LONDON—Researchers are developing a new computing tool that could help scientists predict how plants will react to different environmental conditions in order to create better crops, such as tastier and longer lasting tomatoes.
A prototype of the new tool currently is being tested. It can analyze in a matter of minutes, instead of months, which genes are responsible for different processes inside a plant, and how different genes work together. It uses a type of computer programming that relies on ‘machine learning’, a set of sophisticated algorithms that allows a computer to ‘learn’ based on data that it is analyzing. The researchers say the tool will recognize complex patterns in that data to find ‘nuggets’ of information about plant biology that might previously have taken months or even years to find.
Professor Stephen Muggleton, Director of the new Centre from the Department of Computing at Imperial College London, said, “We believe our computing tool will revolutionize agricultural research by making the process much faster than is currently possible using conventional techniques. We hope that our new technology will ultimately help farmers to produce hardier, longer lasting and more nutritious crops.”
For the first project using the tool, scientists will look at how different genes affect the way a tomato’s flesh hardens and tastes, and how the fruit’s skin changes color from green to red. Researchers hope that this will enable them to develop new tomato strains that are tastier, and that redden earlier and soften later so that they can be transported more easily to market. These qualities could be especially useful in developing countries, where factors such as poor transport can quickly spoil fruit and vegetables.