Transgenic solutions to increase yield and stability in wheat: shining hope or flash in the pan?
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Author
Araus, José L.
Serret, Maria D.
Lopes, Marta S.
Publication date
2019-03-11ISSN
0022-0957
Abstract
Second-generation transgenic crops have the potential to transform agriculture, but progress has been limited, and particularly so in wheat where no transgenic cultivar has yet been approved. Taking on the challenge, González et al. (2019) report that transgenic wheat lines carrying a mutated version of the sunflower transcription factor (HaHB4), belonging to the homeodomain-leucine zipper family (HD-Zip I), had increased yield and water use efficiency across a range of environments, with particular benefits under stress. It is an important step forward in an area where progress is urgently needed, though it is too early to claim that transgenic wheat will form the backbone of a second Green Revolution.
To meet the growing demand for food, together with the challenges imposed by climate change, substantial improvements in yields of major crops are needed. This includes wheat, where globally the multi-year tendency for growth in yield is decreasing (Passioura, 2012) or even stagnating (Driever et al., 2017). Current and expected future relative rates of progress in yield potential and drought adaptation in wheat are a matter of real concern, and insufficient to meet the projected demand for cereals by 2050 (Hall and Richards, 2013). There are three major challenges: increasing yield potential, protecting yield potential from different types of stress, and increasing resource use efficiency to ensure sustainability (Hawkesford et al., 2013).
Document Type
Article
Document version
Published version
Language
English
Subject (CDU)
63 - Agriculture and related sciences and techniques
Pages
6
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Is part of
Journal of Experimental Botany
Citation
Araus, José L, Maria D Serret, and Marta S Lopes. 2019. "Transgenic Solutions To Increase Yield And Stability In Wheat: Shining Hope Or Flash In The Pan?". Journal Of Experimental Botany 70 (5): 1419-1424. Oxford University Press (OUP). doi:10.1093/jxb/erz077.
Program
Cultius Extensius Sostenibles
This item appears in the following Collection(s)
- ARTICLES CIENTÍFICS [2850]
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