Breeding Resilient Crops

Novel use of laser technology paves way for future precision breeding

Image credit: Christopher Strock, Penn State

Image credit: Christopher Strock, Penn State

Problem

Can we breed more productive crops that are resilient to climate variability?

Extreme precipitation events, prolonged droughts, temperature extremes, and elevated pressures from pests and diseases prompt the need for the breeding of more resilient and productive crops.

Findings

A team of plant scientists has developed a novel use of its laser ablation tomography (LAT) system, a technology invented at Penn State, to visualize the anatomy of roots and see how soil organisms, such as fungi, nematodes, and insects, interact with the roots of different crop species.

  • A pulsing ultraviolet laser excites various tissues affected by soil organisms. The light spectra given off by different cells allow the scientists to capture detailed images of microscopic slices that can be reconstructed in three dimensions.

Impact

This novel technology provides scientists with a unique perspective of the interactions in order to develop crops that more effectively grow under limited water and nutrient availability.

  • Using LAT, a researcher can process many root samples in a short period of time, addressing a major limitation for researchers conducting genetic studies and running breeding programs.
  • The technique allows researchers to conduct large, quantitative screenings to characterize genetic control of root anatomy and interactions with soil organisms.

Related Research Areas: Environmental Resilience and Advanced Agricultural and Food Systems

Research Credit

Team

Participating Departments

Partners

  • University of Adelaide, Australia; Michigan State University

Competitive Funding

  • Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms, USDA North Central Region Sustainable Agriculture
  • Research and Education (SARE), U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), U.S. Department of Energy

Federal and State Appropriations

  • USDA NIFA Hatch Project PEN04582, Accession #1005492

Emerging Discoveries

Novel use of laser technology reveals interactions between roots, soil organisms

September 16, 2019

A novel use of a custom laser system — developed in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences eight years ago — allows researchers to see how soil organisms affect plant roots. The discovery has implications for future breeding of more resilient and productive crops, according to an international team of scientists.

Grant aimed at developing corn cultivars that grow deeper, stronger roots

March 01, 2021

Researchers in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences have received a $500,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture to study a novel root trait that may lead to corn cultivars with enhanced drought tolerance and carbon sequestration through the growth of roots able to probe deeper by punching through hard, compacted soils.

Researchers identify a gene that regulates the angle of root growth in corn

July 28, 2021

The discovery of a gene that regulates the angle of root growth in corn is a new tool to enable the breeding of deeper-rooting crops with enhanced ability to take up nitrogen, according to an international team of researchers, led by Penn State.

Getting to the root of corn domestication; knowledge may help plant breeders

April 18, 2022

A unique confluence of archeology, molecular genetics and serendipity guided a collaboration of Mexican and Penn State researchers to a deeper understanding of how modern corn was domesticated from teosinte, a perennial grass native to Mexico and Central America, more than 5,000 years ago.

Study shows ‘steep, cheap and deep’ roots help corn plants deal with drought

December 07, 2022

Rarely in nature does less turn out to be more. But that’s the case when it comes to the roots of corn dealing with drought conditions, according to a Penn State-led international team of researchers who discovered evidence of the benefits of a “parsimonious” root phenotype in a new study.

Discovery of root anatomy gene may lead to breeding more resilient corn crops

March 16, 2023

A new discovery, reported today in a global study that encompassed more than a decade of research, could lead to the breeding of corn crops that can withstand drought and low-nitrogen soil conditions and ultimately ease global food insecurity, according to a Penn State-led team of international researchers. 

Published Research

Laser ablation tomography for visualization of root colonization by edaphic organisms

Office for Research and Graduate Education

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Office for Research and Graduate Education

Address

217 Agricultural Administration Building
University Park, PA 16802-2600