Researchers Create Plant that Grows Fast and Defends Itself from Insects
September 7, 2016| |
A team of researchers from Michigan State University (MSU) has developed a plant that can outgrow and outcompete its neighbors for light, and defend itself against insects and disease.
Led by Gregg Howe, MSU Foundation professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, the team modified an Arabidopsis plant by "knocking out" both a defense hormone repressor and a light receptor in the plant. This genetic alteration allowed the plant to grow faster and defend itself from insects at the same time.
In plants, more growth equals less defense, and more defense equals less growth, but Howe said that their "genetic trickery" can get a plant to do both. If the results of this breakthrough can be replicated in crop plants, the work could have direct benefits for farmers trying to feed a world population that is expected to reach nine billion by the year 2050.
For more details, read the news release at MSU Today.
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