[3] Assisted evolution can be used to increase food production and crop yield, as well as ensure targeted species to more quickly become resistant to existential threats.
Assisted evolution for noncommercial purposes is most notably practiced in the attempt to save coral reefs from rising global ocean temperatures and other climate change related environmental conditions.
Assisted evolution in plants has allowed for increased food production and reduced pesticide use, yielding a decrease in global poverty and malnutrition.
[6][7] Assisted evolution for non-commercial purposes was famously used by Gregor Mendel, who discovered the presence of genes and alleles, as well as their impact on an offspring's genotype.
Notable examples include a 1989 experiment which used stress conditioning via heat shock on rat kidneys to extend their safe cold storage time to 48 hours.
[11] More recently, stress conditioning is being studied as a potential solution for the preservation of coral reefs as they are continually exposed to ocean warming and acidification.
Increased resistance to warmer living conditions allow for the preservation of the Great Barrier Reef even as water temperatures continue to rise.