by Prabarna Ganguly
And now a healthy dose of climate science…
Climate change is causing us to adapt to ongoing and future shifts in the fundamental workings of Earth's ecosystem and weather patterns. We are all too familiar with some of these issues (to name a few): Threats to food security, extended drought and wildfire seasons, increased disease outbreaks, and reduced species diversity.
While experts are trying to find answers to the climate crisis through social, economic, and policy changes, some are betting on an unexpected ally. Could the genetic code in all living beings be the leg up we need to be resilient to such changes?
Breaking down DNA
DNA is made up of four chemical letters: A, C, G, and T. A complete collection of those letters in the body of an organism is called a genome. Climate scientists and biologists alike recognize that studying the genome, a field called genomics, could forge a new way of adapting to impending environmental changes.
Climate change is acutely impacting species' survival due to geological changes such as sea-level rise, rising temperatures, and lack of food resources. Researchers are asking if biology can play a role in finding potential solutions. This is where DNA, the key genetic material associated with life on Earth, comes into play.
Livestock changes
One such space is in farming and livestock management. How well livestock adapt to climate change largely depends on how long they live and what resistance traits they have. Both these qualities affect their reproductive success. Stress caused by high temperatures can adversely affect how livestock grow and the quality of milk they produce.
Another issue is that livestock production itself contributes to climate change, with over 14% of global greenhouse gas emissions attributable to the livestock sector. For example, cows belch out 220 pounds of methane each year.
Image credit: Unsplash
Farmers are under immense pressure to increase livestock production, and associated products to feed an ever-growing human population, but also find ways to reduce the carbon footprint of their industry. While these two expectations may run counter to one another, advancements in genomics could hold some unexpected answers.
Due to modern DNA sequencing technologies, scientists now have access to the genomes of various farming animals, including poultry, cattle, horses, sheep, pigs, and goats. DNA sequence data are usually largely similar within species. However, there are individual differences. These are usually millions of single DNA letter changes in certain regions of the genome that differ from one animal to another. These “variations” can help predict how an individual animal may respond to stressful environmental factors, as well as their risk of developing certain diseases and response to specific drugs.
“This way, farmers can hypothetically breed climate-resilient livestock”
In the future, as researchers learn more about genomic regions and their link to controlled production, adaptations, and methane emissions, we may come closer to combating the negative repercussions of extensive livestock production. This way, farmers can hypothetically breed climate-resilient livestock.
Biological invasions
Invasive Species
These are any plants, animals and microorganisms that have accidentally or intentionally been introduced outside of their natural habitat.
With the COVID-19 pandemic still raging in many parts of the world, we need new ways of reducing biological invasions by invasives. Usually invasive species can spread and negatively impact the environment. The number of invasive species will most likely increase in the future since many evolve rapidly in response to habitat disturbances and other climate-based shifts.
Biological invasions threaten species and ecosystems worldwide. Phragmites, as an example above, have a cosmopolitan distribution and have dominated native species in marsh communities and along the borders of lakes, ponds, and rivers in many parts of North America.
Image credit: Windingscience.com
For example, copepods, tiny crustaceans that can live in salt and freshwater, can tolerate low and highly saline conditions, and certain parasitic copepod species may de-stabilize native species. Soapberry bugs can adapt to new host plants, hence changing the local ecosystem. Many invasive weeds adapt by mimicking their look to different crops to avoid being eradicated.
Genomics can help pinpoint the origins of these invasive species and the kinds of biological changes that have made their resistance to environmental and habitat changes possible. Genomics experts should also be able to detect future invasive species and their location. Also, knowing the genome sequences of species that are likely to spread will be critical for targeted control by reducing their genetic variation. Eventually, conservation biologists can potentially manage invasive species by relocating them and growing versions of the species with reduced genetic diversity so that they do not tamper with the ecosystem significantly.
To fight climate change, we need unexpected and creative problem-solving ways. DNA analysis and genomics will be one of many lines of defense we will need to ensure a flourishing future.