Saturday, November 22, 2025

Plant breeding discovery could pave way for new crop species

UMass Amherst researcher integral part of international team that identified a specific pollen signal from the cabbage family governing species recognition

University of Massachusetts Amherst

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UMass Amherst Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Alice Cheung
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Credit: UMass Amherst

AMHERST, Mass. — One of the great mysteries in plant biology is how, given the clouds of pollen released by dozens of plants species all at the same time, an individual plant can recognize which particular species’ pollen grains will induce fertility and which to reject. We are now one step closer to solving the mystery thanks to research recently published in Science by an international team from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and China’s Shandong Agricultural University.

Many flowering plants have evolved what’s known as “self-incompatibility,” or the inability to mate with itself and close relatives. In this way, a plant can avoid the pitfalls of inbreeding. But what about the pollen from species that are more distantly related, yet within the same family?

UMass Amherst’s Alice Cheung, Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at UMass Amherst and one of the paper’s senior authors and a key member of the team that used the Brassicaceae family of plants—which includes cabbages, broccoli, kale, turnips, the oil crop canola and other common vegetables—to study the poorly understood mechanism of “interspecific incompatibility,” or ISI, which is what keeps pollen from broccoli from fertilizing kale and producing a hybrid species—kale-occoli. The problem is that breeding between distantly related relatives to generate new species with and improved or a wider range of traits is beneficial to agricultural crops and thus food security.

The molecular workings of ISI unfortunately remain “very much a black box, compared with what we know about self-incompatibility systems and their mechanisms,” says Cheung.

Cheung and her colleagues have made great strides in understanding how ISI works in the current study and even introduced a strategy for crossing distantly related species within Brassicaceae.

The team’s breakthrough involves how plants of different species communicate during the pollination process, either accepting or rejecting pollen grains. A protein called SRK, the key protein known to control self-incompatibility in the Brassica stigma—the tip of the pistil which constitutes the pollen-reception surface of the female reproductive organ—recognizes a specific chemical signal, called SIPS, on pollen from a different Brassica species, such as from the model Brassica Arabidopsis, that it wants to reject. But this is only half the story.

The SIPS-SRK pair then recruits another enzyme, FERONIA, which both Cheung and co-senior author Qiaohong Duan, from Shandong Agricultural University, have a long history in studying. The FERONIA/SIPS-SRK interaction then creates a highly reactive chemical known as ROS, which essentially blocks the pollen from entering the pistil. Furthermore, Cheung and her colleagues’ suggest a breeding strategy to overcome Brassicae pollen’s incompatibility, which could hasten success in crosses between distantly related species in the same family.

Journal

Science

DOI

10.1126/science.ady2347

Article Title

Pan-family pollen signals control an interspecific stigma barrier across Brassicaceae species

Article Publication Date

20-Nov-2025

Study finds Indigenous-led hunting most effective for tackling deer overabundance on B.C. islands

UBC-led research says the approach delivers the strongest ecological and cultural outcomes

University of British Columbia

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Dr. Tara Martin
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Credit: UBC

As ecosystems in coastal British Columbia disappear due to long-term browsing pressures from overabundant black-tailed deer, a new study led by UBC with Coast Salish Nations and regional research partners identifies the most effective solutions to address deer overabundance on the Southern Gulf Islands.

The research, published in People and Nature, finds Indigenous-led hunting to be the most successful and cost-effective strategy for managing hyperabundant deer when considering ecological and cultural needs. Drawing on both Indigenous and Western knowledge systems, the study also highlights the importance of honoring distinct knowledge and value systems equitably in wildlife management.

A growing ecological crisis

Following almost two decades of research led by Dr. Tara Martin from UBC’s Faculty of Forestry, black-tailed deer populations on the Southern Gulf Islands are now estimated to be up to 10 times higher than they were a century ago, due to a combination of human-altered landscapes, restrictions on hunting, and the eradication of predators.

As deer populations grow unchecked, they overbrowse vegetation, prevent forests from regenerating, reduce biodiversity, and disrupt cultural connections to the land.

“For most people these islands look beautiful and natural, but they are entirely degraded,” says Dr. Martin. “The change has been so slow, most people don’t recognize this shift. We’ve found hyperabundant deer are one of the major drivers of this change.”

The consequences are stark. One of B.C.’s most endangered ecosystems, the Garry Oak meadow, is now at risk of irreversible collapse due to overgrazing. Other regions across Canada and the globe are facing similar threats from hyperabundant herbivores including Haida Gwaii, Ontario, Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia.

Inclusive approach to decision-making

Developing deer management strategies that address overpopulation and also support the well-being of people and the land—rather than focusing solely on ecology—is inherently complex.

“This study offers a roadmap to help unpack complicated problems where many values and goals compete, often leading to decision paralysis and inaction” says lead author and doctoral student Sofie McComb. “Hyperabundant deer are damaging ecosystems around the world, and we’re offering a framework that gives decision-makers practical, inclusive solutions.”

Working in collaboration with Coast Salish Nations and local land stewards and knowledge holders, Dr. Martin’s group considered a number of strategies for successful deer management. These included Indigenous-led hunting, improving predator viability, hiring deer reduction specialists, using birth control, increasing licensed hunting, and combining approaches.

Indigenous-led hunting was the only strategy with a high likelihood of being successful and achieving ecological and cultural benefits. Compared to the status quo, Indigenous-led hunting was found to increase the likelihood of maximizing human and ecological wellbeing by almost 60 per cent, and was more than 50 per cent likely to maximize project uptake and implementation goals.

Strategies such as increased licensed hunting were cost-effective from a Western science perspective, as they are low-cost strategies with moderate feasibility, but were less likely to achieve meaningful long-term benefits (less than 30 per cent likelihood).

Cost of inaction

Experts agreed that sticking with the status quo will not improve ecosystem functions and will continue to feed the decision-making paralysis fuelled by a fear of controversy. Researchers warn that delaying action is the most harmful option.

“If we don’t do something soon, the ecosystems will not be recoverable, because there will be nothing left” says Sofie McComb. “The deer are also struggling, and have turned to eating starvation foods. Inaction is action – that is the action that has been chosen and the ecosystem is suffering.”

The study provides an inclusive, transparent framework for communities worldwide facing hyperabundant herbivores. By integrating multiple knowledge systems and weighing feasibility and cost alongside ecological and cultural benefits, decision-makers can chart a path toward recovery that is both effective and socially grounded.

“It’s possible to find solutions to complex environmental issues that are good for people, the land and the deer” says Dr. Martin. “This work shows that restoring cultural sovereignty and ecosystem health can go hand in hand.”

Camera trap image of black-tailed deer grazing

Credit

Tara Martin