Cytotrait secures £3m seed to boost yields via chloroplast and mitochondrial edits
This article covers Cytotrait, an agtech startup spun out of the University of Manchester, and its £3m seed funding round led by Northern Gritstone. The funding will support development of its Mutant Organelle Selection System (MOSS) to engineer chloroplasts and mitochondria for targeted crop trait development in wheat, maize, potato and canola.
Cytotrait, an agtech startup spun out of the University of Manchester, has raised £3m in a seed funding round led by Northern Gritstone to develop a platform that engineers novel genetic traits in crops. The funding will push forward its Mutant Organelle Selection System (MOSS) to target chloroplasts and mitochondria for high-level, localised gene expression — a technical approach the company says could speed trait development and simplify regulatory and containment considerations.
Why it matters
Crop innovation that reduces yield loss, improves resilience and lowers the carbon footprint of farming is a strategic priority for UK and global agriculture. Cytotrait’s organelle-targeted approach aims to alter expression outside the nuclear genome, which the company argues can limit transgene phytotoxicity, make trait stacking and backcrossing simpler, and support containment strategies that are relevant to regulation and public acceptance.
The move also highlights continued momentum in university spinouts from the North of England and growing investor interest in novel engineering biology routes to crop improvement.
Inside the product
MOSS is designed to deliver genes and edits directly into chloroplasts and mitochondria, rapidly achieving homoplasmy so the engineered change is present across every organelle in a cell. That, Cytotrait says, enables localised, high-level expression of traits.
Using the new funds the company will start development programmes focused on wheat, maize, potato and canola for European and North American markets. Planned applications include yield and resilience improvements, introduction of new food traits and evaluation of potential carbon sequestration improvements.
Cytotrait previously received £498,000 from the Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA) to develop MOSS for hybrid seed production in wheat. The business was spun out with support from the University of Manchester Innovation Factory and recently completed NG Studios, Northern Gritstone’s venture building programme for deeptech spinouts.
Who are the investors?
The £3m round was led by Northern Gritstone, with participation from the UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund (UKI2S) and Northern Universities Ventures Fund. The capital is earmarked to validate early MOSS data and to initiate the company’s first tranche of crop development programmes.
In the announcement, Duncan Johnson, CEO at Northern Gritstone, said:
Cytotrait is a prime example of the world-class innovation from the North of England’s universities and the ambitious founders and teams we see on our venture building program, NG Studios. Northern Gritstone is very pleased to be working with Dr Ji and the team and look forward to positive results from this first tranche of new development programmes.
In the announcement, Hassan Mahmudul, Investor at UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund, said:
UKI2S invests in companies developing novel engineering biology solutions to tackle large, global challenges. We are delighted to welcome Cytotrait to our growing agritech portfolio, recognising the strength of its platform technology, which has the potential to unlock high-value trait expression at levels significantly beyond what is achievable through conventional nuclear genome engineering.
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Founder perspective
In the announcement, Junwei Ji, Co-founder & Executive Director at Cytotrait, said:
Food security and sustainability are two of our most pressing global challenges, and issues that we must be prepared to face today to ensure we are ready to meet the needs of tomorrow. We developed MOSS with those challenges in mind – a unique crop engineering solution capable of streamlining regulatory pathways and generating crops with new, enhanced, and more carbon-conscious traits. Thank you to our investors, whose support reaffirms our belief in the potential of MOSS to bring about a new frontier in crop technology.
In the announcement, Tim Brears, Executive Chair at Cytotrait, said:
MOSS is truly a breakthrough in the field of crop technology, allowing us to precisely engineer characteristics that can not only enhance yield and resilience, but also help to drive a more sustainable future for modern agriculture. We’re extremely proud of everything our team has already accomplished, and thankful to our investors, whose support will enable us to expand our pipeline and explore the applications of MOSS in some of the world’s major crop types.
The bigger picture
This seed round joins a stream of early-stage funding into engineering biology and agtech ventures that aim to translate academic lab advances into field-ready traits. Targeting organelles rather than the nuclear genome is a technical divergence from more common approaches and could attract interest from investors looking for differentiated, platform-driven opportunities in crop trait development.
The deal also underscores the role of regional venture builders and university innovation arms in commercialising UK research. For regulators and farming stakeholders, the practical outcomes — demonstrable trait benefits, clear containment strategies and transparent regulatory pathways — will determine uptake.
The funding of Cytotrait is another example of how UK university spinouts are feeding into an active European and North American market for agtech innovation; turning lab concepts into deployable solutions will require sustained technical validation and clear regulatory engagement across jurisdictions.
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