Microbiology has historically been underused in industry but interest has exploded over recent years because of the work done studying microbial interactions by scientists at places like Norwich Research Park.
Many of the businesses based here have spun out of the research conducted on the campus. And at their core, several of the business ideas have microbiology at their heart. We spoke to two companies to find out the role that microbiology plays in their organisations.
Zyvex is a start-up company that has developed a natural antimicrobial solution for the seafood and food industries as an alternative to the use of synthetic chemicals. Unlike traditional disinfectants, the Zyvex wash can be applied directly to fish and inside packaging – extending shelf-life by up to seven days, improving food safety and reducing waste across the UK’s chilled supply chains.
Fresh fish is a vital global food source; but it’s also highly perishable. Not only does the Zyvex formulation extend the shelf-life of fish, it also protects against Listeria contamination. Between 2012 and 2024, contaminated fish led to 73 cases of listeriosis and 14 deaths in Europe.
The company is a collaboration between entrepreneur John Farley, Prof Sheng Qi and Dr Yan Fen Lee of UEA, and the Quadram Institute. John has extensive experience in the salmon and fish industry and recognised the need to develop a non-chemical based solution that would protect products from ageing and disease during transportation. Being based at Norwich Research Park, John had a long-time collaborative relationship with Prof Qi and approached her for help.
Once they had identified the need to design a plant-based solution, Prof Qi met with Dr Yan Fen, who she knew had the skills and experience to run this project effectively. Having attained a degree in Microbiology, Yan Fen went on to complete her PhD in Industrial Biotechnology & Microbiology working with Prof Qi on a number of interesting projects.
Using her expertise and experience, Yan Fen employed a formulation process calling on her knowledge of what ingredients from the plant world could work together effectively. After six months of extensive research, she came up with a formulation that she was confident would be optimal to meet what the industry demanded.
Although she was happy that the formulation was safe and would extend the shelf-life of packaged fish, she needed to test for its efficacy against Listeria contamination. Whilst UEA didn’t have the facilities to do this, the Quadram Institute was able to help with both researchers – led by Prof Matt Gilmour – and scientific facilities on hand.
John said, “We wouldn’t have been able to achieve this anywhere else in the country, or indeed the world. Having access to brilliant people like Sheng and Yan Fen at UEA, combined with the facilities and Matt and his team at the Quadram Institute, meant we had everything we needed on the same site. The collaborative nature of the campus made it very easy for everyone to work together.”
Yan Fen said, “It has been really rewarding to put my microbiology skills and knowledge to good use in coming up with a product that could have a significant impact on a very important global market and people’s health. Working on this project was an interesting challenge because no one had attempted it before and the plant-based recipe proved to be very complex. But it shows that microbiology can have a really important impact on some of the global challenges we face.”
John and the team are now talking to investors to conduct industrial testing of their formulation. Once it gets approval, it could prove to be a real game changer for the food and seafood industries – especially in the UK smoked salmon market where it may be possible to safely ship products much further afield.
BugBiome is a start-up company that moved to Norwich Research Park in 2025 so that it could tap into the huge plant health, microbiome and entomology expertise at the John Innes Centre and be part of the supportive business ecosystem that has been established across the campus. The company is developing a new sustainable range of insecticides built from plant microbes as an alternative to the synthetic chemical-based treatments currently in use, which are ultimately going to get banned in both the UK and globally.
Microbiology is central to BugBiome’s work as CEO, Dr Alicia Showering, explains, “We are investigating how insects respond to specific microbes, finding out if their behaviour changes so that they leave the plant or if their mortality rates increase. My background in molecular sequencing led me to our idea for a business that develops new insecticides. Aphids can be particularly devastating for some crops so the first product we are looking to commercialise is an aphicide.”
BugBiome is currently working on multiple aphicide products. Aphids tend to hide on a plant, typically on the underside of a leaf or on a stem. This makes it hard for normal sprayed applications to reach them. So the challenge is how do you get your product through the plant to reach the aphid?
Alicia and her team are developing lysates for novel insecticide products using microbes with identified pest-fighting properties. Their work includes formulation development, process optimisation, and scaling up production for commercial application. BugBiome aims to partner with insecticide distributors for its aphicide to generate its first revenue. BugBiome is also looking at developing products to combat beetles and caterpillars.
To help progress their propositions, Alicia has appointed microbiologist Dr Ryan Sweet to the role of Head of Product Development. Ryan studied medical microbiology at university and then completed a PhD in Microbiology. He worked at the Quadram Institute prior to joining BugBiome.
Ryan’s day-to-day role is focused on running and culturing the microbial bank, growing strains to test for insecticidal effects or behaviour changes in pests. He categorises the impacts that each of the strains have on insect behaviour and also how environmental strains grow with different microbial stressors like salts and pH. He then explores how to use them within a formulation that would work for a commercial product.
Ryan said, “That’s the tricky bit! Finding the correct solution or recipe for an insecticide is only half the battle. We then have to make it work effectively in some form of treatment. There is no one playbook for how to do that, so I have to call on my microbiology training, knowledge and natural inquisitiveness in the fermentation process. I refer to myself as a BioExplorer. I have a natural interest in crops and plants, and my particular forte is dealing with novel strains so BugBiome is a really good fit. Getting experience as a microbiologist in industry is a very valuable asset.”
Ryan works alongside entomologists – insect specialists – to test out his prototype products. It is this match of cross-discipline skills that Alicia hopes will bring commercial success to BugBiome.
Alicia confirmed that being based at Norwich Research Park is very important for her business. She has been able to recruit high calibre staff post-PhD and has hosted two interns from institutes on the campus this year, sharing learnings with the science community and giving them a taste of industry.
She concluded, “The role of bacterial communities around plants is a complex one and the further we delve into it the better we can tweak and tailor them to make new products that protect crop yields. Underexplored microbes from the environment and their natural products are very promising in the agri-tech sector.
Microbiology is a fundamental science but it’s a very exciting one, especially when there is so much interest in finding biological alternatives to chemically-based and synthetic insecticides. There’s still so much to discover which is why we want more people interested in this topic.”