Aided by artificial intelligence, researchers at UC Davis managed to strengthen plants’ immune response by re-engineering protein structures that detect disease, known as immune receptors, to recognize newly evolved pathogens. The method may provide a more sustainable solution for tomato farmers near Sacramento — the Big Tomato — who typically fight illnesses such as wilt disease and southern blight with environmentally damaging pesticides.
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Gene editing plants to improve resistance [o]ffers an alternative to pesticide use, which can unintentionally harm humans and the environment.
If the process can be applied on a larger scale, the U.S. Department of Agriculture would consider modified crops gene-edited rather than transgenic. The latter encompasses organisms containing artificially introduced genetic material from a different species, and are regulated more closely by the USDA.
“We’ll only change a very small fraction of the receptor, that sweet spot,” [Tianrun “Jerry”] Li said. “So that will give you a faster turnaround time to introduce that in the field and benefit growers in a shorter time.”