The AI Revolutionizes Plant Breeding for Climate Change & Pest Resistance
Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to revolutionize plant breeding and tackle the challenges posed by climate change and pests, according to researchers from the Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation. With the world’s population expected to reach 10 billion by 2050, scientists believe that AI can play a crucial role in developing more sustainable and profitable crops.
Lee Hickey, a geneticist from the University of Queensland, sees AI as a promising technology that can help accelerate the development of productive and sustainable plants. By analyzing vast amounts of data, AI algorithms can identify the best combinations of genes to maximize resistance to diseases and pests. Hickey discovered the potential of AI when studying a dataset on diseases in a barley population. The algorithm selected parents that were highly susceptible to both diseases but had desirable resistance genes hidden in their genome. When combined with genes from other parents, these resistant traits were passed on to the progeny, resulting in improved performance against the diseases.
The collection and analysis of billions of data points by plant breeders around the world can be made more efficient with the help of AI. For example, if researchers want to combine 30 different DNA chunks across the genome from 30 different plants, there are over one billion possible ways to bring those genes together in a single plant variety. AI can help identify the most effective combinations.
In addition to accelerating the breeding process, AI can assist in developing disease-resistant wheat and barley. Collaborative projects with the Grains Research and Development Corporation are underway to explore how AI can contribute to creating disease-resistant crops. The technology also has potential applications in animal breeding.
Professor Ben Hayes, also from the University of Queensland, highlights four ways that AI can help turn data into food. Firstly, AI can guide breeders in choosing the traits to focus on, considering both profitability and consumer preferences such as sustainability and food quality. Secondly, AI can analyze images taken by drones to identify indicators of specific traits, like water usage efficiency. Thirdly, AI can process vast amounts of data to predict the breeding performance of different plant varieties. Finally, AI is shifting the breeding approach from individual genetic lines to considering breeding populations as collections of DNA chunks that possess desirable traits.
The use of AI in plant breeding has the potential to address global food security challenges. By developing more sustainable and productive crops, researchers aim to feed the growing population while mitigating the effects of climate change and pests. AI’s ability to analyze vast amounts of data and identify optimal gene combinations makes it a valuable tool for accelerating the development of resilient and profitable plants. With ongoing research and collaborations, the AI revolution in plant breeding is well underway.
