Australian and Indian scientists say they have launched a research collaboration using artificial intelligence (AI) and genome editing to help protect rice crops from rising global temperatures.
The project, “Designer crops: engineering thermo tolerance for agricultural productivity,” is led by Australia’s Monash University in partnership with India’s National Institute for Plant Genome.
The Research under the Australia-India Strategic Research Fund is worth 3.76 million Australian dollars ($2.67 million), according to a Monash statement.
Researchers will use AI and CRISPR-based genome editing to identify how plant proteins respond to heat stress and make precise genetic changes to improve thermo tolerance, it said, adding promising lines will be tested in diverse environments to evaluate performance and productivity.
The project aimed to deliver practical solutions for farmers facing a changing climate, said Monash Professor Sureshkumar Balasubramanian.
“As global temperatures rise, crops like rice are increasingly exposed to heat stress that can dramatically reduce yields,” he said.
Sridevi Sureshkumar from Monash School of Biological Sciences said the theoretical designer crops will be a league above modified crops already in use around the world.
“Now that we have been able to identify exactly which elements within the plants are temperature-responsive, we can genetically manipulate them with greater accuracy,” she said.