Many plants attempt to conserve resources when faced with extreme environmental conditions such as dryness, cold, or saltiness. They produce fewer leaves and roots and close their pores to keep water in. Most plants eventually die if their circumstances don’t improve. According to a new study, however, Stanford UniversityExtremophytes, also known as plants that can survive and sometimes thrive in extreme environments, are some examples of plants.
One example of such a plant can be found here Schrenkiella parvulaThe Brassicaceae family contains cabbage, turnips and many other major food crops, including, the Brassicaceae member. This branchy, scraggly member the mustard family can grow faster than most other plants when it is exposed to salty water.
Most plants produce a stress hormone that acts like a stop signal for growth, said study senior author Jos Dinneny, an associate professor of Biology at Stanford. This extremephyte however, has a green light. This stress hormone causes the plant to grow faster.
Abscisic Acid (ABA) is a hormone that plants produce when they are exposed to water-related stressors such as dry, cold, and salty conditions. This activates certain genes that control how plants react to these stressors. Researchers discovered that the hormone activated ABA caused a decrease in plant growth or even a halt in its production. However, this hormone did not affect the roots of plants. S. parvulaEven though its genome was very similar to that of other plants, it grew faster.
Since S. parvula It is also related to oilseed varieties which have the potential for being engineered and used sustainably as sources of jet fuel. A better understanding of this plants stress response could help more than food crop. If such plants can be adapted for growing in harsher environments, more land will be available to cultivate them.
Professor Dinneny explained that bioenergy crops can be grown on land that is not suitable to grow food. For example, a field that has been degraded or has accumulated saltiness from improper irrigation. These areas are not prime agricultural land, but they can be used to grow bioenergy crops.
We can’t expect the environment will stay the same with climate change, stated study lead author Ying Sun (a postdoctoral researcher from the Salk Institute for Biological StudiesStanford, where she earned her doctoral degrees. These rapidly changing environments will force crops to adapt. We can help plants adapt to stress better and faster if we understand their mechanisms.
Professor Dinneny said that we are trying find out what the secret ingredient is for these plant species, which allows them to thrive in these unique environments. We also want to know how we can use this knowledge and engineer specific traits in crops.
The journal published the study. Nature Plants.
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By Andrei Ionescu, Earth.comStaff Writer
