Formula for Longer Plant Life: Jasmonic Acid and MicroRNAs
September 26, 2008| |
Certain small sections of genes, the so called micro RNAs (miRNA), can regulate the growth and aging process in plants, scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology in Tübingen have shown. These miRNAs inhibit certain transcription factors that regulate the production of jasmonic acid (JA), a hormone important for the plant’s aging processes. Their work appears in the current issue of PLoS Biology.
Detlef Weigel and colleagues investigated the effects that the transcription factors of the TCP family have on the growth and aging of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. TCPs, previously shown to be important for limiting the growth of leaves, are regulated by the microRNA miR319. The scientists found out that the higher the quantity of miR139 present in the plant, the smaller the amount of jasmonic acid produced, and hence the longer the growth period the plant has. Since the quantity of microRNAs can be controlled by genetic methods, it may be possible in the future to cultivate plants that live longer and grow faster.
Read the article at http://www.eb.tuebingen.mpg.de/news/formula-discovered-for-longer-plant-life The paper can be downloaded at http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.0060230
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