Researchers estimate that food availability must double in the next 25 years
With fewer than a dozen flowering plants out of 300,000 species accounting for 80 percent of humanity’s caloric intake, people need to tap unused plants to feed the world in the near future, claims Cornell University plant geneticist Susan McCouch in the Comment feature of the July 4 issue of Nature.
To keep pace with population growth and rising incomes around the world, researchers estimate that food availability must double in the next 25 years. The biodiversity stored in plant gene banks coupled with advances in genetics and plant breeding may hold the keys for meeting the demands of more food in the face of climate change, soil degradation and water and land shortages, according to the paper.
“Gene banks hold hundreds of thousands of seeds and tissue culture materials collected from farmer’s fields and from wild, ancestral populations, providing the raw material that plant breeders need to create crops of the future,” said McCouch.
For example, after screening more than 6,000 varieties from seed banks, plant breeders identified and crossbred a single wild species of rice, Oryza nivara; the result is a variety that has protected against grassy stunt virus disease in almost all tropical rice varieties in Asia for the past 36 years, the paper states.
Similarly, by 1997, the value of using crop wild relatives as sources of environmental resilience and resistance to pests and diseases led to an estimated $115 billion in annual benefits to the world economy. Though seeds are readily accessible in 1,700 gene banks throughout the world, “they are not used to their full potential in plant breeding,” McCouch said.
At present, it is difficult for breeders to make use of the wealth of genetic material in seed banks because of a lack of information about the genes in most plants and the traits they confer, she said. Due to the time and effort required to identify and then use wild and unadapted genetic resources, “a breeder must have a good idea about the genetic value of an uncharacterized resource before attempting to use it in a breeding program,” McCouch said.
In the paper, McCouch and colleagues outlined a three-point plan to address these constraints:
• A massive genetic sequencing effort on seed-bank holdings to document what exists in the collections, to strategically target experiments to evaluate what traits a plant has (called phenotyping) and to begin to predict plant performance.
• A broad phenotyping initiative, not only of the gene bank holdings, but also of the progeny generated from crossing wild and exotic materials to adapted varieties targeted for local use.
• An internationally accessible informatics infrastructure to coordinate data that are currently managed independently by gene-bank curators, agronomists and breeders.
The estimated cost for such a systematic, collaborative global effort to help characterize the genetic resources needed to feed the future is about $200 million annually, according to McCouch.
The Latest Bing News on:
Seed Banks
- CareSource and Synergies SEED Fund expands opportunities for entrepreneurs with disabilities in Georgiaon April 26, 2024 at 12:03 pm
In addition to overcoming prejudice and misconceptions, a massive obstacle that business founders with disabilities face is access to capital.
- Bank of Eastern Oregon names Chairman and Vice Chairmanon April 25, 2024 at 5:00 pm
Heppner, Oregon, (April 26, 2024) BEO Bancorp (OTCBB:BEOB) and its subsidiary, Bank of Eastern Oregon, upon completion of the annual shareholders meeting in Heppner, elected Bob Armstrong as Chair of ...
- Four Lincoln soccer teams earn No. 1 seeds for district tournamentson April 25, 2024 at 10:15 am
With just one loss combined, the Southwest boys and girls teams each go into the postseason as the No. 1 overall seeds in Class A.
- India’s ICICI Bank exposed thousands of credit cards to ‘wrong’ userson April 25, 2024 at 4:48 am
ICICI Bank, one of India’s top private banks, exposed the sensitive data of thousands of new credit cards to customers who were not their intended recipients. The Mumbai-based bank confirmed to ...
- For better weed management, deplete the seed bankon April 23, 2024 at 8:28 am
Another way to shrink your weed seed bank is to create more suitable habitats for the birds, insects and earthworms that eat them. Use cover crops and other tools to manage soil nutrient levels. The ...
- Saving Native Hawaiian plant seeds for future generationson April 22, 2024 at 10:17 pm
Lyon Arboretum attracts many who are passionate about plants. While there are plants from all over the world, many local residents and visitors alike come especially to see Native Hawaiian ...
