Abstract
Adaptation measures are necessary to ensure the stability and performance of the food supply relative to anthropogenic climate change. Although a wide range of measures have been proposed (e.g., planting dates, crop choices, drought resistance), there may be a ubiquitous means to increase productivity relatively quickly. Numerous studies have shown that the projected increase in atmospheric CO2 can stimulate crop growth and seed yield with noted intra-specific differences within crop cultivars, suggesting potential differences to CO2 that could be exploited to enhance seed yield in the future. However, it is worth emphasizing that atmospheric CO2 has already risen substantially (≈27% since 1970) and that, at present, no active effort by breeders has been made to select for the CO2 increase that has already occurred. In contrast, for weedy or crop wild relatives (CWR), there are indications of evolutionary adaptation to these recent increases. While additional steps are needed, the identification and introgression of these CO2-sensitive traits into modern crop cultivars may be a simple and direct means to increase crop growth and seed yield.
Highlights
Maintaining food security is a seminal objective for the remainder of the century
There are a number of exemplary and ongoing efforts to select for crop lines that can respond to climatic extremes, such as drought or extreme temperature [5,6,7]. There is another genetic approach that is becoming recognized as a potential adaptation tool: the selection of intra-specific variation in seed yield among C3 crop cultivars in response to projected increases in atmospheric CO2
While crop wild relatives (CWR) can make an effective contribution to broadening the genetic diversity of crops, their direct use in breeding has primarily focused on introgressing loci for disease resistance, not abiotic stress [48,49]
Summary
Maintaining food security is a seminal objective for the remainder of the century. While there are a number of recognized obstacles to achieve this objective, environmental limitations associated with unprecedented anthropogenic change threaten core aspects, including production, access, and quality. Climatic-induced changes in biotic competition from agronomic pests (insects, disease, weeds) pose another significant constraint to global food production [3,4] Such vulnerabilities within the agronomic food chain necessitate an immediate need to begin adapting crops to empirical threats associated with climatic change. There are a number of exemplary and ongoing efforts to select for crop lines that can respond to climatic extremes, such as drought or extreme temperature [5,6,7] There is another genetic approach that is becoming recognized as a potential adaptation tool: the selection of intra-specific variation in seed yield among C3 crop cultivars in response to projected increases in atmospheric CO2. Has this recent increase been exploited through ongoing artificial selection to choose current crop lines that are CO2 sensitive? Has the increase in CO2 been sufficient to begin evolutionary selection for increased growth and seed yield for weedy or crop wild relatives (CWR)? The objective of the current review is to compare and contrast selection efforts from breeders and nature with respect to CO2 sensitivity and potential seed yield for these two groups and to provide insight into metrics that could be of immediate (and future) benefit for utilizing CO2 to increase crop growth and seed yield
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