Scientists Create Genetically Modified Plants That Are Resistant To Droughts

Imagine plants that are resistant to drought. Now, thank scientists who have actually made it possible! Scientists from Heidelberg University's Centre for Organismal Studies have discovered a crucial protein that helps promote "N-terminal acetylation." This chemical marker, in turn, controls a key mechanism to increase the life of plant proteins.

A press release highlighted the role of proteins, the building blocks of life in plants. About 20 billion protein molecules constitute a typical plant cell. In turn, these help stabilise the plant's structure and its metabolism.

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How were drought resistant plants developed??

Scientists assessed N-terminal acetylation's role in the production of proteins that in turn can extend or diminish the life of each plant.

The new protein, known as the Huntingtin Yeast Interactor Protein K (HYPK) promotes N-terminal acetylation to extend the lifespan of plant proteins. These are responsible for adapting to environmental circumstances.

Also read:?Plants Found Growing From 100-Year-Old Seeds In A Newly Excavated Marsh

Miklánková et al., Sci. Adv. 8, eabn6153 (2022), CC BY-NC 4.0

The team used the thale cress plant to investigate HYPK protein's regulation capabilities. "Research on genetically altered plants has shown that the life of proteins is reduced when the HYPK protein is absent and N-terminal acetylation does not take place," authors wrote. At the same time, the plant's resistance against drought improves.

"Our current research is directed to finding out how this improved drought resistance comes about," Rüdiger Hell from Heidelberg wrote.

Also read:?Plants Are Now Breaking Biochemistry Rules By Deciding How Much Carbon To Release

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Heidelberg researchers Dr. Rüdiger Hell and Dr. Markus Wirtz also worked with scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing under Dr. Yonghong Wang to find that HYPK is able to perform its function not only in thale cress but also in rice. Naturally, the protein is found in humans and multiple fungi.

Findings from the study were published in the journals Molecular Plant and Science Advances.?For?more in the world of?technology?and?science, keep reading?Indiatimes.com.

References

Collins, C. (2022a, July 19). Scientists Have Created Genetically Modified Drought-Resistant Plants. SciTechDaily.?