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Researchers use unconventional method to help solve issue plaguing crops around the world: 'Our research [has] remarkable potential'

"We can enhance not only widely recognized crops but also bring underutilized species into the agricultural mainstream."

"We can enhance not only widely recognized crops but also bring underutilized species into the agricultural mainstream."

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New genetic research from the University of Florida may help make key crops such as potatoes, tomatoes, and peppers more resistant to disease and environmentally resilient as well as increase their nutritional value.

"Our research illustrates the remarkable potential of combining deep taxonomic expertise with cutting-edge biotechnology," author Fabio Pasin told the Chinese Academy of Sciences, via Phys.org. "By focusing on the Solanaceae family, we can enhance not only widely recognized crops but also bring underutilized species into the agricultural mainstream, improving food security and enriching nutritional diversity across the globe."

Researchers used recombinant virus technologies to give new breeds of plants particular traits. This method is very specific about promoting certain traits in new breeds. Scary as it might sound to use an engineered virus to change the DNA of our food, it's a way of improving biodiversity in agriculture when farming has become more and more homogeneous and thus vulnerable. 

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Research such as this has improved wheat crops and rice, which will be needed as extreme weather events increase in severity and threaten our food supplies. Peach and wine crops, for example, were obliterated by a cold snap, while drought destroyed wheat and corn, and pecan orchards were taken out by storms. The more tools we have to deal with these events, the better. 

Researchers are hoping this new technique will help improve the quality of underused crops in the Solanaceae family and introduce wider variety to our food systems.

"We have detected a significant overrepresentation of the Solanaceae in terms of available genomic resources," the report stated. "By leveraging the available genomic resources and knowledge gained from model crops, we have highlighted here the potential of RVTs for functional genomics and genetic improvement of underutilized solanaceous crops, overall contributing to enhancing local and global human nutrition."

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