Researchers at the RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science (CSRS) have discovered a new, yet simple, way to increase drought tolerance in a wide range of plants. Published in Nature Plants, the study reports a newly discovered biological pathway that is activated in times of drought. By working out the details of this pathway, scientists were able to induce greater tolerance for drought-like conditions simply by growing plants in vinegar.
Led by Jong-Myong Kim and Motoaki Seki at RIKEN CSRS, the large collaborative effort began with the discovery of novel Arabidopsis mutants that have strong drought tolerance, although the reasons were unknown. These plants have a mutation to an enzyme called HDA6 (histone deacetylase6), and the first goal of the current study was to determine exactly how this mutation allows the plants to grow normally in severe and extended conditions without water.
Kim and Seki say that this project has led to several important discoveries. Not only did they discover that external application of vinegar can enhance drought tolerance in the Arabidopsis plant, but they also found that this pathway is regulated epigenetically and conserved in common crops such as maize, rice, and wheat.
Initial testing in normal Arabidopsis under drought stress showed that genomic-wide expression of hda6 was linked to activation of the biological pathway that produces acetate, the main component of vinegar. In the mutated plants, they found that under the same conditions, this pathway was activated even more, and plants produced larger amounts of acetate. Further analysis showed that activity of the HDA6 enzyme acts as a switch that controls which type of metabolic pathway is active. Normally plants break down sugar for energy, but in time of drought, they switch to the acetate-producing pathway.
The team next measured acetate levels in normal plants and found that the amount of acetate produced by plants during drought directly correlated to how well they survived. To confirm this, they tested plants with mutations in two of the genes found in the acetate-biosynthesis pathway. Results showed that these plants produced less acetate and were more sensitive to drought than normal plants.
These results predicted that increasing the amount of acetate in plants could help them survive drought. The team tested this hypothesis by growing normal plants in drought conditions and treatment with acetic acid, other organic acids, or water. They found that after 14 days over 70% of the plants treated with acetic acid had survived, while virtually all other plants had died.
The scientists mapped the entire signaling pathway from the HDA6 switch, and realized that this pathway is highly conserved across different plant species. They performed the same experiment as described above, and found that drought tolerance also increased in rice, wheat, and maize when the plants were grown in optimal acetic acid concentrations.
Kim notes the significance of this finding. “Although transgenic technologies can be used to create plants that are more tolerant to drought, we must also develop simple and less expensive technologies because genetically modified plants are not available in all several countries. We expect that external application of acetate to plants will be a useful, simple, and less expensive way to enhance drought tolerance in a variety of plants.”
Learn more: Vinegar: a cheap and simple way to help plants fight drought
The Latest on: Drought tolerance
[google_news title=”” keyword=”drought tolerance” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]- HEAT-TOLERANT BEAUTIES FOR GARDENS AND CONTAINERSon May 7, 2024 at 4:40 pm
Suntory Flowers Boost the summer-long beauty and heat tolerance in your gardens and containers with new varieties of annual vinca (Catharanthus). The unique Soiree(R) vinca varieties provide added ...
- USU Extension, arborist warning public about invasive myrtle spurgeon May 7, 2024 at 8:49 am
As gardens start to bloom again with the arrival of spring, officials are asking for the public’s help in not continuing to introduce a monster. Myrtle spurge has been turning up in abundance, ...
- A New Tactic For The War With Weedson May 7, 2024 at 7:00 am
Herbicide tolerant weeds are an increasing issue that interferes with the progress that has been made to avoid mechanical tillage and protect soil health ...
- Zesty, vividly-colored zinnias are the foolproof flower in and out of the gardenon May 7, 2024 at 5:30 am
Zinnias are a popular genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. Native to grasslands of the southwestern United States and South America with a center of diversity in Mexico, vividly colored ...
- Central Tuber Crops Research Institute releases drought-tolerant tapioca varietyon May 6, 2024 at 6:08 am
The ICAR-Central Tuber Crops Research Institute (CTCRI) has released a new drought-tolerant tapioca (cassava) variety which promises high yield.
- Enhance Your Landscape with Xeriscaping Plantson May 6, 2024 at 5:00 am
Elevate your outdoors with xeriscaping plants! Discover how to cultivate a lush landscape with minimal water, from colorful sage to pink muhly grass.
- Plants utilize drought stress hormone to block snacking spider miteson May 3, 2024 at 11:37 am
Recent findings that plants employ a drought-survival mechanism to also defend against nutrient-sucking pests could inform future crop breeding programs aimed at achieving better broadscale pest ...
- La Niña’s wrath could mean drought conditions, stronger hurricanes in Georgia this summeron May 3, 2024 at 10:04 am
According to Vox climate coverage, the outgoing El Niño event has been among the strongest the Earth has ever experienced. It has fueled “wildfires, droughts, and floods in South America. It bent the ...
- Trichoderma priming shows enhanced drought tolerance in barley: Studyon April 25, 2024 at 4:34 pm
Varanasi: Researchers at Banaras Hindu University’s department of Botany conducted a study examining Trichoderma-mediated defence priming in barley un.
- Can Diverting the Mississippi River Save the Drought-Stricken West? 5 Better Alternativeson April 24, 2024 at 10:30 am
In case you missed it, the American Southwest has been going through a drought for the past 24 years. Tree ring and geologic data show it is the worst drought in the region for 1200 years! Lake Mead ...
via Google News and Bing News