Gene editing and plant domestication are essential to protect food supplies in a worsening climate, according to an international team of researchers, led by The University of Western Australia.

Recently recognised as one of Clarivate’s Highly Cited Researchers for 2024, Professor Sergey Shabala, Chair in Plant Physiology at UWA, was lead author of the study published in Frontiers in Science.

“Rising temperatures, droughts, floods and salinisation caused by climate change are lowering the amount of edible food produced by our staple crops,” Professor Shabala said.

Image: Professor Sergey Shabala.

“Creating more land for agriculture is not a sustainable option so we need to adapt crops to new climate conditions.”

The study examined domesticating wild plants, which are resistant to environmental stresses but have lower yields, and introducing resilience genes in modern high-yield crops to create sustainable food supplies.

Introducing genes is easier where there is a close relative to borrow genes from, or where the gene remains in the plant’s DNA but has been deactivated.

However, many genes contribute to resistance to environmental stress and introducing multiple additional novel traits is difficult.

Domesticating wild plants has been successful in comparatively simple cases where only small changes need to be made, but it’s unclear whether there are enough simple cases to help assure our food supply.

“Modern crops, domesticated for high food yields and ease of harvesting, lack the genetic resources to respond to the climate crisis,” Professor Shabala said.

“Sustainable agricultural production and global food security are critically dependent on our ability to create climate-resilient crops.”

The study found it was  too early to know which strategy would succeed, however, the same critical elements were essential to the success of both: innovative gene-editing and other precision breeding technologies driven by accurate cell-based genetic traits and public acceptance of the new crops.

“The problem of a sustainable diet has scientific, social and political aspects,” Professor Shabala said.

“A broader acceptance of novel technologies and a willingness to accept some cultural shifts is needed.

“A good example is rice: it is a main staple food for a high percentage of the population, but many parts of the world may become unsuitable for its production. A switch to other, more resilient, crops may be needed but is the public is ready to accept it?”