|
| Andhra Pradesh ~ India ~ International ~ City ~ Entertainment ~ Business ~ Bullion ~ Forex ~ Sports ~ Technology ~ Health ~ Features |
| Lung Cancer ~ Lung Cancer ~ Breast Cancer ~ Heart attack ~ All Health Topics |
|
Home
/ Health News / 2008 / October 2008 / October 7, 2008 Gene that helps plants beat the heat identified |
Sack lunches may not provide adequate nutrients to preschooler
Packing lunch for your child might not be a good idea, for a new study has found that sack lunches may not regularly provide adequate nutrients for the growth and development of young children. ANI
Health-monitoring system helps maintain older adults well-being
Many older adults want to remain active and independent for as long as possible. Now, researchers from University of Missouri suggest that installing health monitoring system can help keep check on the health of the elderly and ensure their privacy. ANI
New drug shows potential to treat angina, other cardiac problems
A compound, designed to prevent chest pains in heart patients, could act as a drug to treat angina and possibly other cardiac pathologies, according to a study on animals. ANI
In a new study Michigan State University plant scientists have found a new gene, called bZIP28, that helps plants to beat the heat.
Washington, Oct 7 : In a new study Michigan State University plant scientists have found a new gene, called bZIP28, that helps plants to beat the heat.
The discovery may help plant breeders to create new varieties of crops that flourish in warmer, drier climates.
Using Arabidopsis thaliana, a member of the mustard family used as a model plant for genetic studies, the researchers found that the gene bZIP28 helps regulate heat stress response.
This is the first time bZIP28 has been shown to play a role heat tolerance.
"We also found that bZIP28 was responding to signals from the endoplasmic reticulum, which is the first time the ER has been shown to be involved with the response to heat. We're finding that heat tolerance is a more complex process than was first thought," said Robert Larkin, MSU assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology and corresponding author of the paper.
In an earlier research, it was found that the nucleus, the "brain" of the cell, and cytosol, the fluid inside cells, control how plants respond to heat. Endoplasmic reticulum, a membrane in the cell that consists of small tubes and sac-like structures, is mainly responsible for packaging and storing proteins in the cell.
Christoph Benning, MSU professor of biochemistry and molecular biology and a member of the research team, said that they wanted to look for genes that turn other genes on and off and are tied to cell membranes.
Such membrane-tethered gene switches though are located in animals, but they have not yet been studied in great detail in plants.
"The bZIP28 protein is anchored in the endoplasmic reticulum, away from its place of action. But when the plant is stressed by heat, one end of bZIP28 is cut off and moves into the nucleus of the cell where it can turn on other genes to control the heat response. Understanding how the whole mechanism works will be the subject of more research," explained Benning.
The plants having an inactive bZIP28 gene die as soon as temperatures reach a certain level.
The study is published in the latest issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
ANI
