Ancient genes help crops adapt to changing climate
Summary and headline written by AI from the source article. How we work
Researchers from INRAE, the University of Clermont Auvergne, and the CNRS in France reconstructed the genomes of ancient plants to understand how wheat and barley adapted to environmental changes over 10,000 years.
The team analyzed genomes from 84 plant species and created 10 “founder” paleogenomes, representing the common ancestors of many modern crops.
By comparing these ancient genomes to those of modern wheat and barley, scientists identified around 100 gene variants that helped the crops survive drought and other climate challenges during domestication and breeding by humans. The study focused on wheat and barley because both crops originated in the Fertile Crescent and have been cultivated for a long time under similar conditions. Researchers examined 1,420 varieties of the two grains, including 5,000-year-old remains, to pinpoint the genes that persisted through time.
They confirmed the function of three genes affecting yield, flowering, and epigenetic regulation, how genes are activated, in wheat. To help other scientists and plant breeders, the team developed two freely available tools. AGR reconstructs ancient genomes from modern ones, and OrthoViewer is a database of conserved genes from 84 plant species. These resources will allow researchers to identify genes useful for breeding crops that can withstand climate change and support sustainable agriculture.
The method used in the study can be applied to a wide range of plant species, and the team plans to extend their work to rice, maize, and sorghum.
