject further take the #PROBITYPledge to receive further resources in your inbox. Then, get involved with online discussion around precision breeding at The Sequence Circle where you can share views and ask questions.

Click HERE to get involved.

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Citizen Scientists

Slug Scout Success

Citizen scientists help research into ‘slug resistant’ wheat

Scientists are making strides towards understanding which types of wheat can resist slugs with the help of a keen community of ‘Slug Scout’ citizen scientists.

Their work is paving the way for sustainable pest control methods that could benefit both farmers and the environment. 

It is part of the SLIMERS project – Strategies Leading to Improved Management and Enhanced Resilience to Slugs – a £2.6m initiative involving multiple partners, including the John Innes Centre, Harper Adams University, UK Agri-Tech Centre, Agrivation and led by the British On-Farm Innovation Network (BOFIN).

The project builds on previous findings from the John Innes Centre’s Watkins collection of landrace wheat, which identified ‘Watkins 788’ as a promising candidate for slug resistance after tests showed that slugs consistently preferred other wheat types. 

To explore this further, the centre’s wheat genetics team, led by Dr Simon Griffiths, created 77 Recombinant Inbred Lines (RILs) by crossing Watkins 788 with another susceptible wheat variety. These RILs have now been tested to pinpoint the specific genes that may be responsible for slug resistance – with help from BOFIN’s community of volunteer ‘Slug Scouts’.

These Slug Scouts, including farmers and members of the public, collect grey field slugs (Deroceras reticulatum) from their local areas and send them to the John Innes Centre for use in the feeding trials. Since the start of the project 4,647 slugs have been received, with 2,684 being the grey field slug needed for the study. 

Feeding trials

Dr Victor Soria-Carrasco, Head of Entomology and Insectary Platform at the John Innes Centre leads the feeding trials. Slugs of the right size are placed with various wheat seeds to assess their feeding preferences and the resulting damage. By measuring the fraction of each seed consumed after exposure to slugs, his team can determine which wheat lines are most and least appealing to slugs. This data can then be used to help identify the gene or genes associated with slug resistance. 

As part of the next phase, two RILs – one resistant and one susceptible – along with Watkins 788, will be grown and tested on farms during the 2024-2025 growing season. Six ‘Slug Sleuth’ farmers have committed to run these trials on their farms, gathering data to assess the effectiveness of the RILs in real-world conditions.

Tom Allen-Stevens, founder of BOFIN, said the input from Slug Scouts was vital for the project’s success.

“Slugs are a major pest for UK arable farmers. The ultimate goal of this part of the project is to find wheat lines that slugs avoid, reducing our reliance on chemical controls. Farmers will now be trialling some of these wheats to compare them with those they would typically grow on farm, but the scientists will continue their work in the lab. 

“We are so grateful to our community of Slug Scouts and hope they will continue to find, identify and send in grey field slugs so we can carry on this important work.”

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Citizen Scientists

Top tips for Slug Scouts

Here are some essential tips to help you become a master slug collector for the SLIMERS project

Finding Slugs

  • Look in damp, shady areas of your garden or field
  • Check under logs, rocks, or garden debris
  • Search during early morning or evening when slugs are most active
  • Create ‘slug traps’ using overturned flowerpots or boards

Catching techniques

  • Use gloves or tweezers to handle slugs gently
  • Lure slugs with bait such as lettuce leaves, citrus peel or chicken feed
  • Consider using a torch for night-time scouting

Identifying Grey Field slugs

  • The grey field slug is only about 3-5 cm long when extended
  • Check for a light grey to brownish coloration and distinctive darker tentacles
  • And importantly, please avoid slugs that have orange colouring or stripes, or that are more than 5cm long, as these are very likely to be the wrong species for this project

Container tips

  • Use a clean, sturdy plastic container with tight-fitting lids
  • Line the bottom with slightly damp paper towel
  • Include a small piece of vegetable such as lettuce for food

Shipping guidelines

  • Only post on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday to ensure safe arrival before the weekend
  • Avoid shipping during postal strikes or heatwaves
  • Don’t overload your containers – maximum 30 slugs per container please
  • And remember, please exclude other slug species, especially leopard slugs

Your efforts contribute significantly to important research. Thank you and happy slug scouting!

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Citizen Scientists SLIMERS Uncategorized

Slug Scout update

Scientists in the SLIMERS project are gearing up to restart their slug feeding trials after the summer break, which means that we will shortly be sending out more Slug Scout packs to those waiting to get involved.

Any slugs received over the summer have been taken care of in the insectory at John Innes Centre near Norwich, enjoying a diet of Chinese cabbage with small quantities of cat food for protein ahead of the trials.

A BIG thank you

Firstly, we want to thank everyone who has participated so far. Your contributions have been invaluable and helped us make great strides in our research. Grey field slugs are often spotted in gardens but are a major pest for arable farmers causing £43.2m worth of damage to crops every year. By taking part as a Slug Scout, you are contributing to the project which aims to find more sustainable ways to control slugs, including finding ‘slug resistant’ varieties of wheat.

