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STRESS GENE FOUND IN PLANTS
19 April 2007 - University of Bristol
| A single gene has been discovered that helps plants cope with stressful situations such as disease or poor environments. Scientists at the universities of Bristol and Oxford isolated and characterised the gene called OXI1 (pronounced oxy-one) from thale cress, a common roadside weed. OXI1 boosts the plant's ability to stop fungal infection from spreading, and helps roots to grow despite poor conditions. |
A single gene has been discovered that helps plants cope with stressful situations such as disease or poor environments. Scientists at the universities of Bristol and Oxford isolated and characterised the gene called OXI1 (pronounced oxy-one) from thale cress, a common roadside weed. OXI1 boosts the plant's ability to stop fungal infection from spreading, and helps roots to grow despite poor conditions. Dr Claire Grierson from Bristol University said: “This is a significant advance from traditional approaches, where investigators have to identify a different gene for each disease they hope to fight. At Bristol we showed that the gene is not just important for overcoming disease, but is also involved in another type of stress, growing in difficult conditions. Genes similar to OXI1 are likely to be found in many other organisms, so in the long term this work may even give us insight into medical applications for humans.” Thale cress (Arabidopsis thaliana) was the first plant to have its entire genetic code read. This understanding has already enabled biologists to protect wheat from disease and to double the yield of oilseed rape. Studying the OXI1 gene will help them understand more about how plants and other organisms deal with stress.
http://www.bris.ac.uk
About: University of Bristol
The University College of Bristol opened in 1876, after six years of discussions and controversy, in a bid to bring university culture to the provinces. It was the first college in the country to admit men and women on an equal footing.The University’s Research and Enterprise Development (RED) division was launched in 2000 to stimulate and support an entrepreneurial culture and encourage the growth of technology-based business. 2003 saw the completion of the Dorothy Hodgkin building, named after the University’s fifth Chancellor. The £18 million building is dedicated to research in neuroendocrinology. 2003 also saw the opening of the University’s £5 million Centre for Sport, Exercise and Health. Work on a new, state-of-the-art engineering building is due to be completed in early 2004. The £20 million BLADE project (Bristol Laboratory for Advanced Dynamics Engineering) will bring together the Engineering Faculty’s six departments to establish Europe’s most advanced dynamics engineering research facilities. |
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