PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Gene sequencing uncovers differences in wild and domesticated crops

Can understanding these differences help researchers breed better crops suited for a changing climate?

2025-08-21
(Press-News.org) With climate change and more frequent extreme weather events, researchers predict that global yields of important crops like maize, rice, and soybeans could decline by 12 to 20% by the end of the century. To prepare, plant scientists are hoping to find ways to improve yields and grow hardier varieties of these crops. New insights into the genetic makeup of wild varieties of common crops show how domestication has changed crop traits over time and propose a new cultivation method to improve genetic diversity. The research was shared in a paper published in Life on July 11.

“While domesticated species have originally been bred by cultivating wild species, the resulting reduction in genetic diversity can damage all individuals by exposing them to diseases and environmental stresses. To solve this problem, we set out to identify differences in crop traits between wild relatives and domesticated species and to contribute to the selection of new breeding candidate genes. The introduction of useful traits, especially those found in wild relatives, may provide hints for the development of new useful varieties,” said Hidemasa Bono, a professor at Hiroshima University’s Graduate School of Integrated Sciences for Life in Hiroshima, Japan.

The researchers used RNA sequencing data from public databases, including the National Center for Biotechnology Information Gene Expression Omnibus and published studies online. They focused on crops with wild relatives that had widely available RNA sequencing data: tomatoes, rice, and soybeans. The gene expression data of the wild varieties was then compared to the domesticated varieties. To evaluate the data, researchers classified all genes into three groups: upregulated, unchanged, and downregulated.

By understanding the gene expression comparison between the wild varieties and the domesticated varieties, researchers could understand differences in how the plants respond to stressors. “Wild relatives have high environmental stress tolerance with the potential to respond to climate change and severe changes in the natural environment, which has been an issue in recent years,” said Bono.

The researchers found 18 genes that were upregulated in the wild relatives and 36 genes that were upregulated in the domesticated species. Wild species were found to have genes related to environmental stress responses while domesticated species had more genes related to the hormone regulation and chemical compound export and detoxification. For example, a gene called HKT1 affects salt stress response and salt tolerance was found to be upregulated in wild varieties. This could be an opportunity to develop crops that can grow in soil with more saline. Researchers also found genes that were upregulated in wild varieties that helped with drought stress (RD22), water stress (HB-12), leaf development and photosynthesis promotion (HB-7), and osmotic stress response and wound signaling (MYB102).

In domesticated plants, researchers also found beneficial genes that were upregulated compared to wild varieties. Several genes help detox the plants and remove chemicals found in soil. One gene (ALF5) improves the plant’s resistance to tetramethylammonium, and another (DTX1) manages cadmium and toxic compounds. These genes and others can help plants grow in soils that have been contaminated by chemicals. Researchers suspect this may have become beneficial for plants because of increased pesticide and chemical fertilizer use.

“The three wild species used in this analysis—rice, tomato, and soybean—had in common high expression levels of genes that contribute to stress responses, such as drought, osmotic pressure, and wound stress. The high expression levels of genes that contribute to stress tolerance that these three less closely related species have in common suggest that wild species of other species are likely to have useful traits as well,” said Bono.

Looking ahead, researchers hope to learn even more about these essential differences between wild relatives and domesticated species to improve breeding. “In addition, we would like to collect and reanalyze data used in crop breeding research to construct a database that will contribute to the promotion of digital breeding of crops,” said Bono.

###

The other contributor to this research was Makoto Yumiya of the Graduate School of Integrated Sciences for Life at Hiroshima University.

The Center for Bio-Digital Transformation (BioDX), COI-NEXT, and the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) supported this research. 

This paper received funding from Hiroshima University to cover open access fees.

