Getting to the root of grafting-induced traits

Grafting is an ancient technique that involves the physical joining of genotypically distinct shoot and root systems, in order to achieve a desirable compound plant. This practice widely used modern agriculture improve biotic abiotic stress tolerance, modify plant architecture, induce precocious flowering rejuvenate old perennial varieties, boost yield, more. Beneficial new rootstock-scion combinations are currently identified through inefficient trial error process, which presents significant bottleneck for application grafting combat environmental challenges. Identifying mechanisms underlie beneficial grafting-induced traits will facilitate rapid breeding genetic engineering rootstock x scion exhibit superior performance across varying agricultural environments.