Study reveals which genes are critical to a plant's response to drought
Tuesday, October 25, 2016 - 07:01
in Biology & Nature
Because plants cannot relocate when resources become scarce, they need to efficiently regulate their growth by responding to environmental cues. Drought is the most important cause of reduced plant growth and crop yield, which makes insights into a plant's drought response highly valuable to agriculture. A team of VIB and Ghent University researchers set out to shed more light on this vital topic through a research initiative led by Professor Dirk Inzé. The study provided major insights into how plants cope with water-limiting conditions, which can direct advanced breeding and genome engineering efforts to create high-performing, drought-tolerant crop plants. The findings are published in the leading academic journal The Plant Cell.