European consortium aims to breed tomatoes that beat heat and drought without losing yield

A crop that can withstand heat and drought, maintain high yields and offer improved nutritional value: that is the ambition of a new international research project. In a warming world it aims to address one of crop breeding's oldest challenges: resilience to environmental stress without sacrificing productivity.

Five European and international research partners have launched INPROBED, a four-year research project that is coordinated by leading plant biotechnology company KeyGene and funded by the prestigious European Innovation Council (EIC) Pathfinder programme.

A trade-off that has held back breedingHeat and drought are putting pressure on crop yields worldwide at a time when more food is needed to feed a growing population. Harvests are already suffering across Europe. The challenge is that plants must balance survival and productivity: the more energy they invest in coping with heat and drought, the less remains for growth and yield.

© INPROBED

Conventional breeding, based on crossing and selection over many generations, has delivered major improvements in crop performance, but developing varieties that combine multiple complex traits can take many years. The new research project takes a different route, massively enhancing the natural response of plants to unfavorable conditions.

Learning from nature's own switches

INPROBED focuses on so-called promoters: the natural regulatory switches in a plant's DNA that determine when, where and how strongly a gene is expressed. The project first identifies which switches are active when tomato plants experience heat, drought and mineral deficiency, using genome-wide sequencing and AI. The next step is to use CRISPR-Cas gene editing techniques to make small, targeted adjustments to these switches. Rather than turning genes completely on or off, the project fine-tunes their activity only where and when needed.

No foreign DNA is introduced. The approach builds on what nature, or conventional breeding, could eventually achieve, but is expected to speed up this process. The modifications are designed to comply with the limits proposed under upcoming EU legislation on New Genomic Techniques (NGTs).

"For a long time, breeders had to choose between a plant that copes with stress and a plant that delivers high yields. INPROBED is exploring whether we can achieve both, in a genetically elegant way using NGTs," says Dick Roelofs, project leader at KeyGene. "We are not adding anything foreign to the plant. We are learning how its own switches work. If this approach succeeds in tomato, it could help many other crops adapt to a changing climate."

Tomato today, other crops tomorrow

Tomato was chosen as a commercially and nutritionally important European crop to prove the concept. The promoter-editing workflow is built to be generic, so it can later be transferred to other vegetables and crops. Next to improving plant resilience to heat, drought and mineral deficiency, the project also aims to increase the levels of essential nutritional elements zinc and iron, and of provitamin D.

Early-stage science, honest expectations

INPROBED is a fundamental research project. Within four years, the consortium aims to validate at least two multi-trait tomato lines at Technology Readiness Level 4: a tested prototype, not a commercial product. Results will be shared openly through publications, contributions to webinars and open workshops.

For more information:

INPROBED

Email: [email protected]

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