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Novel Grafting Technique Enhances Crop Resilience
A groundbreaking approach to cultivate fruits and vegetables with the outer layer of one variety and the inner flesh of another may bolster crop defenses against pests and environmental stressors like droughts. This innovative method of developing graft chimeras holds promise for enhanced agricultural productivity and sustainability.
The Science of Grafting and Graft Chimeras
Grafting, a common practice in agriculture, involves uniting parts from two different plants. This technique allows for the combination of desirable traits, even between plants that cannot be hybridized through traditional breeding. For example, a fruit variety prized for its taste can be grafted onto a rootstock known for its resistance to soil-borne diseases.
Graft chimeras, rare and unusual plant forms, can emerge at the junction of grafted plants. These unique specimens possess a blended genetic makeup, with the external tissues of one plant type and the internal tissues of another. This phenomenon occurs due to the development of shoots from distinct stem cell layers at the plant’s apex. In graft junctions, a chance mixing of stem cell types from the two grafted plants can lead to the formation of a chimera.
Advantages of Graft Chimera Propagation
Traditional grafting methods are often labor-intensive, requiring individual grafts for each plant. Graft chimeras offer a significant advantage: they can be propagated vegetatively through cuttings or tubers. This asexual reproduction allows for the mass production of plants with the combined traits, making them highly appealing for large-scale cultivation.
Overcoming Challenges in Graft Chimera Creation
While scientists have long been aware of graft chimeras, their deliberate creation has proven challenging. Many existing examples, like the Bizzarria citrus, arose as infrequent, accidental outcomes of conventional grafting procedures. The unpredictable nature of their formation has hindered their widespread application in crop improvement.
KeyGene’s Breakthrough in Graft Chimera Production
Jeroen Stuurman, a researcher at KeyGene, a Netherlands-based agricultural technology firm, has announced a newly developed, consistent method for generating graft chimeras. While specific details of the process remain undisclosed, Stuurman indicates its successful application in producing diverse graft chimeras from potatoes, tomatoes, aubergines, and pepper varieties, including crosses between sweet and chili peppers.
Commercial Recognition and Plant Breeders’ Rights
KeyGene has secured plant breeders’ rights – akin to horticultural patents – for a potato graft chimera that combines the skin of the Pimpernel variety with the flesh of the Bintje variety. This marks a significant milestone as the first instance of plant breeders’ rights being granted for a graft chimera, signifying the commercial potential of this breeding innovation. According to Stuurman, this recognition validates the viability of their approach and paves the way for further development.
Harnessing Graft Chimeras for Enhanced Crop Protection
The company’s current focus involves creating graft chimeras with enhanced defensive characteristics, particularly resistance to pests and diseases. Stuurman explains that trichomes, hair-like structures on plant surfaces, often mediate pest resistance through repellent secretions or insect-trapping mechanisms. Transferring trichome-related traits through traditional breeding or genetic modification is complex due to the involvement of multiple genes. However, KeyGene’s innovative method offers a solution by enabling a “skin transplant” approach, effectively imparting these protective traits to existing varieties.
Implications for Potato Cultivation
Potatoes, typically propagated from tubers rather than seeds, are ideally suited for the rapid adoption of graft chimeras. Stuurman asserts that farmers could readily integrate these novel varieties into their existing practices. “There is no need for any change in the way things are grown,” he states, emphasizing the seamless integration potential of this technology.
Expert Perspectives on Graft Chimera Stability and Impact
Charles Melnyk of the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences acknowledges the significance of KeyGene’s achievement. “It’s really interesting that they can make stable graft chimeras that have commercially relevant properties,” he comments. “I’m not aware of this being done before, so their finding is really significant.”
Colin Turnbull of Imperial College London highlights the common instability of graft chimeras, noting their tendency to revert to parental forms. KeyGene’s attainment of plant breeders’ rights suggests they have overcome this challenge. “The novelty seems to be the stability of the ‘skin graft’ such that they have a marketable variety,” Turnbull concludes, underscoring the innovation’s potential for practical application in agriculture.