Researchers at the ASU School of Life Sciences may have found a way to improve crop performance and yield with the help of some new biotechnology. They've discovered a method to enhance a plant's tolerance to stress, which could help them survive inclement conditions and still produce food.
The world's population is currently exploding. There is already well over 7 billion people on Earth, and that number is expected to grow even larger in the next few years. This means that feeding the human race will become more of a challenge in the coming decades.
As the human population grows, climate change is taking its toll. Weather conditions are shifting in areas that are usually used to grow crops, which means that plants in those areas may not produce as much as they normally would. Drought, abnormal heat and other conditions could cause farms to lose production.
Current agricultural methods that are used to stimulate yield often involve overusing fertilizers. This can cause environmental problems by polluting water with phosphates. It can also create dead zones in oceans downstream. In addition, over-fertilization can cause plants to have small roots, which can then leave them vulnerable.
With that said, altering the way in which a plant uses water and nutrients could help with production. More specifically, the researchers found a way to alter the gene in rice, corn, barley, wheat, tomato, lettuce, corn and finger millet to cause better growth in both roots and shoots and also improve how the plants absorbed nutrients. The crops used water more efficiently and had a higher tolerance to salt.
"We have learned how to modify the expression of a gene that codes for a plant proton pump," lead study author Roberto Gaxiola said. "This gene helps to move photosynthates-or molecules made by photosynthesis in the leaves-to the places plants need them in order to grow better roots, fruits, young leaves and seeds. This gene is called type 1 H+-PPase and is found naturally in all plants."
While the new findings could be huge, the researchers say that further study is needed. The scientists currently want to further study the biotechnology to maximize its agricultural potential.
The findings are published in the March 2016 journal Trends in Biotechnology.
