How an 'evolutionary playground' brings plant genes together
Monday, August 29, 2011 - 21:30
in Biology & Nature
Plants produce a vast array of natural products, many of which we find useful for making things such as drugs. Researchers have recently discovered that the genes producing two of these products in the model plant Arabidopsis are clustered together by an 'evolutionary playground' in the plant's genome. Knowing how these clusters assemble and are controlled will be important for improving and exploiting the production of new natural products.