Did you think about the genetic makeup of your toast this morning? No? Well, some researchers did—and what they've discovered could help feed the world.
A team of international researchers sequenced the genome of 15 varieties of wheat from around the world,reports Agri-Pulse. Researchers at Kansas State University worked with the 10+ Genome Project led by the University of Saskatchewan with support from the National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Kansas Wheat.
“The project’s goal is to characterize the wheat ‘pan genome,’ or all genes and genetic variation within a species,” which could advance “wheat discovery and breeding,” explains the report.
Read their findings in Nature.
This knowledge could feed the world—by helping scientists pinpoint the precise genes that lead to larger yields, for example, or reduce the gluten content to make wheat more tolerable and nutritious for everyone.
This isn’t a new idea. In 1970, scientist Norman Borlaug received a Nobel Peace Prize for his work to introduce “a single gene change in wheat to decrease the crop’s height,” which contributed to greater yield and thus increased the global food supply, explains Innovature.
But now, we have the tools to make these discoveries faster and more efficiently—like CRISPR, which makes small, precise changes to an organism’s own genome to “speed up the process of variation and, as a result, get us to higher quality crops faster,” says plant physiologist Dr. Amita Mohan.
So, what’s next? Clearly, we have the science to feed the growing population. Now, we need policy to catch up to ensure these innovations can get where they need to go.
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