Agricultural biotechnology for crop improvement in a variable climate: hope or hype?

Developing crops that are better adapted to abiotic stresses is important for food production in many parts of the world today. Anticipated changes in climate and its variability, particularly extreme temperatures and changes in rainfall, are expected to make crop improvement even more crucial for f...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Trends in plant science 2011-07, Vol.16 (7), p.363-371
Main Authors: Varshney, Rajeev K., Bansal, Kailash C., Aggarwal, Pramod K., Datta, Swapan K., Craufurd, Peter Q.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adaptation, Physiological
agricultural biotechnology
Agriculture - methods
Biological and medical sciences
Biotechnology - methods
Breeding
Climate
Climate Change
crops
Crops, Agricultural - genetics
food production
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Genetic Engineering
rain
sustainable agriculture
Temperature
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Summary:Developing crops that are better adapted to abiotic stresses is important for food production in many parts of the world today. Anticipated changes in climate and its variability, particularly extreme temperatures and changes in rainfall, are expected to make crop improvement even more crucial for food production. Here, we review two key biotechnology approaches, molecular breeding and genetic engineering, and their integration with conventional breeding to develop crops that are more tolerant of abiotic stresses. In addition to a multidisciplinary approach, we also examine some constraints that need to be overcome to realize the full potential of agricultural biotechnology for sustainable crop production to meet the demands of a projected world population of nine billion in 2050.
ISSN:1360-1385
1878-4372
DOI:10.1016/j.tplants.2011.03.004