CNPEM abre inscrição para o programa Bolsas de Verão

CNPEM abre inscrição para o programa Bolsas de Verão

Genetic mutation may help explain first land-based plants

Guoxiong Chen, a doctoral student working at Haifa University's Institute of Evolution, found the gene in wild barley more than a decade ago, but now has identified a mutation of that gene that builds a cuticle, a hard protecting layer that helps the plant retain water. Without the cuticle, the plant would expel all its water and could not survive in the air. Chen named the mutation Eibi1 after his doctoral advisor at Haifa, Eviatar Nevo.

Eibi1 probably is one of many genes that could have contributed to the plant's ability to live out of the water, Nevo said.

Physorg.com

A new transporter gene that regulates plant transpiration

PSC’s Gene Discovery Research Group has identified a new transporter gene that is expressed in guard cells and controls the opening and closing of stomata. The group found that when this gene is deficient, guard cells have difficulty closing, which results in greater transpiration. Using thermal imaging to observe transpiration in Arabidopsis thaliana, researchers observed that transpiration increased in mutants with the AtABCG22 gene, which belongs to the ABC family of transporter genes.

The stomata in this mutant open easily, leading to increased transpiration. When water was withheld, the mutant wilted before its wild-type counterpart. AtABCG22 is expressed in above-ground leaves and especially in stomatal guard cells. When AtABCG22 protein was inserted into onion cells and plant cultured cells, the protein localized in cell membranes, indicating that AtABCG22 is involved in transporting biological materials into or out of guard cells.

If the mechanisms regulating opening and closing of stomata can be clarified, it should provide new insights that can be use to improve crop yields and adapt breeds for arid conditions.

Physorg.com

Parabéns Hércules!!!

Parabéns para o nosso grande amigo Hércules por mais uma conquista na sua já exitosa carreira na Life Tech, Gerente de Molecular and Cell Biology Instruments para as regiões Centro-Oeste, Norte e Nordeste!!

Desejamos o maior dos sucessos nesta nova empreitada!!!

Os teus amigos do LBVeg!!

Feijão transgênico - biotecnologia nacional

Está chegando o transgênico verde-amarelo, maravilha da biotecnologia nacional. Trata-se de uma variedade de feijão resistente à virose. Desenvolvido pela Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária (Embrapa), a descoberta vai economizar agrotóxicos e favorecer os agricultores familiares.

Pela primeira vez uma variedade geneticamente modificada nasce exclusivamente em instituição pública. Segundo o agrônomo Francisco Aragão, um dos responsáveis pela pesquisa, os estudos na Embrapa demoraram toda uma década. Agora resta aguardar a liberação do plantio comercial do feijão transgênico, decisão a ser tomada nestes próximos dias pela Comissão Técnica Nacional de Biossegurança (CTNBio).