Genetic technologies to enhance crop nutritional value under climate change

Area of Science:

• Agricultural Science
• Biotechnology
• Nutritional Science

Background:

• Over 700 million face caloric hunger, and 2 billion suffer from hidden hunger (micronutrient deficiencies).
• The Green Revolution boosted calorie production but worsened nutritional quality, exacerbating hidden hunger.
• Climate change negatively impacts crop micronutrient density, posing a significant threat to global nutrition.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the application of CRISPR-Cas genome editing for enhancing micronutrient density in crops.
• To investigate how CRISPR-Cas can contribute to achieving multi-biofortification and climate-resilient agriculture.
• To identify strategies for combining CRISPR-Cas with other technologies to accelerate progress towards zero hunger.

Main Methods:

• Review of CRISPR-Cas applications in plant breeding for nutritional enhancement.
• Analysis of climate change impacts on crop nutrient content.
• Examination of metabolic engineering and other advanced breeding techniques.

Main Results:

• CRISPR-Cas enables precise genome editing to increase vitamin and mineral content in crops.
• This technology can help achieve multi-biofortification targets necessary to alleviate hidden hunger.
• Combining CRISPR-Cas with metabolic engineering is crucial for rapid progress.

Conclusions:

• CRISPR-Cas technology is a vital tool for enhancing crop nutritional value and climate resilience.
• Integrated approaches combining CRISPR-Cas with metabolic engineering are essential to meet the Sustainable Development Goal 2 (Zero Hunger).
• Further exploration of untapped resources is needed to maximize the potential of breeding technologies for global food security.