AgriTech News 7, 15 September 2019

Research Results

1. Revolutionizing the CRISPR method:

As we have reported earlier (see AgriTech News 4), rapid advances are being made using CRISPR technologies. The CRISPR-Cas approach is a biotechnological technique that provides a fast mechanism to manipulate single genes in cells. This technology is akin to a biological cut-and-paste with molecular scissors. For example, Tokushima University scientists have developed seedless tomatoes using CRISPR, basically by knocking off single genes. Now, the scientists working at ETH Zurich have refined the CRISPR-Cas gene editing method. It is now possible for researchers to modify dozens of genes within a cell simultaneously, thereby speeding up the process.

With the new advance, the Swiss research group has shown that it could modify up to 25 target sites within genes in a cell simultaneously, paving way for more soon. According to lead researcher Professor Randall Platt, ” (because of) this new tool, we and other scientists can now achieve what we could only dream of doing in the past.” He adds: “Our method enables us, for the first time, to systematically modify entire gene networks in a single step.”

(Note: India appears to have been basically left behind in these new plant breeding tools and may be losing out once again in the use of more modern tools. If we have missed any CRISPR studies from India, please let us know: Editor)

For more, go to www.digitaljournal.com/tech-and-science/science/essential-science-revolutionizing-the-crispr-method/article/556154

 

2. Bottleneck relief in photosynthesis has been discovered:

C4 plants play a key role in world agriculture: maize and sorghum are major contributors to world food production; sugarcane, miscanthus, and switchgrass are major plant sources of bioenergy. Any improvement of electron transport reactions in these plants could further increase the rates of C4 photosynthesis and yield. Transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana plants overexpressing RieskeFeS(from Setariaviridis) showed an increased rate of electron transport and a concomitant increase in the CO2 assimilation rate. The components of mesophyll electron transport chain for C3 plants are also very similar, but bundle sheath (BS) cells of NADP-ME (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide dependent malic enzyme) C4 species are effectively supplied with Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate(NADPH) via malate coming from the mesophyll cells and, therefore, are more specialised for ATP production.

Those studies by Maria Ermakova and her colleagues from the Australian National University indicate that in C4 plants, electron transport is one of the limitations for CO2 assimilation, particularly at high light and non-limiting CO2 concentrations. They have found a way to relieve a bottleneck in the process by which plants transform sunlight into food, which may lead to an increase in crop production. They discovered that producing more of a protein, which controls the rate in which electrons flow during photosynthesis, accelerates the whole process.

For more, go to Communications Biology (2019). https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-019-0561-9

 

3. Artificial intelligence helps banana growers protect the world’s most favourite fruit: Smartphone-based artificial intelligence (AI) applications (apps) could alert farmers and expedite disease diagnosis, thus preventing the possible outbreak of pests and diseases. Deep learning is a novel method for image processing and object detection, with greater accuracy in the classification of various crop diseases. Crop disease recognition based on a computerized image system through feature extraction has shown promising results, but extracting features is computationally rigorous and involves expert knowledge for robust depiction.

Globally, only a few restricted large, curated image datasets of crop disease exist. AI-powered tools are rapidly becoming more accessible, including for people in the more remote corners of the globe. This is good news for smallholder farmers, who can use handheld

technologies to run their farms more efficiently, linking them to markets, extension workers, satellite images, and climate information.

The system described by Selvaraj and his colleagues at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), Cali, Colombia introduces a practical solution for detecting the class and location of diseases in banana plants, which represents a main comparable difference with other methods for plant disease classification. The developed model was able to detect the difference between healthy and infected plant parts for different banana diseases. Future work will involve disseminating the use of the model by training it for banana disease recognition on wider applications, merging aerial images of banana growing regions captured by drones and convolution neural networks, for instant segmentation of multiple diseases.

 

For more, go to https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1186%2Fs13007-019-0475-z.pdf

 

4.Genetic secrets of peanut varieties unveiled:

  Genetic decoding, known as the reference genome sequence, helps in understanding cell-level mechanisms which make one variety score better than the other. Groundnut (peanut), with its farming history of more than 6000 years, has complex genomes. A team of international researchers (from China, Taiwan, Australia, USA, Argentina, Brazil, Japan, France and Korea, besides India, led by Weijian Zhuang of Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular and Cell Biology) have reported that its sequence was comparable in size to that of the human genome, which had a little over 3 billion DNA base pairs, with 83709 genes that control its traits. During this process, the team confirmed that the groundnut was a tetraploid, which means that the genome of the cultivated groundnut, Arachis hypogaea, is home to two different sub-species of genomes.

Dr Rajeev Varshney of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), one of the authors of the paper, said that the cultivated groundnut genome is home to both the sub-species of the genomes. By living and coordinating together, this dual diploid genome decides the quality of crops we see in the fields. Genome referencing provides researchers access to all the groundnut genes, which, in turn, will boost gene discovery and marker development studies.

