Molecular Precision Tools to Combat Hidden Hunger
Biofortification Through Genome Editing: Crops Are Set to Become More Climate-Resilient and Nutrient-Rich
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More than two billion people worldwide suffer from micronutrient deficiencies—a condition also known as “hidden hunger.” The reason: Over thousands of years, our crops have been bred primarily for higher yields. Their ability to produce vitamins and accumulate trace elements has been largely neglected in the process. A new article in the journal NATURE shows how the latest advances in genetic engineering can help improve the nutritional quality of key staple crops and strengthen their resilience to climate change.
More than 700 million people suffer from calorie deficiency—the “classic” form of hunger—but over two billion people are affected by “hidden hunger” because they lack essential micronutrients such as vitamins and minerals. Climate change further exacerbates this crisis by reducing the nutritional quality of key crops. While the “Green Revolution” of the 1960s significantly increased the yields of many crops, it often came at the expense of nutritional quality. Conventional breeding methods have so far reached their limits in solving this problem—especially when it comes to increasing the vitamin content of plants.
The authors of the article—Dominique Van Der Straeten of Ghent University, Alisdair Fernie of the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Plant Physiology, and their colleagues—describe how CRISPR-Cas and related genetic technologies can specifically improve the vitamin and mineral content of crops. At the same time, such methods could increase plants’ resilience to climate-related stress, such as drought, soil salinization, or flooding.
There are already examples of such developments today: These include “Golden Rice,” which is rich in provitamin A; rice and potatoes with increased folate content; and genetically modified tomatoes with higher vitamin D levels. Such innovations could help better meet daily requirements for essential nutrients through staple foods.
The authors emphasize that biofortification using genetic technologies can offer a cost-effective and long-term solution. It has the potential to quickly reach particularly vulnerable populations and reduce malnutrition worldwide. With an eye toward the United Nations’ goal of ending global hunger by 2030, internationally coordinated regulations based on scientific evidence could support the introduction of gene-edited crops. Regions most severely affected by hunger and climate change could benefit the most from this.
Public education, engagement with the public, and international cooperation are crucial to preserving biodiversity in both crop plants and natural ecosystems—and, at the same time, ensuring that as many people as possible can benefit from innovations in modern plant breeding.
Note: This article has been translated using a computer system without human intervention. LUMITOS offers these automatic translations to present a wider range of current news. Since this article has been translated with automatic translation, it is possible that it contains errors in vocabulary, syntax or grammar. The original article in German can be found here.
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