BEIJING (XINHUA) – As the cultivation of crops capable of adapting to climate change is becoming increasingly important, Chinese scientists have identified, in a breakthrough study, a novel approach that markedly enhances crop productivity in the face of high-temperature adversity.
A two-degree-Celsius (oC) increase in global temperatures is projected to significantly amplify average crop losses by three to 13 per cent, highlighting the urgent need for more heat-resistant varieties to address future food security challenges.
The researchers from the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences have employed an innovative gene-editing tool to insert a heat-shock element into a tomato gene called LIN5.
This modification enhances the gene’s expression under heat stress and reduces sugar deficiency in fruits at high temperatures. Tests across different seasons and locations, including greenhouses and open fields, have revealed that the strategy boosted tomato yields by 14 to 47 per cent in normal conditions and 26 to 33 per cent under heat stress, preventing 56 to 100 per cent of heat-induced yield losses, according to the study published recently in the journal Cell.
Furthermore, the team’s experiment on rice indicated that this genetic engineering method can boost rice production by seven to 13 per cent under normal conditions, and by 25 per cent under heat stress, mitigating 41 per cent of the yield losses due to high temperatures.
These experiments have effectively boosted crop climate resilience and ushered in a new era of climate-smart high-yield and stable crop design, according to the researchers.
