We don’t often take time to think about the variety we see in nature and in the food in our supermarkets and on our plates, which is thanks to mutations in plant genomes.

These small changes are what give us the different crops and foods we rely on. They can be tiny tweaks in a plant’s DNA or bigger shifts that lead to completely new characteristics. Together, they create the diversity breeders look for when they want to improve flavour, yield or resilience.

The Hidden Power of Natural Variation

Long before we understood DNA, farmers were intentionally selecting plants that looked or performed best. What we understand now is that those choices were based on genetic changes.

Many of the crops we safely grow and eat today originated from these intentional changes, selected simply because they delivered something useful.

Of course, not all changes have the same impact and often times many changes work together to lead to a desired characteristic. Some can alter the way a plant grows or tastes, while even small genetic tweaks can lead to big advantages, like sweeter almonds or more nutritious vegetables.

Interestingly, different types of changes can sometimes end up producing the same helpful traits in different species. What really matters is the outcome, not how the change happened.

From Old‑School Selection to Modern Precision

Traditional breeding and older methods that rely on random changes have produced thousands of new plant varieties over the years. But because those mutations occur randomly across the whole genome, finding the right one often takes a lot of time, effort and large breeding populations.

Newer tools like genome editing offer a more focused, targeted approach. They let breeders introduce the same kinds of changes that occur in nature, but in precise locations of the genome. This increases the chances of getting the desired characteristics and can make the breeding process more efficient. At the cellular level, these edits are processed by the same repair systems that handle natural changes, meaning the final mutations look just like those found in nature.

Why This Matters

This matters for New Zealand farmers and consumers. Plant Breeding Innovations like genome editing can increase efficiency of the breeding process, avoid unwanted changes in the plant genome that come along with traditional breeding, and help develop features in crops that are otherwise hard to improve. In so doing, they provide an additional route to identify and provide innovative solutions for agriculture’s grand challenges, such as resilience to global climate change.  While there are still practical challenges, like delivering edits efficiently and working across different plant backgrounds, the potential benefits are significant.

Equally important is public trust. People want and deserve clear, open communication about how different breeding methods are used, what risks are managed and how the breeding process works. Helping people understand the continuity between age‑old plant breeding and modern precision tools can build confidence in how food and environmental decisions are made.

Mutations are not freaks – they’re the natural building blocks of agriculture, and they are beautiful and delicious. By using what we know about them responsibly and transparently, we can help create better options for farmers and consumers across New Zealand.

Want to learn more?

If you want the science in one neat package, a peer‑reviewed Plant Physiology review by Slewinski et al. lays out how mutations, from single bases to whole‑genome changes, have driven plant evolution and been harnessed in breeding. And because good communication matters, Bayer continues to invest in research and ways for the public to see the science in action (OpenLabs 360°, transparency pages and safety study reports are part of that effort).

For transparency, that review was supported by Bayer CropScience and authored by Bayer scientists, which we name up front.