For more, go to http://www.vigyanprasar.gov.in/isw/Genetic-secrets-of-peanut-varieties-unveiled.html

And

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41588-019-0402-2

 

Potential Crops/Technologies

1. Can we feed the world with plant protein the answer seems to be ‘yes’:

Can we feed a growing global population without increasing the amount of farmland? It is tough, but certainly possible. There might still be a place for meat animals in parts of the world that are unsuitable for growing crops. But governments around the world must turn away from heavily subsided but protein-poor cereals, and aggressively pursue legume production. Research has estimated some 16% of edible crops are diverted to biofuel production, and redistribution of these proteins and calories to people would also help immensely. Continuing to grow maize and other low-protein cereal crops on land formerly used to provide feed or biofuel is unlikely to provide enough plant-based protein for an expanding population. Legumes currently make up only 10% of the world’s crops.The grain of legumes contains 20-30% protein, compared with 10% in maize, which is the most extensively grown cereal crop used for animal feed.

Raising the cultivation and yield of legumes is a significant challenge as expenditure on the genetic improvement of these crops has been dwarfed by that spent on the major cereals. According to research from Pulse Breeding Australia, legumes should make up 25% of global crops.The lower yields of legume crops, combined with government support for cereals in many countries, currently strangle their production.

For more, go to https://phys.org/news/2019-08-itll-hard-world-protein.html

 

2. Could duckweed feed the world?

Climate change is threatening the world’s food supply and the risk of supply disruptions is expected to grow as temperatures rise, accordingto a new United Nations report, co-authored by Rutgers human ecology professor Pamela McElwee and others. To feed the Earth’s projected population of 9.7 billion in 2050, we may need to look for additional sources of food. Duckweed, the world’s fastest-growing plant, which has more protein than soybeans and is a traditional food source for people living in parts of Southeast Asia, could be one of the key solutions, according to Eric Lam, a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Plant Biology, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences at Rutgers University, New Brunswick. Lam is at the forefront of duckweed research and development at Rutgers, which has the world’s largest collection of duckweed species and their strains.

The duckweed family includes 37 species from various locations all over the world. People in Southeast Asia, including in Thailand and Laos, harvest and know how to cook wild duckweed, and we are beginning to collect duckweed recipes from different sources worldwide. One can have many layers of duckweed growing in the same footprint, and that’s ideal for urban farming. There is a need to do more precision farming of duckweed, which means working out the optimal nutrient conditions, light intensity, and temperature to promote the fastest growth for a specific strain of duckweed.

For more, go to https://phys.org/news/2019-08-duckweed-world.html?utm_source=nwletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily-nwletter

 

3. Can Underutilized Crops Save the World?

  A biological system that relies on a limited number of plant species as a food source is at risk of failure due to extreme events, such as an outbreak of crop disease or droughts caused by climate change. We know of over 6,000 species of plants that can be consumed as a food source. These plants have many characteristics that make them desirable for breeding. Known variously as orphan crops, neglected crops, and/or underutilized crops, these plants have witnessed minimal breeding and research, but they are extremely important to smallholder farmers. Many of these edible plants are unknown to consumers in developed countries or even to urban populations in developing countries; but with some work, they could rise to be the quinoa of the underutilized crop world. Inspired by reading “The Coming Famine,” Anthony Leddin, an Australian plant breeder, has set out to make a difference.

One of the major problems with this group of crops species is that there is very little information on their biology, agronomy, and other aspects that are needed for any improvement programme. Plant Breeders Without Borders encourages plant breeders and students to volunteer their time for international breeding projects. Is the species self- or cross-pollinated? Is the species wind- or insect-pollinated? Are there any characteristics of the plant that suggest it could have anti-nutritional compounds that need to be removed through breeding? Through the work of plant breeders, the next generation of plants can help to improve our health and cope with climate change, but the journey will be long.

For more, go to https://seedworld.com/can-underutilized-crops-save-the-world/

 

4. Digging deeper for climate solutions: deep-root GMOs could feed world and store carbon.

Scientists are experimenting with a new genetic modification technology that “supercharges” plants to enhance what they already excel at, sequestering carbon. As the world clambers to find innovative mitigative solutions, plants have been doing what they quietly perfected over millions of years ago, taking carbon from the atmosphere and converting it into carbohydrates, energy, and oxygen. A recent study shows one research institute’s promising progress on the quest to create a patented plant that grows deeper, cork-like roots that store 20 times more carbon than the average plant. Now, Salk’s plant biologists are targeting specific hormones and genes that indicate and increase root biomass. The carbon in roots is stored as a complex carbohydrate that is not easily broken down by soil microbes; therefore, it provides more stable storage than in above ground plants, especially for plants that are frequently harvested. The research focused on a test plant, the thale cress, where an experiment was carried out with root hormones and a specific gene found to control the shape of roots. Ultimately, the researchers claim, their plants will increase root biomass that is both deeper and higher in suberin (i.e. cutin and lignin complex, a major component of cork). In order to reach their goal of using the Salk Ideal Plant to store half of the carbon that humans emit every year, the researchers claim they would need their patented product in 6% of the world’s agriculturally productive land.

