Removing A Stress Gene In Plants Might Save Produce During Droughts

Athens, Ga. – Researchers at the University of Georgia think they’ve come up with a system to identify the genes in trees responsible for stress tolerance, which includes everything from extreme temperatures to disease. Now they’re using a new $490,000 grant to identify those genes and figure out how they work.
Identifying those stress-control genes and understanding their function could help create trees that can resist the very things that can kill them, said C.J. Tsai, the lead researcher on the project.Dr. CJ Tsai is finding a way to remove a stress gene in plants to help GA produce during droughts. Reporter Jacob Blount tells shows us what is going on at the Tree research life science building