With a huge amount of media coverage in recent months we’ve seen an incredible amount of interest in the project, and we’re so grateful for your interest! We will be sending out another batch of packs soon to as many people on our waiting list as possible. 

What’s new in the Slug Scout packs?

To accommodate our growing community, we’ve updated our participation packs. Here’s what you can expect:

  • Slug Scout pocket guide: Clear guidelines on how to identify grey field slugs
  • Postage guidance: Instructions on how to package up your haul safely
  • Labels: Easy-to-use labels to cover the postage for your slugs 
  • Freebies: A fun Slug Scout badge and some stickers to show our appreciation!

A small request

We do ask that you find your own container for the slugs and that you will send at least 10 (ideally more) grey field slugs. Takeaway tubs work perfectly as long as they have a tight-fitting lid. Additionally, please find a ‘Jiffy’ postage bag to send your slugs in – feel free to recycle one you already have!

Thank you for being a part of the SLIMERS project. 

Visit our Slug Scouts Facebook page

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Citizen Scientists

Slimy invaders

The struggle which unites farmers and gardeners

Many gardeners will be familiar with the feeling of waking up to find your prized vegetable patch has been pilfered, hostas have been hacked or dahlias decimated, overnight. 

Now, picture that devastation on a much bigger scale, and you’ll understand the plight of UK arable farmers battling these menacing molluscs.

Slugs are the bane of UK agriculture, costing the industry a staggering £43.5 million every year. 

These slimy pests don’t discriminate between a home-grown lettuce and a farmer’s wheat crop – they will munch through both with equal enthusiasm. Just as gardeners might find seedlings vanishing overnight, farmers face the heartbreak of seeing entire crops damaged or destroyed. 

While the scale may differ, the challenges faced by farmers and gardeners are similar:

  • Both struggle with unpredictable weather that can lead to slug population explosions
  • Both want to find environmentally friendly ways to protect their plants
  • Both experience the frustration of seeing hard work undone by these persistent pests

The SLIMERS Project: Your chance to get involved

Here’s where it gets exciting – you can join the fight against slugs and contribute to a research project which is working towards sustainable solutions! The SLIMERS (Strategies Leading to Improved Management and Enhanced Resilience Against Slugs) project is calling for ‘citizen scientists’ or Slug Scouts to get involved.

How to become a Slug Scout:

  1. Visit slimers.co.uk and click ‘Become a Slug Scout’
  2. Wait to receive your Slug Scout pack, complete with instructions and ID guide
  3. Set up your very own ‘slimery’ to attract and collect slugs
  4. Post your slimy specimens to the research team

It’s a great opportunity to get hands-on with science and help farmers develop better slug control strategies. Plus, you’ll gain a whole new appreciation for these fascinating (if frustrating) creatures.

Why Your Help Matters

By participating, you’re not just helping farmers – you’re contributing to more sustainable agriculture practices. The research aims to reduce pesticide use while keeping our food supply secure. 

So, the next time you’re cursing the slugs in your garden, remember – you are not alone in this slimy struggle. From the smallest allotment to the largest farm, we’re all in this together!

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Citizen Scientists

Send in your slugs

Become a Slug Scout! Click here for a FREE Slug Scout pack, and here to find out more

The BOFIN ‘Slug-Resistant’ Wheat project is seeking ‘Slug Scouts’ to trap and send in slugs for feeding studies.

Farmers across the UK are being encouraged to capture grey field slugs and send them in to John Innes Centre in Norwich for a ground-breaking scientific study taking place early this spring.

The scientists are hoping farmers will harvest around 1000 slugs from their fields. These will be used for feeding trials just getting underway at the John Innes Centre Insectary.

BECOME A SLUG SCOUT

The project, led by the British On-Farm Innovation Network (BOFIN), aims to gauge how palatable a range of different wheats are to slugs, and help farmers move away from a reliance on chemical control measures and the potential environmental impact of those chemicals.

It follows initial studies that indicated one landrace wheat, known as Watkins 788, may be resistant to the slimy pests, that cost UK arable farmers £100M every year.

“Slugs are UK arable farming’s most damaging pest,” notes Oxfordshire farmer and BOFIN founder Tom Allen-Stevens, who co-ordinates farmer involvement in the project. “As they get active again this month, rather than let them graze on our crops, we’re keen for farmers to join our group of ‘Slug Scouts’, who will trap the pests and send them in for this important study.”

The Slug Scout volunteers will be provided with a pack, including containers and postage-paid envelopes, as well as instructions on how to set up an effective ‘Slimery’.

“This is what you use to attract and trap your slug population that you can then harvest periodically – it’ll want to be in the most slug-infested spot of your farm,” explains Tom.

The trials are part of a wider project that aims to explore the palatability of wheat and the grazing behaviour of slugs, with the aim of identifying a possible slug-resistant trait for the development of future varieties.

JOIN THE SLUG SCOUTS