A Plant Gene That Encourages Growth
February 15, 2011
BEER-SHEVA, ISRAEL, February 15, 2011 – Ben-Gurion University of the Negev researchers have developed techniques to manipulate root development functionality that can help plants better adapt to hostile growing environments.
In a recent paper published in the prestigious journal The Plant Cell, BGU researchers were able show that by manipulating a specific gene they could impact lateral root growth. Lateral root (LR) development is a highly regulated process that determines a plant’s growth and ability to adapt to life in different environmental conditions.
The researchers identified ABI4, a master-gene that controls LR development, then mutated the gene and constructed transgenic plants in which this gene is over-expressed. They demonstrated that the ABI4 gene functions at a central junction that determines the accumulation of signals from three different plant hormones.
The balance and manipulation of these signals, achieved via ABI4, regulates root structure development.
According to the research conducted by BGU student Doron Shkolnik-Inbar and Prof. Dudy Bar-Zvi in BGU’s Department of Life Sciences, “the revolutionary research will allow control and manipulation of the level of root branching, enabling plants to adapt to arid soils or high salinity.”
The Plant Cell 22:3560-3573 American Society of Plant Biologists.
Doron Shkolnik-Inbar and Dudy Bar-Zvi Department of Life Sciences and Doris and Bertie Black Center for Bioenergetics in Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel
ABOUT AMERICANS FOR BEN-GURION UNIVERSITY
By supporting a world-class academic institution that not only nurtures the Negev, but also shares its expertise locally and globally, Americans for Ben-Gurion University engages a community of Americans who are committed to improving the world. David Ben-Gurion envisioned that Israel’s future would be forged in the Negev. The cutting-edge research carried out at Ben-Gurion University drives that vision by sustaining a desert Silicon Valley, with the “Stanford of the Negev” at its center. The Americans for Ben-Gurion University movement supports a 21st century unifying vision for Israel by rallying around BGU’s remarkable work and role as an apolitical beacon of light in the Negev desert.
About Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev embraces the endless potential we have as individuals and as a commonality to adapt and to thrive in changing environments. Inspired by our location in the desert, we aim to discover, to create, and to develop solutions to dynamic challenges, to pose questions that have yet to be asked, and to push beyond the boundaries of the commonly accepted and possible.
We are proud to be a central force for inclusion, diversity and innovation in Israel, and we strive to extend the Negev’s potential and our entrepreneurial spirit throughout the world. For example, the multi-disciplinary School for Sustainability and Climate Change at BGU leverages over 50 years of expertise on living and thriving in the desert into scalable solutions for people everywhere.
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20,000 students | 800 senior faculty | 3 campuses | 6 faculties: humanities & social sciences, health sciences, engineering sciences, natural sciences, business & management, and desert research.
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