Addis Ababa (March 5, 2024) – The Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR) today kicks off a “Genome Editing in Tef for Uplifting Productivity project.”
The research project , dubbed GET-UP, is meant to validate the already improved Semi-dwarf Tef , in a first of its kind genome editing project in the United States, here in Ethiopia under greenhouse and multi-location field conditions and generate lodging resistance traits.
Opening the half-day Kick Off meeting here in Addis , Deputy Director General of EIAR Dr. Chilot Yirga indicated that the project is a collaborative project between his institution and the Danforth Center and it aspires to deliver gene edited lodging tolerant Tef lines to the Ethiopian farmers.
Scientists Have Already Developed Semi-dwarf Tef
It was disclosed that the improved Tef lines have demonstrated lodging resistance in the Danforth Center’s greenhouse and Field Research Site.
โThis will be a key achievement for the project. It promises to capacitate EIAR’s biotech center and our researchers to conduct gene editing here at home. It integrates discovery and deployment strategies which are the two main areas of funding from BMGF,โ he added.
In addition to validating the already improved Semi-dwarf Tef in the US, the project aims at training Ethiopian scientists on the development of cultivar-independent transformation and editing methodologies and do new genome editing activities in farmer-preferred varieties by EIAR, it was noted.
For the project, EIAR and the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center have received a $4.9 million grant from The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to build on previous advances in gene editing of the grain for reduced height and lodging resistance in advanced, farmer preferred tef lines.
One of the principal investigators of the project and Director of Ag-Biotech Research at EIAR Dr. Dejene Girma also said : “I believe that the outputs of this project will change the ‘ancient nature Tef husbandry.”
He further pointed out : “In addition, the generous grant from the foundation will provide EIAR the opportunity to train its researchers and develop gene editing capacity for this key food security crop and ultimately deliver lodging resistant tef lines to smallholder farmers.”
Speaking about the project, Getu Duguma, PhD, senior research scientist and principal investigator at the Danforth Center said: “By hamessing the genome editing technology, it was possible to achieve semidwarf lodging resistant lines that breeders have been looking for decades,”
“The funding from the Gates Foundation will support bringing this technology closer to where farmers need it the most.”
To address the issue of Tef lodging, Duguma and his collaborators deployed gene editing tool to generate the semi-dwarf lines that are 10-50% shorter than the original, EIRA writes in its statement.
According to the statement, Tef (Eragrostis tef) is the largest cereal cultivated by area in Ethiopia. More than 80 million people rely on the crop. It is central to food and economic security, providing up to two-thirds of the country’s protein and dietary fiber.
Annual Tef Production Loss Due To Lodging Estimated To 23-30%
The ancient grain is gluten-free and rich in essential minerals such as iron, calcium, and magnesium. Tef is renowned for its adaptability to diverse growing conditions and drought tolerance, making it a promising candidate for a climate-resilient crop.
The challenge lies in the tall and weak stem causing the plants to fall over, a phenomenon known as ‘lodging’ that is often affected by rain, wind, soil type, topography and the addition of nitrogen fertilizer.
Lodging is a major impediment to modernizing tef production and inhibiting mechanized harvesting. The estimated annual production loss due to lodging amounts to 23-30%, EIAR said.
Dr. Chilot says : โ In the field of agriculture, gene editing technology holds promise to deliver crop varieties that withstand various stresses such as droughts, floods, insect pests, or diseases and crops that possess quality traits for use as food, feed, or for processing.โ
He further underscores that the genome editing technology has proven to be more precise, effective, and more affordable than the usual modern biotechnologies.
โHowever, to safely harness the opportunities arising from genome editing for development, having functional regulatory guidelines is important.”
โSoon after the ratification of the amended biosafety law in 2015 and over the past 8 years, we have conducted contained laboratory tests on GM-Enset and confined field trials of Bt-cotton and Bt-maize.”
” We have done so, based on the official permit granted and using the biosafety directives issued by the Ethiopian Environmental Authority.”
“Likewise, EIAR anticipates that our gene editing guideline will soon be official to undertake this project,โ the Deputy Director General says.
The Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research is one of the oldest and largest agricultural public research institution in Africa. The Institute has evolved through several stages since its first initiation during the late 1940s.
EIAR’s mission is to conduct research that will provide market competitive agricultural technologies that will contribute to increased agricultural productivity and nutrition quality, sustainable food security, economic development, and conservation of the integrity of natural resources and the environment.
There are 22 fully fledged agricultural research centers administered by EIAR. These centers are strategically spread across the country to address agricultural problems in different agro-ecologies.