An almost
entirely accidental discovery by University of Guelph researchers could
transform food and biofuel production and increase carbon capture on farmland.
By tweaking
a plant’s genetic profile, the researchers doubled the plant’s growth and
increased seed production by more than 400 per cent.
The
findings were published in the March 2016 issue of Plant Biotechnology Journal.
The team
studied Arabidopsis, a small flowering plant often used in lab studies
because of its ease of use and its similarity to some common farm crops. They
found that inserting a particular corn enzyme caused the plant’s growth rate to
skyrocket.
“Even if
the effects in a field-grown crop were less, such as only a tenth of what we’ve
seen in the lab, that would still represent an increase in yield of 40 to 50
per cent, compared with the average one to two per cent a year that most
breeding programs deliver,” said Prof. Michael Emes, Department of Molecular
and Cellular Biology (MCB).
He said the
team’s finding could boost yields of important oilseed crops such as canola and
soybean, as well as crops such as camelina, increasingly grown for biofuels.
Larger
plants would capture more atmospheric carbon dioxide without increasing the
amount of farmland, said Emes. ”Farmers and consumers would benefit
significantly in terms of food production, green energy and the environment.
The ramifications are enormous.”
The finding
came almost by chance.
Studying
the enzyme’s effect on starch, the researchers noticed that their genetically
engineered plants looked different and much larger in photos taken by lead
author Fushan Liu, a former post-doctoral MCB researcher.
“That’s
when we realized that we were looking at something potentially much more
important,” said Ian Tetlow, an MCB professor and study co-author.
Although
genetic engineering led to more flowers and pods containing seeds, it left the
seed composition unchanged.
“The seeds
are where we would get the oil from, and consistent composition is important so
that the function and use of the oil isn’t changed,” said Tetlow.
The
researchers plan to test canola and other crops. Field tests and analysis with
industry and government will likely take several years.
“This could
have enormous implications for agriculture, carbon capture, food production,
animal feedstocks and biodiesel,” said Emes.
“These
findings are without parallel, and we came to them almost by accident. The
reason we started the work was to test some ideas in basic science. It just
goes to show that you never know where that science will take you.”
