Scientists make breakthrough that could protect vital crops against extreme heat and drought: ‘Opens up new possibilities’
Drought conditions are increasingly threatening food supplies all over the world. At the College of Horticulture at Nanjing Agricultural University, a team of scientists just made a breakthrough that could help to grow crops that can survive these harsher conditions, Phys.org reported. The scientists discovered a genetic mechanism in wild pear trees that allows the plants to tolerate drought. Their findings were published in a study in the scientific journal Horticulture Research. “Our findings reveal a critical regulatory network that wild pears use to combat drought stress. Understanding this mechanism opens up new possibilities for engineering drought-resistant crops, which is vital in the face of increasing climate variability,” said Dr. Xiaosan Huang, one of the study’s authors. The implications of this discovery could be big.