iba 2018

••• 19••• Innovationen Researchers fully mapped wheat genome There is hope to nd new and more nutritious varieties to feed the growing world’s population A thirteen-year scientific effort has culminated in a paper published in a science magazine: over 200 scientists from 73 re- search institutions in 20 countries joined forces to map the genome of bread wheat. Researchers from Helmholtz ZentrumMünchen and the Leibniz Institute of Plant Ge- netics and Crop Plant Research (IPK) also played a leading role. It is hoped that the findings will open up new prospects for feed- ing the world’s population. Wheat serves as an important source of vitamins and minerals. In order to meet the future needs of a projected world population of 9.6 billion (by 2050), wheat productivity has to increase by 1.6 per cent per year. To conserve biodiversity as well as water and nutrient resources, most of this increase must be achieved by im- proving the crops themselves and their characteristics and by grow- ing them on existing farmland rather than exploiting new land for cultivation. The published sequence is the first nearly complete reference genome of wheat – a key tool for understanding, researching or im- proving the grain. “It was long be- lieved that it was impossible to se- quence the bread-wheat genome in its entirety, because it is mas- sive and complex,” says Dr. Nils Stein from IPK. “The wheat ge- nome, five times bigger than the human genome, is divided into three subgenomes and is distrib- uted over 21 chromosomes with numerous repeated elements.” The researchers who are all in- volved in the International Wheat Genome Sequencing Consortium (IWGSC) hope that their work will now lead to new wheat varieties that are better adapted to climat- ic challenges, deliver higher and, above all, more stable yields, and are even more nutritious. A fur- ther aim is to make the cultivation and utilization of wheat more sus- tainable. Wheat, after all, is and will remain a crucial crop for glob- al food security: it is a staple food for over one-third of the world’s population and supplies almost 20 per cent of the carbohydrates and proteins in people’s diet – more than any other food. Wheat, staple food for over one-third of the world’s population Photo: Johannes Plenio on Unsplash KOMPETENZZENTRUM Bäckerei Konditorei Confiserie Aus- und Weiterbildung Beratung und Coaching Internationaler Fachverlag Richemont Besuchen Sie uns und profitieren Sie von unserer Buch-Promo Visit our stand and benefit from our book promotion HALLE A2 STAND 311 Seeburgstrasse 51 | CH-6006 Luzern | www.richemont.online Special-Promo bis zu/up to -45% CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE for bakery and confectionery Vocational education and training Consulting and coaching International publishing house Anzeige