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Plants without Water?

Jacob Gaffney  in News , , , , , , , ,

InterWined.com closely follows the impact on global warming on the wine industry.

We’ve posted many times on subjects related to global warming and climate change, and even commented at Spittoon.biz about the impact world warming may have on other agricultural products.

Another issue closely tied to this is the ‘desertification’ of the world’s agricultural sectors. As the sunshine raises temperatures, the earth becomes stripped, and fields may grow barren.

The diversion of food crops to bio-fuel is also straining world food supply.

Furthermore, countries such as Kyrgyzstan are charged with withholding water reserves for neighbouring countries; as seen with Spain’s Duero reservoirs blocking flow to Portugal.

Luckily, science is working to solve these problems. Current research falls on a plant, called Lavender Scallops, or Kalanchoe fedtschenkoi.

Kalanchoe is unique because, unlike normal plants, it captures most of its carbon dioxide at night when the air is cooler and more humid, making it 10 times more water-efficient than major crops such as wheat. Scientists will use the latest next-generation DNA sequencing to analyse the plant’s genetic code and understand how these plants function at night.

The project will generate a genome sequence database that will be used as an Internet resource for plant biologists throughout the world.

The research comes at a time when farmland across the globe normally used for growing food such as rice and wheat is being taken over by bio-fuel crops used for bioethanol production as a petrol substitute. Scientists believe that the novel genes found in Kalanchoecould provide a model of how bio-fuel plants could be grown on un-utilised desert and semi-arid lands, rather than on fertile farmland needed for producing food.

Biological scientist, Dr James Hartwell, said: “There is a lot of concern over food shortage at the moment, with more farmland being commandeered for bio-fuels. As a result of changes in our climate the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has predicted a large expansion of arid regions so there is an increasing need for new crop varieties that can be productive in deserts.

“Kalanchoe is a good example of how plants can flourish in harsh environments. If we can understand how it is able to photosynthesise using much less water than current crops, we may be able to use its genetic code to develop a crop able to withstand harsh environmental conditions. It is essential that farmland be returned to food production.”

The genetic code of the plant will be deciphered using a DNA sequencing machine that uses an enzyme found in fireflies as a flash light to help read the DNA strand.

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dee
dee said: June 24th, 2008 at 12:32 am

very interesting read… hmmmmm

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