A gene which can keep crops healthy under adverse condition has been identified

As you know that plants rely on structures called chloroplasts within their cells to carry out photosynthesis—the process used to capture energy from sunlight by converting carbon dioxide from the air into sugars. During times of stress such as drought, though, the same reaction can also generate substances known as reactive oxygen species, which are toxic to plants and cause them to become damaged or even die.
With the population growth, increasingly shortage of natural resources and the treat of climate change, to develop crops that can survive sub-optimal growing conditions seems Researchers from Oxford University has found a gene that helps plants to remain healthy during times of stress.
According to Professor Paul Jarvis, from the Oxford University's Department of Plant Sciences, the development of chloroplasts is controlled by the presence of a gene known as SP1, which governs the passage of the proteins involved in photosynthesis through the chloroplast's outer membrane. It is suspected that the gene might use this ability to help plants survive in hostile conditions.
The researcher team led by Professor Jarvis wanted to find out if SP1 helped plants to remain healthy by limiting the production of the toxic compounds made during photosynthesis in harsh conditions and has carried out experiments to investigate the idea. Theyworked with three versions of a cress plant known as Arabidopsis thaliana: the naturally occurring wild type, a mutant plant lacking SP1, and an engineered plant that over-expressed SP1. The results indicated that SP1 was responsible for the resilience.
Another set of experiments was carried out to establish how SP1 works at a molecular level. The results demonstrated that SP1 reduces the production of toxic compounds by limiting photosynthesis in times of stress, making plants less likely to suffer serious or fatal damage.
"All plants have the SP1 gene,' explains Professor Jarvis." Now it's just a question of getting plants to over-express it so that they can survive in adverse conditions.'
The researchers are working with more plants to see whether the findings can be used in a wider variety of plants. Hope that the SP1 technology can benefit the improvement of the crop output all around the world.
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