About Hiroshima University

Since its foundation in 1949, Hiroshima University has striven to become one of the most prominent and comprehensive universities in Japan for the promotion and development of scholarship and education. Consisting of 12 schools for undergraduate level and 5 graduate schools, ranging from natural sciences to humanities and social sciences, the university has grown into one of the most distinguished comprehensive research universities in Japan. English website: https://www.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/en

END


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Inaugural editorial of Sustainable Carbon Materials

2025-08-21
Introducing Sustainable Carbon Materials—a new peer-reviewed, open-access journal dedicated to advancing fundamental and applied research on carbon-based materials!  As a multidisciplinary global platform, we foster innovation in this rapidly expanding field by publishing high-impact reviews, original research, rapid reports, perspectives, commentaries, and correspondence. Broad Scope Includes: ✅ Synthesis & characterization of graphene, nanotubes, fullerenes & more ✅ Physical/chemical properties for electronics, optics, and spintronics ✅ Energy applications (batteries, ...

Nostalgia is an asset in company acquisitions

2025-08-21
RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- When companies are acquired, conventional wisdom suggests that employee nostalgia for their pre-buyout days is a problem to be eliminated so workers can more quickly adapt to the new owners’ ways of doing business. A new study published in the journal Strategic Organization led by UC Riverside School of Business professors Boris Maciejovsky and Jerayr Haleblian suggests this thinking is wrong—especially when the new owners want to retain the most talented, productive, and informed workers. Nostalgia, they found, serves as a comforting and stabilizing force during takeover periods, when employees feel vulnerable, fear ...

Individuals should be held to account for environmental damage, say experts

2025-08-20
Individuals should be held accountable for “ecocide,” the most serious acts of environmental destruction, argue experts in The BMJ today. And they say the UK should take on a leadership role by adopting legislation of its own to criminalise ecocide and inspiring other nations to protect our planet. The term “ecocide” was coined in 1970 by biologist Arthur Galston, who condemned the large scale environmental devastation caused during the Vietnam War, they explain. Fifty years on, as the world grapples with the escalating consequences of climate change, including sea level rises and biodiversity ...

Menopause misinformation is harming care, warn experts

2025-08-20
Many direct to consumer menopause services are unnecessary and do not improve care, warn experts in The BMJ today. They argue that the sharp rise in commercial services for women seeking relief for menopausal symptoms raises concerns about the reliability and potential commercial bias of the information, and that symptoms are best assessed by a thorough clinical history with treatment decisions guided by clinical response and patient preferences. One of the most troubling trends arising from this surge is the promotion of routine ...

Companies may be misleading parents with “outrageous claims” about banking baby teeth

2025-08-20
Parents are spending thousands of pounds to bank stem cells from their children’s milk teeth – but the recipient companies’ claims about their future medical value are unproven and potentially misleading, reveals an investigation by The BMJ, published today. The companies’ claims include that stem cells banked from teeth are already being used in treatments for autism and diabetes. They also highlight current research using stem cells in multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, and heart attacks. Tooth stem cell ...

Ozone will warm planet more than first thought

2025-08-20
The world will warm more than expected due to future changes in ozone, which protects Earth from harmful sun rays but also traps heat as it is a greenhouse gas.  While banning ozone-destroying gases such as CFCs has helped the ozone layer to recover, when combined with increased air pollution the impact of ozone could warm the planet 40% more than originally thought.   A new study led by the University of Reading found that from 2015 to 2050, ozone is expected to cause 0.27 watts ...

Tissue origami: Using light to study and control tissue folding

2025-08-20
The complex 3D shapes of brains, lungs, eyes, hands, and other vital bodily structures emerge from the way in which flat 2D sheets of cells fold during embryonic development. Now, researchers at Columbia Engineering have developed a novel way to use light to influence an animal's own proteins in order to control folding in live embryos. These new findings, detailed Aug. 18 in Nature Communications, may one day lead to a host of applications in biorobotics and medical research. "Being able to precisely control the shape of folds in tissue sheets ...

