This “genetic switch” can make wheat more drought tolerant

In 10 seconds? Scientists have found that the targeted dialing-up of a gene’s activity can preserve a large part of the harvest in drought conditions. This is a welcome discovery in the face of the existential threat and food security risk created by climate change.

What happens under drought? Plants suffer in two ways: 1. when the water supply to their roots is restricted, 2. losing more water during transpiration, a process when water is drawn through the plant from the root to the leaves allowing nutrients to travel. During this process, most of the water is lost by evaporating through the leaves. Transpiration keeps leaves cool and increases during the hot and dry conditions of drought. Severe drought leads to damage to plant growth, physiology, reproduction, and ultimately how much we can harvest. Drought also harms the friendly microorganisms growing near plant roots. In recent times, frequent droughts around the world were caused by reduced rainfall and altered rainfall patterns.