Plant-Genomic Advances Guide the Future of Food and Climate
Farmers have tinkered with crop genomes for thousands of years, slowly improving crop traits and meticulously saving seeds to propagate cultivars the next season.
In the 1950s, governments worldwide attempted to find significant, peaceful uses for their atomic energy programs after World War II, and to bring atomic energy and experimentation into the lives of ordinary citizens. They bludgeoned the genomes of crops like maize, grapefruit, and peppermint with gamma radiation, and some interesting and useful crops grew from those mutated seeds. Soon, scientists were bathing seeds in harsh chemicals and using other physical methods (ion beams, X-rays) to drive mutation. Then, the era of genomic DNA editing brought us genetic modification, where new genes could be added to crop genomes from other species, like flowers, bacteria, or fish. Now RNA technologies, CRISPR, and artificial intelligence are being used.
With the development of Pfizer’s COVID-19 mRNA vaccine, RNA technology has been dominating the news cycle. RNA is the less well-known cousin of DNA. DNA is a double-stranded molecule that resides in the nucleus of every cell, while RNA is a single-stranded “messenger” molecule. DNA can be thought of as like an original hard cover book, protected by the nucleus. Whereas RNA is like a Xerox copy. Many messages can be cheaply made, sent out unprotected into the cell’s cytoplasm, and disposed of after the message is delivered. Since these messages are naked, they are vulnerable and can be interfered with to dial down the expression or action of certain genes. RNA interference (RNAi) is a natural gene-silencing mechanism that is triggered by the presence of (irregular) double-stranded RNA (dsRNA).