By Katie Davis I know that I have discussed the meaning of life after a few too many shots of tequila, but who would know that Agave may hold the key to how plants of the future will survive global warming? Well the answer to that is a team of researchers from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Newcastle University in England who published their finding in the journal Nature Plants. I know that I certainly did not, but the cactus-like plant found in Mexico and most known for being distilled into tequila and mescal has climate change resistant genes. Anne Borland, the lead research from Newcastle Universi- ty, said, “If we can harness these genes and engineer new drought-resistant plants then the potential is huge in terms of developing crops and biofuels that are able to withstand the challenges we face from a changing climate.” The gene controls the stomata in the agave plant, which are the pores the plant uses to breathe. Unlike regular plants the Agave plant’s stomata open at night and close during the day, which is the opposite of regular plants. These night time openings mean less carbon dioxide is absorbed and photosynthesis is less efficient, but the plant retains more water than it would if it opened its
stomata under the hot sun.
So let’s break down the science of this by looking at the dif- ferent types of photosynthesis that plants use. Agave pho- tosynthesis is known as Crassulacean Acid Metabolism or CAM for short, which is the best for water efficiency. Then there is C4 photosynthesis, which is faster in high light and heat. Finally there’s C3, the most common type of photo- synthesis, which is very efficient in normal conditions, but in high heat conditions plants lose water faster. Plants that use CAM photosynthesis are not all that dif- ferent from ones that use C3 photosynthesis process and because both plants have similar genetic makeup’s scientist are very hopeful that by finding the right genetic triggers that it would be possible to convert plants using C3 pho- tosynthesis into CAM plants. Borland said. “This is a really exciting discovery and a major breakthrough in our quest to create new plants that can cope in our future environ- ment,” making them more tolerant of higher temperatures and drought like conditions.
Something to think about the next time you are making margarita’s this summer.
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AUGUST 2017 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
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