DIVERGE
Generates billions of novel NLR immune receptor variants by systematically diversifying the Leucine-Rich Repeat (LRR) domain that determines pathogen recognition. Pairs receptor diversity at scale with a defined selection target.
When crops cannot defend against a pathogen, we engineer the resistance.
RGenerate is an Imperial College London synthetic biology spinout engineering plant immune receptors against emerging crop disease, in weeks rather than decades.
What we do
RGenerate engineers plant immune receptors for crops that have no natural defence against a given pathogen. The platform generates and validates new receptor variants in weeks, producing candidates that can be integrated into elite crops to protect yields against existing and emerging disease threats.
Platforms
REAP
Validates which engineered receptors activate the plant immune response when a pathogen is present. Only candidates that trigger genuine protection progress to licensing.
Team
Dr. Nikolai Windbichler
Co-Founder · DIVERGE inventor
Associate Professor in Genetics at Imperial College London with nearly two decades of work on insect genome engineering. Principal Investigator of Transmission Zero, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation–funded programme developing transmission-blocking gene drives against malaria. Pioneered the first proof-of-principle gene drive systems in mosquitoes.
Gates Foundation funding · ERC · BBSRC
Dr. Jiorgos Kourelis
Co-Founder · REAP inventor
Royal Society University Research Fellow and Assistant Professor at Imperial College London. Led the first demonstration of NLR–nanobody fusion immune receptors that confer plant disease resistance against arbitrary protein targets (Kourelis et al., Science 2023).
Royal Society URF · ERC StG · ARIA
Google Scholar · LinkedIn · kourelislab.com (coming soon)
Merrie Caruana
Technical Lead
Drives technical validation of the DIVERGE and REAP platforms. PhD researcher in plant molecular biology, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London.