Charles Underwood at Radboud University and Kejian Wang and his team at the China National Rice Research Institute made a breakthrough on the function of this gene, which plays a role in the clonal reproduction of plants like dandelion and hawkweed.
Why is this research important?
Clonal reproduction could be useful in breeding to ensure that the best traits in hybrid plants (such as producing a lot of fruit, or being able to withstand drought or heat) remain the same in the next growing season. Ultimately it could reduce costs for farmers and improve food security.
What did the researchers do?
The researchers built on the work of Gregor Mendel (the founding father of the field of genetics) and helped resolve one of his outstanding questions about how plants like hawkweed reproduce. Most plants (like pea, tomato and rice) reproduce by sexual reproduction. Some plants (like dandelion and hawkweed) have abandoned sex and develop clonal seeds without fertilization by a process called parthenogenesis.
The new study demonstrated that the hawkweed PpPAR gene can be used to trigger parthenogenesis in rice. When the PpPAR gene is combined with the ‘MiMe module’ (a genetic system that makes clonal egg cells) the rice plants can produce clonal seeds – which means the rice plants can basically clone themselves, instead of relying on sexual reproduction.
This research is therefore a step towards a novel hybrid rice breeding system.
Does this kind of research interest you?
In that case, our new Crop Biotechnology and Engineering master would be perfect for you! This new Master of Science programme will welcome the first cohort of students in September 2026 and is a collaboration with Maastricht University. The programme will be taught at the Brightlands Campus Greenport Venlo, an emerging hub for agri-food innovation in the region. Read all about the programme here.
