Developing GRAFTing to enABLE hybridisation of new species for agriculture and forestry

Introduction

Modern agriculture depends on developing new crops and techniques to enhance yields, disease resistance, and tolerance to drought and extreme temperatures. One such innovation has been the development of plant grafting, whereby two plants are cut and joined together to combine their best properties.

Grafting Process

At the graft junction, cells from the different plants expand, divide, and in some instances, exchange genetic material including DNA. This exchange of DNA forms hybrid cells between the two plants. Our ability to graft distantly related plants is growing, and thus, hybridisation at the graft junction is a promising means to allow plants to hybridise that normally could not.

Knowledge Gaps

However, how tissues fuse and cells hybridise remains largely unknown, and our ability to exploit this hybridisation technology remains limited.

Project Overview

In GRAFT-ABLE, I will consolidate my expertise in plant grafting and build a dedicated team to identify the processes and molecular players that contribute to tissue fusion and DNA exchange at the graft junction in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana.

Methodology

Using a combination of advanced microscopy techniques, single-cell sequencing, and genetic screens, I will:

1. Identify how cells hybridise.
2. Determine which genes and cells contribute to hybrid cell formation.

Using this information, I will deploy chemicals and novel grafting techniques to enhance hybridisation rates and to develop transgene-free methods for hybrid formation. Graft hybrids will be generated from Arabidopsis thaliana to its relatives and also from various agriculturally relevant species.

Expected Outcomes

By unravelling the molecular and developmental processes that occur at the graft junction, GRAFT-ABLE will provide fundamental information to better understand:

• How different plants fuse tissues.
• How hybrids form.
• Develop novel methodologies to isolate and grow hybrids.

Such hybrids could overcome breeding barriers and combine genomes from two species to form superior plants for agriculture and forestry.