(Agricultural Research Service, USDA)
University of Maryland in College Park has received a $5 million grant from National Science Foundation to lead a multi-institutional research partnership to help develop crop plants able to withstand drought conditions. The project will focus on guard cells in the canola plant (Brassica napus) — pictured right. Canola is an important oilseed crop grown for both human consumption and biodiesel production.
Plants lose water through microscopic pores on their leaves that allow water to evaporate and carbon dioxide to enter for photosynthesis. The pores, called stoma, are regulated by “guard cells” which surround each pore and close under drought conditions, thereby promoting plant water conservation.
Investigators will analyze guard cell activities in response to drought, including dynamic changes in RNA molecules, proteins, and metabolites in the canola plant and develop a genome scale view to understand how cellular networks and hormones regulate the plant’s reaction under low water conditions. These data sets will be used, together with advanced genome sequencing approaches, to map genetic lines in Brassica napus and to identify natural variation in sensitivity to drought and in the speed at which water evaporates from stoma.
Models generated from integrating this genomic, bioinformatic, and proteomic information are expected to provide a blueprint for improving water use efficiency and resistance to drought in crops.
Related: Research Improves Canola Yields, Adds Benefits for Farmers
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