Nove genomske tehnike za natančno žlahtnjenje rastlin

Abstract

Climate change, new diseases and resource constraints are affecting the sustainable production of sufficient and quality food, requiring the continuous adaptation of plant varieties to existing and future production systems. Crop varieties of the future must be more resilient to biotic and abiotic stresses, and able to convert the energy and nutrients they receive into food more efficiently, presenting significant opportunities for innovation. The development of plant biotechnology and genetics, the application of knowledge gained from high-throughput omics approaches, and advanced statistical analysis and machine learning methods have greatly accelerated the identification of specific breeding targets that can make an important contribution to sustainable agriculture and food security. We review the scientific literature to explain how new genomic techniques work, how they differ from commonly accepted breeding methods and what advantages they have over traditional techniques. We then discuss which plants, and their traits have been modified, the intricacies of relevant legislation, particularly from the perspective of GMOs, and summarise the conclusions drawn from the public debate concerning the necessity and potential risks of these techniques.Podnebne spremembe, nove bolezni ter omejeni viri vplivajo na trajnostno pridelavo zadostne količine kakovostne hrane, kar zahteva stalno prilagajanje sort kmetijskih rastlin obstoječim in prihodnjim sistemom pridelave. Sorte kmetijskih rastlin morajo biti v prihodnosti odpornejše na biotske in abiotske dejavnike, prav tako pa morajo prejeto energijo in hranila učinkoviteje pretvoriti v kakovostne sestavine, pri čemer je veliko prostora za inovacije. Z razvojem rastlinske biotehnologije in genetike, uporabo znanj pridobljenih z visokozmogljivimi omskimi pristopi in naprednimi statističnimi analizami ter z metodami strojnega učenja se je močno pospešilo doseganje specifičnih žlahtniteljskih ciljev, ki lahko pomembno prispevajo k trajnostnemu kmetijstvu in varni preskrbi s hrano. S pregledom znanstvene literature pojasnjujemo, kako delujejo nove genomske tehnike, v čem se razlikujejo od splošno sprejetih metod žlahtnjenja in kakšne prednosti imajo v primerjavi s klasičnimi tehnikami žlahtnjenja rastlin. V nadaljevanju obravnavamo, katere rastline in njihove lastnosti so bile spremenjene z novimi tehnikami, kako je oblikovana ustrezna zakonodaja, tudi z vidika gensko spremenjenih organizmov, ter povzemamo zaključke javne razprave o njihovi potrebi in možnih tveganjih