University of Illinois study shows dwindling genetic diversity in corn hybrids, threatening future yields
In Illinois, WPSD reported that a new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign shows a lack of genetic variance in corn across the corn belt, potentially posing a major problem for farmers in the future.
Researchers said that breeders have reused the strongest performing lines as parents for decades, gradually reducing the overall diversity within each hybrid group of corn. According to the study, the hybrids dominate commercial production in the U.S. and represent close to a third of the world’s corn production.
However, this low genetic diversity can cause problems because the hybrid group could fail to help the development of new hybrids that meet future yield goals, according to the report.
“When genetic variation becomes too low, many plants become genetically very similar. And if they are very similar, breeders have fewer plants to select from, making it much harder to develop better hybrids,” said Jenifer Camila Godoy dos Santos, a researcher in the Department of Crop Sciences at the University of Illinois. “That’s why our finds are very important, because we found that genetic variation for grain yield is limited… it suggests that this breeding population may no longer have enough genetic variation to continue improving grain yield at the same pace as before.”
Category: Food & Agriculture
