Potato Improver
Potato Improver is a project developing heat-resistant potato varieties using the 2020 Nobel Prize awarded CRISPR/Cas technology, also known as the gene scissors, to address the growing challenges in agriculture posed by a warmer climate.
Potato is one of the world’s most important staple crops, and in many low- and middle-income countries, it is a crucial food source gaining increasing popularity. With rising temperatures, the risk of reduced yields increases, threatening food security for millions of people. By engineering specific genetic elements for enhanced heat tolerance, the project aims to create potato varieties that can withstand temperature increases of 5–7 degrees Celsius, as well as be grown in regions with a warmer climate than today optimal for potato cultivation. This enables stable yields even in the most heat-prone regions, contributing to global food security
