Scaling up neodomestication for climate-ready crops

• Published in: Current opinion in plant biology 2022-04, Vol.66, p.102169-102169, Article 102169
• Main Authors: Gutaker, Rafal M., Chater, Caspar C.C., Brinton, Jemima, Castillo-Lorenzo, Elena, Breman, Elinor, Pironon, Samuel
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adaptation; Agriculture; Climate Change; Crops, Agricultural - genetics; Domestication; Food security; Gene Editing; Genomics
• ISSN: 1369-5266; 1879-0356
• DOI: 10.1016/j.pbi.2021.102169

We can increase the stability of our food systems against environmental variability and climate change by following the footsteps of our ancestors and domesticating edible wild plants. Reinforced by recent advances in comparative genomics and gene editing technologies, neodomestication opens possibilities for a rapid generation of new crops. By starting the candidate selection pipeline with climatic parameters, we orient neodomestication efforts to increase food security against climate change. We highlight the fact that the edible species conservation and characterization will be key in this process. Utilization of genetic resources, entrusted to conservationists and researchers by local communities, has to be conducted with highest ethical standards and benefit-sharing in mind. •Domestication of plant species has bolstered our food security in the past.•Rapid neodomestication has the potential to adapt agriculture to future climates.•Conserving and characterizing wild edible species is essential for neodomestication.•Benefit-sharing and consultations are key to ethical neodomestication pipeline. [Display omitted]