How Air-seq from the Earlham Institute is making sense of agriculture

A sensor that can detect airborne viruses, fungi and other pathogens will be discussed by the Earlham Institute (EI) in the Technology Exhibition at REAP 2022. Air-seq is just one of the innovation technologies under development at the research institute.

Air-seq to provide early warning of disease

EI has developed a new technology, Air-seq, for near-real-time identification and analysis of airborne pathogens using DNA/RNA sequencing.

Air-seq samples air in the field and so could provide an early warning system for pathogens. This would enable preventative measures to be implemented, helping to reduce crop and livestock losses from disease outbreaks.

TraitSeq detects complex traits

EI has also developed machine-learning-based technology, TraitSeq, to discover biomarkers for complex agricultural traits. Traits that provide improved water use efficiency, nitrogen use efficiency, taste and yield could be detected, to enhance the sustainability and productivity of crops across a range of agricultural sectors.

EI is also researching breeding strategies for crop varieties, to identify those that are resilient to the impacts of a changing climate. This would ultimately improve crop yield and secure food production in more extreme and unpredictable conditions.

Find out more on the Earlham Institute stand at REAP 2022

EI, based on the Norwich Research Park, studies living systems using multi-disciplinary approaches, from engineering and computational science to biotechnology. Its research addresses major agri-tech challenges in crop breeding, precision farming, and biotech sectors.

Visit the EI stand to explore how to obtain desirable traits or outcomes and gain advanced agricultural insights to reduce risks, increase productivity, and improve crop performance.

EI’s innovative technologies with applications in agriculture include:

• Air-seq, a portable, real time, in-field sequencer to monitor biological agents, e.g. for surveillance and early detection of pathogens.
• TraitSeq, the AI-based technology platform aiming to accelerate biomarker identification, describe complex traits, and evaluate treatment options – all to reduce the need for field trials.
• Tools for plant breeding,  a selection of crops, including rice and red clover, will be used to showcase a range of projects on traits and genotypes for plant breeding and agricultural diversity.

More about EI

REAP 2022: ‘Making Sense of Agriculture’ – Tuesday 8th November 2022

From yield mapping and precision livestock through to digital twins and cloud computing, at REAP 2022 we will be exploring the technology and looking at the implications from a field to landscape level. Making technology farm-centric is core to Agri-TechE ’s mission so a key feature of the conference will be a panel of farmers and producers discussing the emerging technologies and future scenarios.

reapconference.co.uk