An international research team, together with members of the John Innes Center (UK), has discovered a “promising” gene in the race to adapt agricultural products to the effects of climate change.
About Rh13, uThe n dwarf gene reduces the final height of the wheat plant without affecting its growth, ultimately allowing seeds to be planted deeper to take advantage of moisture in dry areas.
The study, which appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), “The gene is well adapted to water-limiting environments that require deeper planting to access available moisture and rapid leaf area development to reduce evaporation losses from the soil surface.” especially andThis gene causes a stature reduction of 30 to 35% in both greenhouse and field conditions.
Also, research suggests that this gene provides tougher stems, so the plant nOr is it better able to withstand not only drought but also more “stormy” weather?contributes to increase the yield of wheat crops.
“The discovery of the gene, its implications, and its exact location in the wheat genome mean we can give farmers an excellent genetic marker to enable them to produce more climate-resistant wheat,” said Philippa Borrill, group leader at the John Innes Center.
The use of reduced height genes to increase crop productivity has been practiced since the Green Revolution of the 1960s and 1980s, when new technologies were developed aimed at improving agricultural performance. other countries.
Discovery that improves other similar techniques
Again, Genes developed in wheat during the Green Revolution years are at a significant disadvantage, study says: “These varieties may not reach the soil surface when planted deeper to access moisture in water-restricted environments.”
Fragment of genetic material discovered now, the Rh13 gene solves this problembecause it acts in the highest tissues of the wheat straw, so the stunting mechanism only works after the seedling – the plant in its early stages – has fully emerged.
“In dry environments, the alternative gene with reduced height will allow farmers to plant seeds deeply and not have to gamble on newly emerged seedlings. Editing a dwarf gene may help increase resistance response to certain pathogens‘, the researchers conclude.
Reference work: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2209875119
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Contact address of the environment department: crizclimatica@prensaiberica.es
Source: Informacion
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