[Agriculture and Horticulture ] Gene that regulates water efficiency of plants

[Tran, Lorraine I]

Dear colleagues,

 

This may be of interest:

 

>From http://www.industrysearch.com.au
<http://www.industrysearch.com.au/>  (News Centre)

Australian scientists have identified a gene that regulates the water
efficiency of plants, raising prospects of developing more robust plants
for crops in dry area.

The Australian National University (ANU) research team claims the gene
is the first to be discovered that mediates the process critical to
plant survival, crop yield and vegetation dynamics.

ANU Research School of Biological Sciences researcher Josette Masle,
with colleagues Scott Gilmore and Professor Graham Farquhar, identified
the gene in the model plant Arabidopsis.

Arabidopsis is a convenient plant for laboratory studies of genetics and
is one of the few plant species for which the whole genome has been
sequenced.

"Known as Erecta, it is the first gene to be discovered for the
regulation of the coordination between plant photosynthesis and
transpiration," Dr Masle said in a statement.

"Erecta controls plant transpiration efficiency which is the trade-off
between water vapour loss through the stomata of the plant and the
fixation of carbon during photosynthesis.

"It is an essential function to the survival of plants yet until this
point little was known about why some plants lose less water through
transpiration than others."

Dr Masle said Erecta was, to the team's knowledge, the first gene to be
shown to mobilise the coordination between transpiration and
photosynthesis and therefore the first to be identified as a
transpiration efficiency gene, as opposed to simply a stomatal or
photosynthesis gene.

Transpiration is the release of water vapour from a plant's leaf surface
during photosynthesis.

Dr Masle said that in a water-limited environment, transpiration
efficiency was obviously critical to plant survival and crop yield.

"Our finding will help unravel some of the unanswered questions about
this process and potentially lead to further development of more robust
plants for crop in dry areas," she said.

 

 

Regards,

Lorraine Tran

Technology Curriculum Manager

VCAA 

Telephone: (03)9651 4407

Fax:           (03) 9651 4324

Mobile:      041 933 1630

Email: tran.lorraine.i at edumail.vic.gov.au

 

The VCAA provides curriculum and assessment for prep to Year 12. The
VCAA is a statutory body directly responsible to the Minister for
Education and Training and serves government and non-government schools.

 



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