How does it work?
Evolution
Cultivation
Gene technology
Evolution is slow Evolution is founded on chance mutation and natural selection. Human beings have devised numerous cultivation methods for animals and plants. But these too are slow, while famine and climate change are putting us under increasing pressure. Normally, the only way to bring about rapid change would be through genetic engineering.
A built-in driver of change Transposons offer us a way forward. These gene segments make up some 40-45 percent of the genome. They can change their position in the DNA and thereby regulate new genes when environmental stress increases.
Epigenetics takes the brakes off Normally, transposons are hindered in their mobility. So-called ‘TE bursts’ only occur in extreme situations, and these allow the transposons to spread out over the whole genome. The startup Epibreed has learned how to trigger this mobility artificially, using a chemical treatment to alter epigenetic markers.
Accelerating evolution without genetic engineering These newly dispersed transposons can activate additional genes in cases of stress. This makes it possible for evolutionary adjustments to occur much quicker – such as in cases of heat or drought. The plants treated with the Epibreed method can survive, and pass on their newly won abilities to the next generation.
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