Speed breeding: a space inspired technology.

Abstract

Abstract Speed breeding technology reduces the breeding cycle and fastens crop research by producing many generations within a short period of time. In this technology, plants are exposed to an extended light and reduced night time for rapid generation advancement. For instance, wheat crop can be cultivated for 2-3 generations per year under normal glass house conditions but employing speed breeding, it can be cultivated up to 6 generations per year. Speed breeding approach is inspired by NASA experiments conducted on a space mission where wheat crops were grown inside small chambers exposed to a continuous source of light. The basic principal underlying this technique is optimization of photosynthetic activity to promote rapid growth of crops, whereas the extended photoperiod with a short dark period supports functional expression of circadian clock genes. The circadian clock coordinates the biological processes with changing external environment and acts as an internal timekeeper. Under controlled environment of growth chambers, speed breeding can accelerate plant development phase which will be useful for variety development and crop research purposes including phenotyping, mutant studies and transformation. In the process of variety development, conventional breeding approaches take 7-10 years for crossing and inbreeding to develop genetically stable lines, while speed breeding takes only 2 years for crossing and inbreeding. Moreover, this technology can speed up genomic selection and can be integrated with other advanced techniques like genome editing and high throughput genotyping.