Global warming weakens certain plant defenses and makes plants more prone to infections. New research helps explain why, and how to help them fight back. Credit: Michigan State University
Now, researchers say they have identified a specific protein in plant cells that explains why immunity falters as temperatures rise. They’ve also discovered a way to reverse the loss and strengthen plant defenses against the heat., were discovered in a spindly plant with white flowers called, which is the “lab rat” of plant research.
Around the same time, a different team had found that molecules in plant cells called phytochromes function as internal thermometers, helping plants sense warmer temperatures in the spring and activate growth and flowering. Co-first authors Danve Castroverde and Jonghum Kim spent several years doing similar experiments with other gene suspects, and those mutant plants got sick during warm spells too. So they tried a different strategy. Using next-generation sequencing, they compared gene readouts in infectedplants at normal and elevated temperatures. It turned out that many of the genes that were suppressed at elevated temperatures were regulated by the same molecule, a gene called CBP60g.
Energy Energy Latest News, Energy Energy Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: ReutersScience - 🏆 559. / 51 Read more »