Foreign DNA in wheat for crop resilience
Compared to crops without the genes, wheat having foreign DNA from wild cousins produces up to 50% more grain in hot conditions.
Research from the Earlham Institute in Norwich, in partnership with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre(CIMMYT), offers much needed optimism for enhancing crop resilience and food security in n the face of climate change following a year in which temperature records have been broken.
The field test in Mexico also highlight the value of genetic diversity in important crops, whose capacity to adapt to a rapidly warming planet has been diminished by decades of selective breeding.
As temperature rise and weather events are more severe, there is rising worry about the ability of major food crops to continue to supply global demand.
More calories are produced worldwide from wheat than from any other crop, but because there little genetic diversity in the majority of wheat planted globally, it is particularly susceptible to the effects of climate change.
According to Professor Anthony Hall, Group Leader at the Earlham Institute and study author, wheat is widely farmed all over the world and is responsible for about 20% of the calories consumed globally.
However, we are unsure as to whether the crops we are planting today will be able to withstand the weather tomorrow. Acting immediately is essential since breeding new types can take a decade or longer, which makes the situation worse.
Researcher from the Earlham Institute established a two-year field trail in Mexico’s Sonora desert in cooperation with CIMMYT. They looked at 149 wheat varieties, ranging from elite lines that are extensively grown to landraces from Mexico and India that were selectively selected to contain DNA from wild ancestors.
Crossing elite lines with unusual material presents difficulties, according to Matthew Reynolds, study co-author and head of Wheat Physiology at CIMMYT.
Generic resources to increase climate resilience
In order to continue using generic resources to increase climate resilience, this outcome offers a big step forward in overcoming the well-known risk of introducing more unwanted than desirable features.
We can now apply this science to have an immediate impact. We’ve conducted field tests, are aware of the genetic markers we’re searching for, and are beginning discussions with wheat breeders, so hopefully this is just the first of many measures we’ll take to improve the world’s food security in the years to come.
The crops were subjected to the type of heat stress that is anticipated to become the norm as global temperatures rise because the seeds were planted later in the growing season to push the plants to thrive during warmer months.
They discovered that plants bred with alien DNA produced 50% more wheat than wheat without this DNA. Importantly, under typical circumstances, neither the exotic nor the elite lines performed poorly.
To identify the precise genetic variations causing the higher heat tolerance, the researcher sequenced the plants. They discovered genetic markers that would enable the selective introduction of this advantageous foreign DNA into elite lines, providing an expedient means of enhancing climate resistance and reducing the risk of widespread crop failures.
As humans try to produce more food from less land to support a growing global population, we urgently need to future proof the crops we’re planting so they can live in an increasingly hostile climate.
The researchers recommend incorporating heat tolerance features into breeding programmes as a preventative measure to create wheat crops that can withstand less predictable weather.
Professor Hall continued, “this is science we can now employ to almost instantly make a difference. We’ve conducted field tests, are aware of the genetic markers he’s searching breeders, so hopefully this is just the first of many efforts we’ll take to improve the security of the world’s food supply in the years to come.”
“The discoveries we’re making, and the action we’re taking, will hopefully mean people around the world can continue to have nutritious food on their plates.”
Source: azolifescience
