Domesticate crops in just one generation, it is already possible thanks to the genetic edition

Domesticate crops in just one generation, it is already possible thanks to the genetic edition https://i0.wp.com/www.eresviral.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Domesticar-cultivos-en-solo-una-generación-ya-es-posible-gracias-a-la-edición-genética.jpg?fit=194%2C146&ssl=1

Domesticate crops in just one generation, it is already possible thanks to the genetic edition





Domesticate crops in just one generation, it is already possible thanks to the genetic edition


Humanity has been modifying the properties of wild plants, such as wheat and corn, for thousands of years, to adapt them to their needs, such as obtaining a higher yield. But a "side effect" of this situation has been the reduction of genetic diversity or the loss of useful properties, as shown by the susceptibility to diseases, the lack of flavor or a reduced content of vitamins and nutrients in modern varieties.



Now, for the first time, a team of scientists from Brazil -University of São Paulo-, the United States and Germany has created a new crop from a wild plant in a single generation, using CRISPR-Cas9, a modern genetic editing process . In the wild tomato they have used, a variety of crop characteristics have been introduced without losing the valuable properties of the wild plant. The results have been published in the journal 'Nature Biotechnology'.



"This method allows us to start from scratch a new domestication process," says biologist Jörg Kudla, from the University of Münster (Germany), whose team is involved in the study. "By doing so, we can use all the knowledge about plant genetics and plant domestication that researchers have accumulated in recent decades. We can preserve the genetic potential and particularly valuable properties of wild plants and, at the same time, produce the desired characteristics of modern crops in a very short time, "he adds.







Tomato cultivation (Photo: UN)



The researchers chose 'Solanum pimpinellifolium' as a species of mother plant, a relative of the wild tomatoes of South America and progenitor of the modern cultivated tomato. The fruits of this plant have the size of peas and a low yield, two properties that make it unsuitable as a crop. On the other hand, the fruit is more aromatic than modern tomatoes, which have lost part of their flavor due to agriculture. In addition, wild fruit contains more lycopene, an antioxidant that is an interesting ingredient.



The team modified the wild plant using the CRISPR-Cas9 multiplex, making small modifications in six genes. These decisive genes had already been recognized by researchers in recent years and are considered the genetic key to the characteristics of domesticated tomato. Specifically, the researchers produced a fruit three times larger -corresponding to the size of a cherry tomato-, ten times more fruit, a more oval shape-a popular property because, when it rains, round fruits open faster than ovals - and more compact growth.



Likewise, the lycopene content in the new breed of tomato was doubled compared to the wild one, which is about five times more lycopene than that presented by conventional cherry tomatoes, according to information from the University of Munich collected by DiCYT.

"This is a decisive innovation that can not be achieved by any conventional breeding process with today's cultivated tomatoes," says Jörg Kudla. "Lycopene can help prevent cancer and cardiovascular disease. Therefore, from a health point of view, the tomato we have created is likely to have an additional value compared to conventionally grown tomatoes and other vegetables that contain lycopene in very limited quantities, "he concludes. (Source: DICYT)

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