‘Cyborg jellyfish’ could aid in deep-sea research, inspire next-gen underwater vehicles

2025-08-20
In a towering aquarium in a darkened laboratory, moon jellyfish (Aurelia aurita) hover as if floating in space. The glow of neon lights illuminates their translucent, bell-shaped bodies as they expand and contract rhythmically, their graceful tentacles flowing in wavelike patterns. CU Boulder engineer Nicole Xu watches them with fondness. Xu, an assistant professor in the Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering, first became fascinated with moon jellies more than a decade ago because of their ...

2022 Pacific volcano eruption made a deep dive into Alaska

2025-08-20
Atmospheric waves from a massive 2022 South Pacific volcanic eruption created seismic waves that penetrated Earth to at least 5 kilometers in Alaska, creating an opportunity to employ an unusual method of peering into the state’s deep subsurface. Ken Macpherson, a scientist at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute, and other researchers analyzed the coupling of atmospheric pressure waves with the ground to determine the speed at which seismic waves travel through Alaska’s upper crust.  Subsurface material properties such as hardness, which controls seismic velocity, can ...

International collaboration on nursing and midwifery in the Caribbean deemed a success, according to new study

2025-08-20
PHILADELPHIA (August 20, 2025) – A new publication highlights the success of an international partnership working to strengthen nursing and midwifery in the Caribbean. “Fostering International Collaborations to Inform Nursing and Midwifery Policy: A Caribbean Initiative,” appears in the International Nursing Review. It was led by Penn Nursing’s Eileen T. Lake, PhD, RN, FAAN, the Edith Clemmer Steinbright Professor in Gerontology, with Carmen Alvarez, PhD, CRNP, CNM, FAAN, Associate Professor of Nursing, serving as co-author. The initiative was created to support ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

FIU cybersecurity researchers develop midflight defense against drone hijacking

Kennesaw State researcher aims to discover how ideas spread in the digital age

Next-generation perovskite solar cells are closer to commercial use

Sleep patterns linked to variation in health, cognition, lifestyle, and brain organization

University of Oklahoma researcher awarded funding to bridge gap between molecular data and tissue architecture

Nationally-recognized pathologist Paul N. Staats, MD, named Chair of Pathology at University of Maryland School of Medicine

The world’s snow leopards are very similar genetically. That doesn’t bode well for their future

Researchers find key to stopping deadly infection

Leafcutter ants have blind spots, just like truck drivers

Tayac receives funding for community engagement project

Parker receives funding for Elementary Education Program Professional Development School (PDS)

Physicists uncork a message in a bottle from another star

Sanders receives funding for project aimed at enabling prostheses for children with lower extremity amputation

Engineers develop solid lubricant to replace toxic materials in farming

Repurposing gemstone polishing waste to create smart cement

Patient-physician messaging by race, ethnicity, insurance type, and preferred language

Unrecognized motor difficulties and developmental coordination disorder in preschool children

Background genetic variants influence clinical features in complex disorders

Smarter battery tech knows whether your EV will make it home

Overactive microRNAs block fat cell development in progeria

Crosswalk confusion: MA drivers flummoxed by pedestrian hybrid beacons, find UMass Amherst researchers

Study shows heart disease mortality disproportionately burdens low-income communities in California

Intracardiac echocardiography recognized as ‘transformative’ imaging modality in new SCAI position statement

Study finds ‘man’s best friend’ slows cellular aging in female veterans

To get representative health data, researchers hand out fitbits

Hiring in high-growth firms: new study explores the timing of organizational changes

Boosting work engagement through a simple smartphone diary

Climate change may create ‘ecological trap’ for species who can’t adapt

Scientists create ChatGPT-like AI model for neuroscience to build one of the most detailed mouse brain maps to date

AI and omics unlock personalized drugs and RNA therapies for heart disease

[Press-News.org] Gene sequencing uncovers differences in wild and domesticated crops
Can understanding these differences help researchers breed better crops suited for a changing climate?