Dr Cara Griffiths, 27 August 2025

• T6P technology, first published by Rothamsted Research and Oxford University in Nature in 2016, showed potential to boost wheat yields by up to 20% in glasshouses.
• New publication in Nature Biotechnology confirms feasibility of the T6P technology in field conditions, with consistent yield gains of around 10% in wheat.
• SugaROx is now launching trials, with a more cost-effective version of the active ingredient, at a lower dose rate, with distributors and farmers to validate performance more widely, bridging academic discovery with agricultural practice.

One of the biggest challenges in agriculture is turning brilliant lab discoveries into solutions that work in unpredictable field conditions. Many fail along the way. But when the gap is closed, the results can transform farming. That’s the story of our flagship active ingredient, an innovative, plant-permeable form of trehalose-6-phosphate (T6P), the natural plant sugar in our first biostimulant.

Following publication of her academic research in Nature Biotechnology, our CTO Dr. Cara Griffiths shares her thoughts on how her work on T6P went from a research project to development of a solution for real-world farmers.

Breaking new knowledge – how it began

Agricultural innovation often starts with a simple question: what hidden mechanisms inside plants could be harnessed to grow more food with fewer resources?

In the late 1990s, my colleague Dr Matthew Paul, a plant biologist at Rothamsted Research, was developing early fundamental research that discovered a tiny sugar, T6P, acts as a regulator of plant energy.

T6P acts as a key signal of sugar availability, switching metabolism into a “feast mode” when energy is abundant; promoting growth, starch synthesis, and biomass accumulation. It does this by inhibiting SnRK1, a master regulator that otherwise triggers a “famine response,” slowing growth and conserving resources. By increasing the abundance of T6P in the cell, this feast response can be triggered, pushing more sugar resources into plant growth, development, and ultimately yield.

The challenge? T6P is a polar molecule and can’t cross plant cell membranes if simply sprayed on crops. That’s when Matthew teamed up with Professor Ben Davis, an organic chemist at Oxford University, who engineered a “caged” version, allowing for cell membrane penetration; protected until sunlight releases it inside the plant. This breakthrough meant T6P could finally be delivered into crops using common farming practice.

Proof in controlled conditions

I joined the research team in 2014 to put the T6P analogues created by Ben and Matthew to the test. In 2016, we published in Nature that spraying wheat with plant-permeable T6P increased yields by up to 20% in controlled environments.

This was the first proof of concept that chemical intervention in sugar signalling could change the rules of crop productivity. It suggested we could increase yields without demanding more land, water, or fertiliser – a vital step toward sustainable agriculture and food security.

Feasibility in fields

The real test was moving from glasshouses to real fields. Matthew, Ben, and I launched an academic project in Argentina where we ran replicated small plot trials across four seasons to test the technology under agricultural conditions.

The results, now published in Nature Biotechnology, showed yield gains of 5-17%, averaging 10%. Crucially, these gains didn’t require extra fertiliser or irrigation. For farmers, that means more grain from the same land – real productivity, not just lab theory.

From academic trials to business-led trials

At SugaROx, our mission is to take this discovery from science to practice. To commercialise the technology, we need to show consistency across different soils, weather and farmer practices, and as CTO, I run trials with three types of stakeholders to achieve this.

Shortly after launching our venture in 2021, we commissioned a small number of trials across 5 countries with a leading contract research organisation (CRO). We started with Replicated Small Plot Trials (RSPTs) to optimise dose, formulation, and timing of application and refine our minimum viable product.

Last autumn, with Innovate UK and ADAS support, we began on-farm trials with 10 UK farmers at the hectare scale. Real-world feedback is essential to shaping a product that delivers value on the ground.

With new investment recently secured to scale up T6P production, we will be producing more samples to potential distributors interested in evaluating our T6P in key markets. These partners help us learn a huge amount about the practices of farmers in different countries.

Looking ahead

The journey of T6P shows how rethinking plant biochemistry can unlock new ways to boost crop yields. I continue to split my time between Rothamsted Research and SugaROx because I believe breakthroughs shouldn’t stay confined to journals.

At SugaROx we believe that by bridging science and commercialisation, we can deliver the next generation of biostimulants that farmers need and the industry seeks. Products with well-described modes of action, addressing specific bottlenecks in plant physiology to deliver real value to farmers.

If you’d like to learn more about our technology, contact us today.