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FACTS
Rice Plants with Fewer Stomata Need Less Water;
Better Suited for Climate Change
According to a new study, rice plants engineered to have fewer stomata —
tiny openings used for gas exchange — are more tolerant to drought and
resilient to future climate change. Scientists from the University of Sheffield
discovered that engineering a high-yielding rice cultivar to have reduced
stomatal density helps the crop conserve water and to survive high
temperatures and drought. Much of humanity relies on rice as a food
source, but rice cultivation is particularly water intensive — using
an estimated 2,500 litres of water per kilogram of rice produced.
Dr. Robert Caine, research associate from the University
of Sheffield’s Department of Molecular Biology, and
biotechnology and pincipal investigator of the study,
said: “Future predicted decreases in water
availability, combined with increased frequency
of extreme drought and high temperature
events, are likely to present particular
challenges for farmers — resulting in substantial
crop loss.” The New Phytologist study found low
stomatal density rice lines used just 60 per cent of the normal amount of water.
—phys.org
Weird, New Fruits Soon to Hit Shelves
While researchers have previously produced plants with
specific traits through traditional breeding techniques,
experts say new technologies like the gene-editing tool
Crispr-Cas9 could be used to bring about changes more
rapidly and efficiently. It could potentially open the door to a
new range of fruits and vegetables that look, taste, and feel very
different to those we are used to. Gene-editing is already being used by
scientists to change the characteristics of food. One such endeavor used Crispr
to make mushrooms that don’t brown, while a team in Spain has been using the
approach to try to produce wheat that can be eaten by people with coeliac disease.
Still others are looking at using gene-editing to give crops resistance to particular
environmental problems or pathogens. Another team has been using Crispr to
change the architecture of tomato plant branches and the spacing of fruit.
—theguardian.com
A Future Look at Houseplants as Biosensors
A perspective recently published in Science explores the future of houseplants
as aesthetically pleasing and biosensors of home health. University of Tennessee
(UT) researcher Neal Stewart studies synthetic biology and has co-authored several
studies involving engineering plants to react to certain conditions including the
presence of too much or little nitrogen. What’s new is the concept of applying
synthetic biology to houseplants beyond aesthetic reasons, like larger blooms or
variegated foliage. “Houseplants are ubiquitous in our home environments,” says
Stewart. “Through the tools of synthetic biology, it’s possible for us to engineer
houseplants that can serve as architectural design elements that are both pleasing
to our senses and that function as early sensors of environmental agents that could
harm our health, like mold, radon gas, or high concentrations of volatile organic
compounds.” The idea is to genetically engineer house plants to serve as subtle
alarms that something is amiss in our home and office environments.
—sciencedaily.com
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Maximum Yield
o 2
N
CO 2
CO
R n
!
49,7ooo
o.o46
135o.o
3.6o
o.7o
o.o
o.o
measurements in ppm