Potential abiotic stress targets for modern genetic manipulation

Abstract

Research into crop yield and resilience has underpinned global food security, evident in yields tripling in the past 5 decades. The challenges that global agriculture now faces are not just to feed 10+ billion people within a generation, but to do so under a harsher, more variable, and less predictable climate, and in many cases with less water, more expensive inputs, and declining soil quality. The challenges of climate change are not simply to breed for a "hotter drier climate," but to enable resilience to floods and droughts and frosts and heat waves, possibly even within a single growing season. How well we prepare for the coming decades of climate variability will depend on our ability to modify current practices, innovate with novel breeding methods, and communicate and work with farming communities to ensure viability and profitability. Here we define how future climates will impact farming systems and growing seasons, thereby identifying the traits and practices needed and including exemplars being implemented and developed. Critically, this review will also consider societal perspectives and public engagement about emerging technologies for climate resilience, with participatory approaches presented as the best approach.

Figure 1

The considerations steering future agriculture. Created with BioRender.com.

Figure 2

Overlap of extreme conditions and increased likelihood of contrasting abiotic stress events. A, As the likelihood of late cold events and early heat events begin to overlap, along with the increased risk of extreme rainfall or water deficits, so too does the likelihood of multiple, contrasting stress events occurring together or in quick succession. B, In order to mitigate the risk of these potential extreme events, efforts both to expand the range of conditions under which crops can yield effectively and provide resilience when those conditions are exceeded are now necessary. Created with BioRender.com.

Figure 3

Genetic Design Toolbox. The modern range of genetic tools available to combat extreme abiotic stress events, including a variety of tissues to produce new, modified materials utilizing diverse methods of delivery, targeting tissues and subcellular compartments by modifying individual transcription factors and genes, introducing multiple novel transgenes, through entire pathways, with the latest in gene-editing systems. Created with BioRender.com.