As climate change disrupts ecosystems and global food supplies face mounting threats, scientists are turning to artificial intelligence for solutions. Phytoform Labs, a UK-based agri-tech company, has developed the CRE.AI.TIVE™ platform, a groundbreaking AI-powered tool designed to optimize plant DNA for enhanced resilience to drought, disease, and pests. By introducing small yet targeted genetic changes, this innovation could revolutionize precision crop breeding and fortify food security.

The CRE.AI.TIVE™ platform leverages AI to identify and modify regions of plant DNA that significantly influence crop traits. While precision tools like CRISPR-Cas have already transformed genetic editing, their efficacy in plant breeding is constrained by the challenge of pinpointing which genetic changes yield meaningful improvements. Nobel laureate Jennifer Doudna, co-inventor of CRISPR, has emphasized the transformative potential of combining AI with CRISPR, particularly in agriculture.

“CRISPR is facing a bottleneck in delivering better, more sustainable crops,” explains Dr. Nicolas Kral, Chief Technology Officer of Phytoform Labs. “Plants inherently possess genetic solutions to stressors like drought, but unlocking these traits scalably has remained out of reach. Current methods are time-intensive and often unreliable.”

Unlocking Plant Potential with AI

Phytoform Labs’ genomic model, outlined in a preprint published on bioRxiv, was trained on the DNA sequences of 12 crops, including corn, soybean, and tomato. Remarkably, AI requires no prior knowledge of the genetic regions that regulate crop traits. Instead, the CRE.AI.TIVE model analyzes DNA to predict gene activity, enabling scientists to locate and tweak specific sequences that can enhance desirable traits without compromising the plant's health.

For example, the team validated their AI’s predictions by targeting a gene in tomato plants responsible for drought resistance. Using CRE.AI.TIVE, they successfully activated the gene, proving the model's capability to optimize plant responses to environmental stress.

“CRE.AI.TIVE has essentially learned the language of plant DNA, allowing it to identify sequences that boost gene activity,” says Dr. Kral. This advancement enables the development of crops with enhanced traits using CRISPR, while avoiding the unintended effects often associated with older genetic modification techniques.

A New Frontier for Precision Breeding

Current breeding methods often fall short due to the lack of genomic data for many plant species. Here, the CRE.AI.TIVE platform offers another advantage. By training on diverse genomic datasets, the AI can extrapolate insights from well-studied crops to lesser-known species, making it applicable across various agricultural contexts.

“While CRISPR is a powerful tool, its success depends on the precision and timing of genetic changes,” Dr. Kral explains. “For example, identifying a gene related to drought tolerance is only part of the equation. That gene must be activated in the correct tissue and under the right conditions. Our technology offers unprecedented control over this process.”

The implications extend beyond improving resilience. By replacing traditional GMO methods, CRE.AI.TIVE offers a more sustainable and targeted approach to enhancing crop traits, potentially gaining broader acceptance among consumers and regulators.

Bridging the Gap to Market

Having demonstrated the platform’s potential in plant cells, Phytoform Labs is now collaborating with seed companies to develop crops with enhanced drought tolerance. The goal: to bring the first AI-assisted, precision-bred crops to market within two years. This rapid timeline underscores the platform's promise in addressing global agricultural challenges.

For those interested in the technical details, Phytoform Labs’ research, “A scalable method for modulating plant gene expression using a multispecies genomic model and protoplast-based massively parallel reporter assay,” is available on bioRxiv.