Wheat yields could be significantly increased thanks to varieties with a superior form of a common enzyme, according to new research.
Plant scientists at Lancaster University, Rothamsted Research, and The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) have been investigating a naturally occurring plant enzyme known as Rubisco to explore its ability to boost photosynthesis and increase crop yields.
In a new paper published this month, the team measured photosynthesis in 25 genotypes of wheat–including wild relatives of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum)–and found variation exists even amongst closely related genotypes.
Each type was surveyed to identify superior Rubisco enzymes for improving photosynthesis.
Two of the most efficient were Rubisco from plants known as Aegilops cylindrica (jointed goatgrass) and Hordeum vulgare (barley), which both showed promising Rubisco catalytic properties that should be explored in the context of improving photosynthesis, and ultimately grain yield, in wheat.
Models suggest that incorporating the new enzymes into wheat could increase photosynthesis by up 20% under some field conditions.
Wheat is a crucial source of food, providing more than 20 per cent of the calories consumed worldwide. And with projections that the world population will rise to over nine billion by the year 2050, the pressure is on to meet global demand for food.
Professor Martin A. J. Parry of the Lancaster Environment Centre (LEC) said: “Improving the efficiency of photosynthesis–the way crops turn carbon dioxide in our atmosphere into everything we can eat–may seem ambitious but for us it offers the best opportunity for producing the scale of change in crop yield that we need to feed a growing global population in a changing world climate.”
Elizabete Carmo-Silva, LEC lecturer in plant sciences for food security, said: “Both jointed grass and barley are regarded as valuable genetic resources for improving wheat disease resistance, our research suggests that they can also be used to improve biomass production.”
Research associates Anneke Prins and Doug Orr conducted the experimental work which was jointly funded by CIMMYT (W4031.11 Global Wheat Program) and by Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency, a project funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and led by the University of Illinois at the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology.
“This is an exciting piece of work showing that Rubisco catalytic properties vary in close relatives of wheat,” Orr said. “As part of the RIPE project, we are screening a wide range of species from across the globe, and aim to identify variation that will enable improving photosynthesis and biomass production in rice, cassava and soybean.”
Read more: Enzymes with the potential to increase wheat yields
The Latest on: Wheat yields
[google_news title=”” keyword=”wheat yields” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
via Google News
The Latest on: Wheat yields
- Winter wheat farmers assured of uninterrupted power supplyon April 30, 2024 at 8:05 pm
Zimbabwe Farmers Union secretary-general, Paul Zachariya, said uninterrupted power supply was a key enabler to wheat production. Speaking to the media recently, Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water ...
- Wheat sale in open market helped FCI borrow 21,000 crore less in Fiscal Year24on April 30, 2024 at 12:45 pm
Govt’s intervention through the open market sale of wheat not just helped ensure adequate supply of the grain and atta in the market to keep prices under check, but also lowered the FCI’s borrowings ...
- Bellwright: How to get Wheat and Wheat Seedson April 29, 2024 at 5:41 am
the only other way to get Wheat in Bellwright is by harvesting some from the field located south of Padstow ...
- Double cropping: A year-round strategy for wheat, soybean farmerson April 28, 2024 at 10:45 am
West-central Illinois farmers see benefits of double cropping that keeps land in constant use with increased yields and profits.
- NIAGARA DISCOVERIES: Shredded Wheat production at Niagara Falls, New Yorkon April 27, 2024 at 3:01 am
Back in the 1890s, before Shredded Wheat became a household word, a man named Henry D. Perky developed a method for taking whole, unground wheat and turning it into something ...
- Buy Wheat. It’s A Top Hedge For Geopolitical Crises, Analyst Sayson April 26, 2024 at 9:31 am
Regular readers will know there are many types of wheat. But the wheat to watch for this geopolitical hedging purpose is CBOT wheat. It most related to the price of Russian wheat. Pre- the invasion of ...
- Canada may see 5% boost in wheat outputon April 26, 2024 at 5:53 am
OTTAWA, QUEBEC, CANADA — Canada’s grain output in the upcoming marketing year is forecast to increase by nearly 5%, boosted mainly by a surge in wheat production, according to a report from the ...
- Wheat production grows by 5.4% in 2023-24on April 25, 2024 at 9:05 pm
The Federal Committee on Agriculture (FCA) was informed on Thursday that wheat production in Pakistan during the current season (2023–24) increased by 5.4% compared to the previous year. Chaired by ...
- Pakistan misses wheat production targeton April 24, 2024 at 3:06 pm
ISLAMABAD: The country has missed the wheat production target as the estimated production of the commodity is 29.69 million tons against the set target of 32.2 million for the Rabi Season 2023-2024 ...
- Uruguay expects smaller wheat, corn cropon April 23, 2024 at 7:41 am
MONTEVIDEO, URUGUAY — Given the record wheat yields the last two years, farmers in Uruguay are expected to plant more in the 2024-25 season, but total production is expected to drop slightly, ...
via Bing News