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Scientists have found that different populations of a plant species, which is closely related to many crops of worldwide importance, use very different strategies to adapt to environmental changes, which gives experts new options to engineer crops to better survive climate change and tackle future food security.

A common assumption is that populations of the same species use the same processes to adapt to common stressors, but experts at the University of Nottingham have discovered that this is not always the case. Instead, they reveal a surprising degree of "evolutionary flexibility."

In a new study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Professor Levi Yant from the School of Life Sciences discovered that neighboring "sister" populations of a previously unstudied Brassica species adapt to a coastal habitat in very different ways. In this case, very high salinity levels, which are an increasing threat due to climate change.

The species studied—Brassica fruticulosa—is a close relative of cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, rapeseed and radish.

Studying these wild relatives of these important crops can reveal existing "natural solutions" that evolution has already found. Scientists can then use this information to "future-proof" important crops worldwide to adapt to environmental stressors—such as climate change.

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