About This Project

Via epigenetic "trans-generational" inheritance plants can transmit to offspring responses to stresses such as drought or nutrient deficiency. This project tests whether this phenomenon can be used in seed production to create crops that yield well both in the absence or presence of nutrient stress. Variants of this approach might enhance crop yields world-wide, in both low- and high-input production environments, since it is low-tech and low-cost and therefore widely accessible.

Ask the Scientists

What is the context of this research?

In the epigenetic phenomenon of "transgenerational inheritance" in plants, changes in gene expression induced in a parent in response to biotic (insect predation) or abiotic (drought or nutrient deficiency) stresses are transmitted to offspring, possibly imparting adaptation to the stress the parents were exposed to. Epigenetic variation can differ from genetic variation (changes in DNA sequence) in its mode and frequency of induction and patterns of inheritance: its frequency of occurrence can be orders of magnitude greater than genetic variation; its mode of inheritance can be via classical mendelian patterns or via non-mendelian modes such as paramutation; its stability may last for only one or a few generations or may last for many.

What is the significance of this project?

Epigenetics clearly plays an important role in problems as diverse as human health and maintenance of crop production during climate change. However, applying knowledge of epigenetic mechanisms to crop breeding remains in its infancy. I have found that in producing hybrid maize seed, using male parents that were grown under nutrient stress both enhanced hybrid yields and stabilized yields across production environments. This low-tech/low-cost approach to enhancing crop productivity could contribute to optimizing crop yields in both developed and developing countries in production environments of varying quality. Its use could enhance drought tolerance, reduce fertilizer use, increase sustainability and reduce environmental impact.

What are the goals of the project?

Maize hybrid seed was produced using male parents that were grown with limited "macro-nutrition" (limited nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium). In two field trials the seed obtained using the four most effective treatments had yields that were 17% to 20% greater than the controls. A greater enhancement in yield was observed in the production environment that had a lower overall location mean yield. Support is sought: (1) to complete the analyses of materials and data obtained in the initial field trials; (2) to conduct an additional field trial in an environemt that is more stressful than those already used, and that focuses on the most efficacious stress treatments that were identified in the initial rounds of study; (3) to cover costs of publication in appropriate refereed journal.