Farming for the future: The rise of climate-smart crops

Global food production faces unprecedented challenges as the population surges toward an estimated 10 billion by 2050. This growth, coupled with dietary shifts and increased biofuel demands, requires crop yields to double within a few decades.

Yet, current agricultural practices fall short, and climate change exacerbates the issue. Rising temperatures—even a modest 2°C increase—could reduce crop yields by 3% to 13%, threatening global food security.

To combat this looming crisis, researchers are focusing on developing “climate-smart” crops. These crops aim to achieve high yields under normal conditions while maintaining stability under heat stress. However, bottlenecks in breeding and optimization hinder progress, necessitating innovative solutions.

The physiological foundation of crop productivity lies in the source-sink relationship. Source tissues, primarily leaves, produce carbohydrates like sucrose through photosynthesis. These carbohydrates are transported to sink tissues—such as fruits, seeds, and roots—where they are used for growth and storage. This dynamic governs yield and crop quality.

A key player in this process is the enzyme encoded by the cell wall invertase gene (CWIN). CWIN regulates how sucrose is converted into glucose and fructose within sink organs. These sugars provide energy and nutrients essential for the development of fruits and seeds, influencing the sweetness of fruits and the quality of grains.

Unfortunately, heat stress disrupts this delicate balance by suppressing CWIN activity, reducing reproductive development, and causing yield penalties.

In a groundbreaking study published in the journal Cell, a team led by Prof. Xu Cao from the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences unveiled a novel breeding strategy. Their approach, called climate-responsive optimization of carbon partitioning to sinks (CROCS), focuses on manipulating CWIN genes to enhance carbon allocation under heat stress.

Using advanced prime-editing tools, the researchers inserted a 10-base pair heat-shock element (HSE) into the promoters of CWIN genes in elite rice and tomato varieties. This genetic modification enabled CWINs to upregulate their activity in response to heat, improving the transport of carbohydrates to sink tissues. The results were remarkable.

In multi-location and multi-season tests, tomatoes modified with the CROCS strategy showed yield increases of 14% to 47% under normal conditions. Under heat stress, the strategy rescued 56% to 100% of yield losses, increasing fruit yields by up to 33%. Moreover, the tomatoes exhibited improved quality, including enhanced uniformity and sugar content.

Rice cultivars benefited similarly. Yields increased by 7% to 13% under normal conditions and by 25% under heat stress. Notably, the strategy rescued up to 41% of heat-induced grain losses. These advancements mark a significant step forward in addressing the dual challenge of feeding a growing population and adapting to climate change.

The success of CROCS highlights the potential of targeted genetic modifications to overcome longstanding breeding challenges.

Traditional efforts to enhance source-sink dynamics have often failed due to the complexity of plant metabolism. For instance, attempts to ectopically express CWINs frequently resulted in yield penalties, underscoring the importance of fine-tuning gene expression.

The CROCS strategy addresses these issues by targeting environmentally responsive cis-regulatory elements. By rationally designing genetic modifications, researchers can optimize plants’ metabolic processes without compromising other traits.

This approach not only improves crop resilience to heat stress but also offers a scalable solution for diverse agricultural ecosystems.

The implications of this research extend beyond rice and tomatoes. Prof. Xu’s team has already applied the CROCS strategy to other staple crops, including soybeans, wheat, and corn. Early results suggest similar improvements in yield and stress resilience, paving the way for widespread adoption.

As global temperatures rise, nighttime warming poses an additional challenge. Many crops, including tomatoes and rice, are particularly sensitive to higher nighttime temperatures.

This phenomenon, now more prevalent than daytime warming, exacerbates carbon allocation issues. The CROCS strategy directly addresses this sensitivity, making it a versatile tool for modern agriculture.

Prof. Xu emphasized the transformative potential of this approach, describing CROCS as a “versatile, prime-editing-based system for rapid crop improvement.”

By enabling precise genetic modifications, the strategy provides researchers with powerful tools to study plant stress responses and develop climate-smart crops at unprecedented speed.

The urgency of adapting agriculture to climate change cannot be overstated. With global food security at stake, innovative strategies like CROCS offer hope. By harnessing the power of genetic editing, scientists are not only improving crop yields but also building resilience against the unpredictable effects of a warming planet.

As this research expands to more crops and regions, the potential to mitigate climate impacts and secure food supplies grows. For farmers and consumers alike, these advancements signal a promising path toward sustainable agriculture in an uncertain future.

Note: Materials provided above by The Brighter Side of News. Content may be edited for style and length.

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