De Novo Crop Domestication

De Novo Crop Domestication The cultivation of wild crops is the evolution of wild plants through human selection. As this is an evolutionary process, crop species change genetically through a sequence of mutations from their wild ancestors. This process started about 12,000 years ago in the Fertile Crescent and the Middle East. As time progressed, it spread to China, Mesoamerica, eastern North America, the Andes, near Oceania, sub-Saharan Africa, and subsequently other regions of the world. Generally, crops that were important for human survival and had highly variable genetic traits were considered cultivable by our ancestors. Artificial selection begins the process of making wild crop plants cultivable. The initiation of artificial selection, the skill of the breeder, and the continuity of selection are particularly important in cultivating wild crops.

De novo crop domestication refers to intentionally domesticating new plant species for agricultural purposes. Unlike traditional crop domestication, which involves selecting and modifying existing wild plant species, de novo domestication focuses on identifying and transforming wild plants that have not been traditionally cultivated. De novo crop domestication aims to expand the range of crops available for human consumption and address agricultural challenges such as climate change, pests, diseases, and population growth. By exploring unexplored wild plant species, researchers can discover novel traits and genetic diversity that enhance crop resilience, productivity, and nutritional value.

Cultivated crops have a narrow genetic base. Crops' wild relatives can provide new and useful genetic characteristics that can be introduced into elite cultivars by exploiting their genetic diversity. Direct domestication of wild crop relatives for developing commercial varieties could be a complementary approach. Traditional domestication processes are slow, requiring millennia, as evolution proceeds through spontaneous mutations. By using established methods, it would be impractical, if possible, to make such genetic changes in crop relatives. However, with increasing knowledge of the genetics involved in crop domestication, multiplex genome editing technologies are being investigated to speed up the domestication process.

De novo domestication of wild species or orphan crops using genome editing is a unique technology among new plant breeding technologies developed so far. Many recent successful examples, de novo domestication of wild rice and tomato, indicate this. Similarly, gene editing applications have been explored for increasing the yield and utility of orphan crops, including sorghum, millet, cowpea, and quinoa. In summary, de novo crop domestication offers an innovative approach to expanding the range of cultivated crops and addressing agricultural challenges. Researchers aim to create more sustainable and resilient agricultural systems to benefit global food security and environmental sustainability by harnessing the genetic potential of previously untapped plant species. [Md Tofazzal Islam]

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