Heat tolerant crops achievable but require long timelines and major investment

Heat tolerant crops achievable but require long timelines and major investment
by Clarence Oxford
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jun 17, 2025

Laboratory and field studies confirm that modifying photosynthesis and plant structure can significantly increase crop resilience to high temperatures, according to a new review published in Science. Researchers at the University of Illinois say these changes could mitigate yield losses from global warming-but scaling up such innovations remains a challenge.

Scientists can now fine-tune photosynthesis, adjust leaf chemistry and orientation, and enhance thermal tolerance in crops. However, translating these traits into commercially viable solutions is time-intensive. "The timeline from identifying a beneficial trait to getting it in a farmer's field is long," said Donald Ort, co-author of the review alongside colleagues Stephen Long and Carl Bernacchi. "The breeding cycle for a conventional trait can be 10 to 12 years."

Bioengineering offers a quicker route, but regulatory barriers are steep. "Given the high cost of taking a bioengineered trait to market, you want to be sure that it works everywhere," Long explained. He estimated the deregulation process for a single transgenic trait can exceed $115 million and take over 16 years.

Less expensive gene-editing techniques that modify existing plant genes are being explored. These approaches sidestep many regulatory hurdles because they avoid introducing foreign DNA.

Field trials have already validated many strategies, including adjusting leaf angles to reduce overheating and improve water efficiency, increasing leaf reflectivity, and managing stomatal activity to balance cooling with productivity.

Rubisco, the enzyme responsible for carbon assimilation, is a major focus. Enhancing it using more heat-efficient variants from other species could boost crop performance in hotter environments. Likewise, redistributing chlorophyll to lower leaves can increase photosynthesis and reduce heat concentration in the upper canopy.

Despite promising results, urgency is mounting. Global temperatures are expected to reduce yields of staple grains by 6% to 16% by 2050, even as food demand could rise by over 50%.

"There are real opportunities to address temperature increases, to future-proof the crop against rising temperatures," said Long. "It isn't an impossibility. But it's going to mean significant, very significant effort."

Research Report:Safeguarding crop photosynthesis in a rapidly warming world