Better breeding leveraging more biology.
Powell OM, Hickey L, Tomura S, Cooper M
Climate Adaptation
Seed varieties your grandparents grew are increasingly gambling against weather that no longer follows the old patterns — this research is how plant breeders stay ahead of that shift to keep gardens and farms productive.
As the climate gets more unpredictable, it's harder for plant breeders to know which crops will do well where. Researchers are combining deep knowledge of how plants actually work — how they respond to heat, drought, and soil — with computer models that can make better predictions. The goal is to breed crops faster and smarter so they can handle whatever the weather throws at them.
Key Findings
Climate variability is measurably reducing the ability to predict crop performance across different growing environments, slowing genetic improvement.
Integrating mechanistic plant biology into predictive breeding models improves accuracy, precision, and interpretability of breeding decisions.
Hierarchical genome-to-phenome frameworks offer a path to sustain long-term genetic gain under changing environmental conditions.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Scientists are building smarter crop breeding tools that combine plant biology with predictive models, helping breeders develop crops that perform reliably even as climate patterns grow more erratic and unpredictable.
Abstract Preview
Climate-driven variability is reducing our ability to accurately predict crop performance across environments, limiting genetic gain in breeding programs. Sustained progress requires predictive fra...
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Crop-improvement refers to the systematic enhancement of plant varieties through selective breeding, genetic modification, and biotechnological approaches to develop cultivars with superior agronomic, nutritional, or environmental traits. This field is essential for addressing global food security,
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