Homecoming: rewinding the reductive evolution of the chloroplast genome for increasing crop yields
Briardo Llorente, María Eugenia Segretin, Estefanía Giannini, Celina Lobais, Marcelo E. Juárez, Ian T. Paulsen, Nicolás E. Blanco
Abstract
Developing more productive and sustainable crops will be essential to achieving food security in coming decades. A core process in plant evolution has been the transfer of chloroplast-encoded genes to the nuclear genome. We propose reverting this process as a new approach to improve plant disease resistance and photosynthesis in future crops.
Topics & Concepts
ChloroplastGenomeFood securityCropPhotosynthesisBiologyProcess (computing)Gene transferBiotechnologyComputational biologyComputer scienceAgricultureGeneGeneticsAgronomyBotanyEcologyOperating systemPlant-Microbe Interactions and ImmunityPhotosynthetic Processes and MechanismsPlant Pathogens and Resistance