OSCA1 to the Rescue: Thermostat Gene for Drought Resistant Crops

OSCA1 to the Rescue: Thermostat Gene for Drought Resistant Crops
If life gives you lemons, make lemonades. Scientists have gone one step further and they are now able to generate more food with less water. Through systematic research, scientists have found a thermostat like gene which could pave the way for the invention of drought resistant crops. The gene has been referred to as OSCA1. This encodes a protein withing the cell membrane of the plants which can then detect changes in the availability of the water.

A huge benefit of this is that the crop plant's ability to conserve water can then be monitored accordingly. "It's similar to a thermostat," Zhen-Ming Pei, an associate professor of biology at Duke University has been quoted as saying by rhe media.

Researchers have also explained that these scientific findings make it much easier to feed the expanding population of the world when climate change has increased the possibility of droughts. Drought has a deadly impact as it can cause significant crop losses across the world. In what is a very important stage of the growing season, lack of water due to drought can reduce crop production by half.

The severity and frequency of water shortages is expected to rise if climate change results in erratic patterns of rainfall which can lead to drought in many areas. With many scientific reports such as those released by WHO and the UN pointing to the growing possibility of this, scientists are now looking for the way out for combating climate change.

Moreover, the population of the world is also expected to grow by 2 to 3 billion in the year 2050. Researchers are now trying to find out ways in which more food can be produced with less water. Engineering plants to grow well even in the face of drought had so far been tough due to numerous factors influencing dehydration and the question of hundreds of genes being involved.

Pei has also commented that the drought often accompanies heat waves so a multitude of coping strategies have to be used. Therefore, different strategies for handling the situation are needed. Crop plants may boost calcium levels within their cells because of water shortage. The calcium signals the coping mechanisms which the crop plant then needs to undertake to cope with the water shortage.

Previously, scientists had not known about the molecular machinery used by the plants for sending the signal. But this study by Pei and his colleagues has paid off. The scientist and his research team have now identified the protein within the cell membranes of the leaves and roots of the crop. This protein called OSCA1 is the channel which moderates the flow of calcium to the cells during the drought.

The gene was found in a plant called Arabidopsis thaliana which is related to cabbage and canola. It is considered the lab rat by plant and crop researchers. The scientists also found plants with distorted versions of the calcium channel do not give out alarm signals when they face water shortage. With new facts regarding how crop plants use water and how to create drought resistant crops coming to light, it won't be long before science has come up with the right answers for combating climate change.