modification

RNA Modification For Plants | Earth Wise

September 8, 2021 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

We have heard a lot about RNA this past year as messenger RNA vaccine technology has been used for the first time to combat the Covid-19 pandemic. Now RNA-based technology has shown promise to make major contributions to agriculture.

A group of researchers at the University of Chicago and two Chinese universities have announced that manipulating RNA can allow plants to yield dramatically more crops as well as have better drought resistance.

Adding gene encoding for a protein called FTO to both rice and potato plants increased their yield by 50% in initial field tests. The plants were larger, produced longer root systems, and could better tolerate drought conditions. Further analysis showed that the plants had increased their rate of photosynthesis.

FTO protein erases chemical marks on RNA. Specifically, it controls a process known as m6A, which is a key modification of RNA. The FTO erases m6A to reduce some of the signals that tell plants to slow down and reduce growth. Plants modified with the addition of FTO produced significantly more RNA than control plants.

Experiments with both rice plants and potato plants – which are completely unrelated – demonstrated the same results, indicating that the technique could be broadly applicable. (The genetic modification is rather simple to make and has worked with every type of plant the researchers have tried it with so far).

These results are just the beginning but demonstrate the potential of a technology that could help address problems of poverty and food insecurity at a global scale as well as responding to climate change. The world depends on plants for everything from wood, food, and medicine, to flowers and oils. This technique has the potential to dramatically increase the stock material we can get from most plants.

**********

Web Links

RNA breakthrough creates crops that can grow 50% more potatoes, rice

Photo, posted September 22, 2014, courtesy of Toshiyuki Imai via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Fighting Malaria With Gene-Drive Technology | Earth Wise

June 8, 2020 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Malaria continues to be a major health hazard throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. There were 228 million cases of malaria in 2018 and over 400,000 deaths.

Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease spread by 40 of the world’s 3,500 mosquito species. So, efforts to control mosquito populations are the primary strategy to eradicate malaria.

A team led by Imperial College London has created a genetic modification that distorts the sex ratio of a population of Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes using “gene drive” technology. The modification works by using a DNA-cutting enzyme to destroy the X chromosome during the production of sperm, which leads to predominantly male offspring, since females require two X chromosomes. The modification is coupled to a gene drive to allow it to spread through a population in a very effective way. A gene drive is a genetic engineering technology that propagates a particular modification by assuring that a specific form of a gene (or allele) will be transmitted with far more than the natural 50% probability.

The result of this is that mosquitoes produce more male offspring, eventually leading to no females being born and a total collapse in the population. The mosquitoes studied are the main malaria vector in sub-Saharan Africa. The hope is that mosquitoes carrying a sex-distorter gene drive would be released in the future, spreading the male bias with local malaria-carrying populations and causing them to collapse. Only female mosquitoes bite and take blood meals. If the gene drive technology works in the field, it could be a game-changer in the fight to eliminate malaria.

**********

Web Links

Malaria mosquitoes eliminated in lab by creating all-male populations

Photo, posted June 20, 2014, courtesy of Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Protecting Canola Crops From Frost

November 20, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Canola is one of Canada’s most valuable crops. In fact, Canada is the world’s largest exporter of canola oil. The international market for canola oil is $27 billion a year. The oil is very popular because it has a relatively low amount of saturated fat, a substantial amount of monosaturated fat, and is very neutral tasting.

Canadian canola farmers worry a great deal about late season, non-lethal frosts because the frosts prevent chlorophyll – a photosynthetic pigment in the seeds – from breaking down, a process they call “degreening”. The farmers seek to have high-quality yellow embryos at seed maturity. When the harvest contains more than 2% of green seeds, it can no longer produce Grade No. 1 quality oil. When green seeds are processed to extract canola oil, the chlorophyll in the seeds reduces the oil’s storability and quality. As a result, farmers receive a lower price for frost-damaged green seed canola. This costs Canadian farmers and estimated $150 million annually.

Researchers at the University of Calgary have developed gene-based technology to produce canola plants that can withstand late-season frost and still produce high-quality seed. They identified a specific protein that controls chlorophyll breakdown and seed maturity. Genetic manipulation is able to enhance the seed degreening system. They were able to reduce the amount of chlorophyll in the genetically modified canola lines by 60% after the plants were exposed to non-lethal frost.

Ultimately, the researchers plan to develop a method to incorporate the modification into canola hybrid lines in such a way that it will be readily accepted by consumers concerned about genetically modified organisms.

**********

Web Links

New technology helps protect valuable canola crops from frost

Photo, posted August 29, 2018, courtesy of Tinker and Rove via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Rigs To Reefs

March 29, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

There are about 6,000 offshore oil platforms in the world’s oceans. They have an immense presence physically, financially and environmentally. As these massive structures extract hydrocarbons from deep beneath the sea, they also undergo a remarkable transformation under the water. The enormous substructures that support the platforms become vertical reefs, home to millions of individual plants and animals.

Over time, many oil platforms are decommissioned, and their owners are faced with the choice of either removing them entirely or transitioning them into permanent reefs. Traditional practice was to restore the site to its original condition, but more recently the idea of “reefing” old platforms has gained popularity. As of 2016, more than 11% of decommissioned platforms in the U.S. portion of the Gulf of Mexico have become permanent reefs.

Decommissioning and completely removing a platform is a daunting and pricey proposition. The most recent estimate for removing all platforms off the coast of California alone totals $8 billion. Modifying the platforms to serve as permanent reefs cuts these costs significantly, especially those associated with hauling, cleaning and disposing of the underwater support structure, which will have thousands of tons of sea-life clinging to it by the time it is removed.

Converting the structure into a permanent reef means making it free of any hydrocarbons or other hazardous materials. But this is still a far cheaper venture than total removal. Studies of oil rigs as underwater habitats have shown them to be some of the most productive in the world. They are 3-dimensional reefs whose open construction allows currents to pass through bringing lots of nutrients.

Over time, more and more oil platforms will be decommissioned. Many may end up remaining as permanent homes for undersea life.

**********