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By Suraj Nair, Lead (TechSprouts), Ankur Capital

Food shortages arise more frequently owing to unpredictable crop yield losses caused by biotic and abiotic stresses. With advances in molecular biology and marker technology, a new era of molecular breeding has emerged that has greatly accelerated the pace of plant breeding. High-throughput genotyping technology and phenotyping platforms have enabled large-scale marker-trait association analysis, such as genome-wide association studies, to precisely dissect the genetic architecture of plant traits. Large-scale mapping of agronomically important quantitative trait loci, gene cloning and characterisation, mining of elite alleles/haplotypes, exploitation of natural variations, and genomic selection have paved the way towards genomics-assisted breeding (GAB). With the availability of more and more informative genomic datasets, GAB would become a promising technique to expedite the breeding cycle for crop improvement.

Agriculture remains the mainstay of human civilisation, providing sustenance and livelihoods across the globe. However, the growing population along with deteriorating climatic conditions have raised serious questions about current agricultural practices. Frequent droughts, heatwaves and floods have resulted in crop losses, lower yields and diminished nutritional quality. Traditional agricultural practices which are highly water-intensive and resource-consuming, have become highly unsustainable. This has created an ever-increasing demand for improved seeds and crop varieties, whether to increase yields for a growing population, enhance climate resilience with the onset of anthropomorphic climate change, or to protect against a plethora of pests.

Conventional plant breeding techniques, although long-standing, have drawbacks. One key disadvantage is the lengthy and expensive process of variety development, which can take over a decade. It involves laborious experiments, field trials, and the analysis of individual traits. This manual process is cumbersome.

Over the past decade, the agricultural industry has exhibited gradual signs of change. One prominent trend in agricultural research and development over the past two decades has been the rapid emergence and adoption of advanced seed breeding tools as well as genetic editing techniques, such as CRISPR. These techniques enable us to sequence a plant’s genome and analyse its growth and behaviour at a more granular level. The advancements in sequencing techniques, bioinformatics, and the ability to manipulate large datasets have led to the advent of a new paradigm: genomics-assisted breeding (GAB).

GAB relies on genomic data, which has been extensively accumulated since the sequencing of rice in 2006. The availability of this data has significantly improved gene-mapping strategies, particularly in our ability to correlate genomic data with phenomic performance. This understanding has expedited the process of trait discovery, making it possible to breed plants with specific traits in mind. For example, it is now feasible to develop a new rice variety with enhanced amylose content through targeted breeding efforts.

GAB can take one of two broad forms: the first is a highly advanced form of conventional varietal creation achieved through controlled crosses between specific parent plants, and the second is through direct genetic modification of plants with the aim of introducing desirable traits. Both approaches offer great versatility, allowing for the breeding of novel traits in crops, even without genetic engineering. An example of this is HarvestPlus, an international research programme that has developed hybrid corn varieties with reduced vitamin A deficiency.

To read more click on: https://agrospectrumindia.com/e-magazine

By Suraj Nair, Lead (TechSprouts), Ankur CapitalFood

 By Suraj Nair, Lead (TechSprouts), Ankur Capital

How do we feed 10 billion people worldwide by 2050? Sounds simple enough? Produce more food, right? Sadly, it isn’t as straightforward as it seems. Agriculture is one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs), uses the largest amount of water sources and is one of the highest polluting activities. Simply growing more food is unsustainable. So, let’s start answering the question by putting things in perspective:

There is ample evidence to suggest that we are already growing enough food to feed more than 10 billion people. Despite this, hunger exists. The problem is not so much about food production as it is about a lack of efficiency in agri-food systems across the board.

Further, climate change is sending global climatic systems into a state of flux and rapid change. Agriculture is extremely sensitive to shifting weather patterns, droughts, excessive rain and other climatic aberrations, which makes it acutely sensitive to the effects of climate change.

Systemic inefficiencies in agri-food systems are associated with various parts of the value chain, ranging from agri-inputs to crop development and final food production. Traditionally, addressing these inefficiencies has involved the use of digital technologies to collect and distribute data and improve the value chain with data-driven decision making.

However, the last decade has seen the advent of synthetic biology as a new innovative approach towards improving agri-food systems. Furthermore, synthetic biology can not only address inefficiencies, but also make agriculture more climate-resilient.

What is the synthetic biology approach?

Vitamin A deficiency is a major health issue across the world, more so in countries limited to rice as their staple food. Two scientists in the 1990s decided to find a disruptive solution to this. They fortified the rice with beta-carotene, a precursor to vitamin A, by genetically engineering the conventional rice crop. Known as the Golden Rice Project, this is a great example of the synthetic biology approach, wherein natural biological systems are engineered to result in certain desired outcomes.

Using advanced techniques in genetic engineering, systems biology and bioengineering, synthetic biology provides disruptive innovative solutions for the most complex problems in the agri-food value chain–developing biological stimulants and pesticides, advanced crop development with climate resistant traits and efficient food production.

While this seemed impossible just a decade ago, synthetic biology has seen a major transformation. DNA sequencing and gene synthesis costs have reduced by more than 100x and faster gene sequencing techniques such as NGS have been developed. All this has led to a significant increase in the data on genomics. This data is being used to develop specific interventions in the agri-food value chain.

To read more click on: https://agrospectrumindia.com/e-magazine

 By Suraj Nair, Lead (TechSprouts), Ankur CapitalHow