Breeding Plants and Computational Biology’s Role

Researchers use new plant genome data produced by genome sequencing technology in combination with the data obtained from measuring various plant traits such as fungal infection resistance, color, flavor, etc.,  to identify correlations between genetic variants and crop traits. However, identifying gene variant combinations to breed crops with enhanced quality is a challenge due to a limited understanding of how genetic variation influences gene activity at the molecular level.  To address this challenge, a team of researchers from the IPK Leibniz Institute, Germany, and Forschungszentrum Jülich (FZ), Germany have developed deep learning models using a vast dataset that contains genomic information on several plant species. Research details can be found at https://www.ipk-gatersleben.de/en/pressemitteilungen/artikel/pressemitteilung-25042024