Drought Resilience Mechanisms in Ancient Egyptian Wheats and Implications for Modern Crop Strategies

As climate change increases the prevalence and severity of drought, common agricultural crop varieties may yield less, driving food scarcity. This team will study the drought tolerance traits of two ancient wheat cultivars from Egypt that were selected and bred by regional farmers for multiple generations. The team will identify the key traits that confer drought tolerance in wheat to inform current agricultural practices and breeding programs and help arid parts of the world grow drought-tolerant grains. The team hopes to understand the cultural and societal implications of abandoning indigenous agricultural practices and biodiverse seed sources within the historical context of ancient Egypt.