- Seeds From Wild Crop Relatives Could Help Agriculture Weather Climate Changeon April 22, 2024 at 2:31 pm
The hardy wild cousins of domesticated crops can teach us how to adapt to a hotter, more unpredictable future.
- How a Cloned Ferret Inspired a DNA Bank for Endangered Specieson April 22, 2024 at 5:22 am
The birth of a cloned black-footed ferret named Elizabeth Ann, and her two new sisters, has sparked a new pilot program to preserve the tissues of hundreds of endangered species “just in case” ...
- Austria Lets ESG Investors Dodge Bank Fees With Direct Offeringon April 22, 2024 at 3:00 am
Austrian debt pioneers say they’ve forged novel new instruments designed to appeal to environmentally-conscious retail investors who want to avoid complicated financial products and commissions.
- Crop Trust seeks more funding to protect global seed diversityon April 20, 2024 at 10:19 am
Crop Trust, which works to preserve crop bio-diversity, needs to more than double its $300 million endowment fund to be able to support seed banks across the world, Executive Director Stefan Schmitz ...
The Latest Google Headlines on:
Seed Banks
[google_news title=”” keyword=”Seed Banks” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
The Latest Bing News on:
Plant breeding
- Students Pursue Passions Through Horticultural Research Institute Scholarshipson April 26, 2024 at 1:35 pm
Three students at North Carolina State University, at different levels of their educational journeys, have been recipients of Horticultural Research Institute (HRI) scholarships.
- Revolutionizing Mei (Prunus mume) Breeding: Genomic Insights into Ornamental and Cold Resistance Traitson April 26, 2024 at 7:26 am
A research team has provided an overview for understanding the genetic basis of ornamental and cold resistance traits in Mei (Prunus mume), a tree ...
- Advancing CBSD Resistance in Cassava: A Comprehensive Review of Breeding Strategies and the Role of New Plant Technologieson April 26, 2024 at 3:47 am
A research team reviewed the advancements in managing cassava brown streak disease (CBSD), highlighting the integration of new plant breeding ...
- Antarctica's Extended Ozone Hole Raises Concerns For Penguin And Seal Breedingon April 25, 2024 at 10:04 pm
If ozone holes last longer, summer-breeding animals around Antarctica's vast coastline will be exposed to high levels of reflected UV radiation. More UV can get through, and ice and snow is highly ...
- Daily on Energy: How the EPA power plant rule is playing politicallyon April 25, 2024 at 2:07 pm
The political and legal fallout from the Environmental Protection Agency finalizing rules to limit power plant emissions this morning has been swift and, mostly, predictable. In terms of the legal ...
- Examining the impact of gene-based breeding on agriculture and medicineon April 25, 2024 at 10:22 am
A research team has demonstrated that gene-based breeding (GBB) offers a transformative approach to advancing plant and animal breeding, showing remarkable predictability, speed, and ...
- Advancing mei (Prunus mume) breeding: Genomic insights into ornamental and cold resistance traitson April 25, 2024 at 10:22 am
A research team has provided an overview for understanding the genetic basis of ornamental and cold resistance traits in Mei (Prunus mume), a tree valued both for its ornamental and cultural ...
- Advancing crop breeding through targeted genome modificationon April 25, 2024 at 6:36 am
Modern crop breeding is entering a new era of genome design ... and scale of genetic manipulation tools but also by challenges such as the low efficiency of plant cell delivery and regeneration. This ...
- Will genetic breeding be hoppy ending beer brands are looking for?on April 25, 2024 at 3:20 am
A changing climate presents challenges for hop farmers but the genetic breeding of drought- and heat-resistant traits could be the answer.
- New NDSU agricultural research laboratory named for pioneering plant pathologiston April 22, 2024 at 7:42 am
The laboratory’s namesake, Henry L. Bolley, was one of the first faculty members at North Dakota Agricultural College, now NDSU. He was also founder and coach of the university’s football team, and ...
The Latest Google Headlines on:
Plant breeding
[google_news title=”” keyword=”plant breeding” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]