SUSTAINABILITY FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE April 2025 79 Since most of the collection was formed well before the scientists sequenced the first crop genome – Ozyra (rice), in 2006 – (and when the reality of climate change seemed a distant threat) the seed collectors could probably only imagine the 21st-century value of what they saved. Rapid advances in genomic sequencing, artificial intelligence and data analysis are unlocking the forages collection’s potential for addressing climate change, nutrition, food security and productivity. And scientists are only getting started. Only 5% of the forage accessions are fully sequenced. “The vast forage collection in the gene bank gave us the impetus for the methane project,” said Juan José Gonazlez, who manages the collection. “We have many understudied, underutilized grasses that we can likely use to mitigate emissions from livestock systems. We’re now preparing to test forages for several other stressors facing livestock systems, including heatwaves, low soil fertility, high salinity, flooding and freezing temperatures.” Before grasses are sent to Andy’s feeding trough, scientists at Future Seeds screen them for desirable traits. These include high concentrations of tannins and other chemicals that reduce methane emissions from ruminant digestion. They also look at resistance to trampling, nutritional value and palatability, which tannins can reduce. “They key is finding the right balance,” Gonzalez said. Scientists also use a massive database built over decades of CGIAR research, Tropical Forages, to find relevant data. The forage collection’s potential extends beyond reducing GHG emissions. Once sequenced, scientists can look for the genes, gene sequences, metabolomics (the study of the process of metabolization) and molecular markers responsible for the desired traits. This opens the door to allele mining, which researchers around the world can use to breed improved crops at the pace demanded by climate change. “We’re in stage of pure discovery,” Gonzalez explained. “These are plants that no one had previously studied in this way; no one said ‘let’s invest in making metabolic profiles of these plants.’ But that’s exactly what we’re doing.” Gonzalez envisions a future where climate-friendly gene bank material is used at scale in grazing livestock systems and by industrial feed producers. The future may already be arriving. Last year, Gonzalez and colleagues published research in PLOS One on how combining traditional and high-tech tools to study crop traits can speed up gene bank research and crop breeding. “When I speak with major feed-makers in Colombia, I ask them why they import costly soy and maize to make feed,” Gonzalez said. “You can instead forge alliances with local producers who can cultivate the forages we have, in the right combinations that you need, and make nutritious pellets at a fraction of the cost in just a few months.” Gonzalez said the gene bank’s forages could significantly reduce grain production costs and negative environmental impacts. Some varieties only need initial watering after planting, then grow vigorously with minimal intervention. They require little machinery, fertilizer, or pest control, rapidly producing valuable biomass. It’s a win for both farmers and the environment. As the planet warms and desertification spreads north, the gene bank’s collection’s relevance for outside the tropics extends beyond allele mining. One successful strategy for restoring degraded land also wreaked by desertification uses a stepwise approach that begins with planting small, robust plants (many of which are in Future Seeds) that can restore soil nutrients and retain moisture. Planting suitable trees follows. Gonzalez points to accomplished restoration projects in Africa that employ this strategy. If adopted by restorationists in places dealing with desertification like Spain or the Southwestern United States, it could turn the development paradigm on its head by transferring knowledge from the south to the north – and further underscore the global importance of foreign climate aid. Additionally, plants no longer feasible for resto-
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