In a recent paper published in the journal Nature, researchers from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory New York, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and 11 partner research institutes show that genetic changes in wild and regional crops, including the ability to duplicate genes and give them new functions, could provide a significant breakthrough, as scientists strive to improve global food production.
Worldwide food production is based on fewer than 10 commercially bred crops, including potatoes, tomatoes, rice and wheat. Yet there are hundreds of species of edible plants, many within the same 10 plant families, already being grown locally in Africa, Asia and South America, that could contribute to agricultural biodiversity and resilience.
Until now, efforts to engineer and scale up production of these regionally important foods crops, based on our existing genetic knowledge of commercial crops, has been limited. Dr Tiina Sarkinen, a Tropical Biodiversity Scientist at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh explained:
“Plant genomes are far larger and more flexible than the human genome and we found that this ability to duplicate genes and give them new functions – such as larger or tastier fruits – and the rate at which plants duplicate genes, sets them apart from other organisms.
“By understanding how gene evolution impacts on traits in today’s crop species, we are one step closer to improving regionally important crops in ways that can support both worldwide production and the people who rely on these species.”
“The research discovered that a previously unknown but complex history of gene duplications, often taking place over a relatively short period of time, helped to explain why outcomes have been so unpredictable, even within closely related species.”
Image: Dr Tiina Sarkinen
As a result of this new research, science now has a deeper understanding of the genetic information hidden within industrially produced crops, and how genes determine traits such as size, shape and taste in the food that we eat. That knowledge can be used to engineer resistance to disease, generate higher crop yields and improve flavour.
“By analyzing high-quality DNA blueprints from multiple crops and their wild ancestors in the Solanum genus—including tomato, eggplant, and potato—we tackled the challenge of making crop improvements more predictable through CRISPR genome editing,” said Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Professor Zachary Lippman.
“Our multi-pronged solution lays the groundwork for similar advancements in other plant families, including key grains and legumes worldwide.”
The researchers examined 22 plant species within the botanical genus Solanum, which is part of the nightshade family (Solanaceae), including 11 regionally important crops. Solanum includes major commercial crops such as potato (S. tuberosum), eggplant (S. melongera) and tomato (S. lycopersicum) and at least 24 regionally and locally important crops.
The 22 species examined included the African eggplant (S. aethiopicum), a major crop in sub-Saharan Africa that provides edible fruits and leaves. Despite growing extensively across Africa, and in Brazil where it was first transported by enslaved Africans, it is little known outside those regions. By learning more about beneficial mutations that have taken place in this regionally important crop, the opportunity exists to improve harvest yields and productivity of the African eggplant.
Read the full Nature paper online
Main image: Solanum stramoniifolium by Dr Sandra Knapp