India, March 2 -- W
hen it comes to building resilience, and turning genes on and off in order to counter threats and promote longevity, experiments have already begun in the world of plants.
Potatoes are being gene-edited to resist fungi in the warm, wet Peruvian Andes. Sorghum is being taught to resist parasitic plants such as witchweed in Africa. Grape vines in the US are being armed against a common powdery mildew.
There are even plans to edit the pearl millet to improve the shelf life of its flour after it is milled.
At the Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI) at the University of California (Berkeley and San Francisco), there has been excitement over small, early success in an effort to develop drought-tolerant rice.
This project ...