Canadian Scientists Identify Stress Resistant Gene

Scientists from the University of Saskatchewan in Canada have identified a gene that could pave the way to develop agricultural and forestry crops that are more tolerant to environmental stresses such as ultra-violet light and other types of radiation. The study conducted by Wei Xiao and his colleagues is featured in the January issue of the journal The Plant Cell.

Xiao reports that by using Arabidopsis, they were able to clone and characterize four genes suspected of playing a role in the plant's stress responses. When plants were subjected to a DNA-damaging stressor, the plants in which one of the four genes had been turned off produced seedlings that grew slower and often died, compared with a control group. "This tells us that these genes likely play an important role in maintaining the genetic stability of the plant and protecting the plant from stress," said Wei Xiao.

A copy of the journal article can be obtained upon request. Email Wei Xiao at wei.xiao@usask.ca. http://www.usask.ca/research/news/read.php?id=768&newsid=1