For more, go to https://inhabitat.com/digging-deeper-for-climate-solutions-deep-root-gmos-could-feed-world-and-store-carbon/

News

1. Colombia confirms that a dreaded fungus has hit its banana plantations.

Colombia has declared a national state of emergency following confirmation that a dreaded fungus has appeared in the country’s banana plantations.The 8 August declaration marks the first time that Fusarium wilt tropical race 4, which has devastated crops in Asia, has been confirmed in Latin America, the world’s largest exporter of bananas. Signs of the fungus were first spotted in June in northern Colombia, putting the region on high alert.

Government officials are considering providing funding to small and medium-size banana exporters to help them implement better biosecurity measures, such as disinfecting machinery, shipping containers, and footwear in quarantined areas. The fungus strikes both bananas and closely related plantains. Colombia is the fourth largest exporter of bananas in Latin America, with sales of $866.2 million in 2018. Banana plantations cover roughly 50,000 hectares of land, whereas farms growing less-valuable plantains, mostly for the domestic market, cover an additional 400,000 hectares.

For more, go to https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/08/colombia-confirms-dreaded-fungus-has-hit-its-banana-plantations?utm_campaign=news_daily_2019-08-14&et_rid=411559884&et_cid=2946426

 

2. Nutritious Food Foresight.

The critical issue of how we can exploit new ideas and new technology to nourish and feed agrowing world sustainably is addressed by a report jointly prepared by the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) and the Global knowledge Initiative (GKI). Working on food systems reform, one can underestimate the speed of change around us, the report says. But the reality is that even in the remotest corners of the globe, the drivers of food systems change are making their presence felt strongly. Balancing food systems will require substantial changes in the way we grow food, choose food as consumers, and process and distribute food in the global marketplace. As a group, the innovations strengthen local food systems to more effectively manage and distribute nutritious foods from the first mile to the last.

For more, go to http://www.gainhealth.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/nutritious-food-foresight-gki-gain-2019.pdf

 

3. Is India growing enough pulses to feed the population?

  According to Dr Narendra Pratap Singh, Director, Indian Institute of Pulses Research (IIPR), Kanpur, India is moving “towards” self-sufficiency in pulses. Although production of pulses has increased to an average of 24 million tonnes in the past three years, the demand is at about 32 million tonnes, Singh estimates, which is why India imports 5.5-6.5 million tonnes annually. This estimate points to a need to further increase pulse production in India.

 

 

For more, go to https://www.financialexpress.com/opinion/farm-production-are-we-growing-enough-pulses/1561904/

 

4. Bioenergy plantations could fight climate change—but threaten food crops, U.N. panel warns: In efforts to keep the planet from reaching dangerous temperatures, a hybrid approach called BECCS (bioenergy with carbon capture and storage) has a seductive appeal. Crops suck carbon dioxide (CO) from the atmosphere, power plants burn the biomass to generate electricity, and the emissions are captured in a smokestack and pumped underground for long-term storage. Pulling carbon dioxide from the air and using it to make synthetic fuel seems like the ultimate solution to climate change. Instead of adding ever more CO2 to the air from fossil fuels, we can simply recycle the same CO2 molecules over and over.

For more, go to https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/06/cost-plunges-capturing-carbon-dioxide-air

And

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/08/bioenergy-plantations-could-fight-climate-change-threaten-food-crops-un-panel-warns?utm_campaign…

Events

1. International Conference on Sustainable Agriculture Technologies 01-03 Nov 2019, Kaohsiung, Taiwan. It is one of the leading international conferences for presenting novel and fundamental advances in the fields of Sustainable Agriculture Technologies. It also serves to foster communication among researchers and practitioners working in a wide variety of scientific areas, with a common interest in improving techniques related to Sustainable Agriculture Technologies. For more, go to https://10times.com/icsat-kaohsiung

2. 2-Day Technical & Hands-on Workshop in Drug Discovery & Genome Editing: 27-28 Dec 2019. 14th Floor, Richmond Road, Shanthala Nagar, Ashok Nagar, Lavelle Road, Bengaluru.

For more, go to https://in.explara.com/e/drug-design-genome-editing-crispr-bangalore-india

3. 6th International Conference on Biotechnology and Agriculture Engineering (ICBAE 2020), 28-30 March 2020, Phuket, Thailand. The primary goal of the conference is to promote research and developmental activities in Biotechnology and Agriculture Engineering. Another goal is to promote scientific information interchange between researchers, developers, engineers, students, and practitioners working in Japan and abroad. For more, go to http://www.wikicfp.com/cfp/servlet/event.showcfp?eventid=92735&copyownerid=13881 or http://www.icbae.org/index.htm