UC Scientists Uncover Gene to Develop Toxicity-Resistant Crops

Plant biologists at the University of California, Riverside see hope for crops to thrive in areas that contain aluminum. Aluminum toxicity affects crop growth in nearly 20 percent of the world’s arable soils. In the journal Current Biology, Paul Larsen and Megan Rounds report that they have discovered a simple mutation to a single gene that makes plants thrive in spite of levels of aluminum that would normally be toxic. They found the gene, called AtATR, by combing through mutants of Arabidopsis.

Toxic aluminum ions are known to damage DNA. The study suggests that plants respond by shutting down growth of cells in the tips of their roots when they accumulate too much DNA damage.

Nonsubscribers to the journal can read a short article on the discovery at http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/21454/