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SCIENTISTS UNLOCK

MYSTERIES OF PLANT

GROWTH AND HEALTH

The discovery will help
develop heat-tolerant crops
and improve algal biofuel

production

Plants, like all other known and their functions are fy several new functions of ed the mutants to 121 well even in some contami-
organisms, utilize DNA unknown to scientists. Re- previously known genes by different treatments, which nated soils.
to pass on traits. Animal cent research conducted analyzing these datasets. resulted in a dataset of
genetics often focuses on by UC Riverside, Princeton These genes have roles in 16.8 million data points. Many of the gene functions
parentage and lineage, but University, and Stanford photosynthesis, DNA dam- Each mutant had a unique discovered in algae are
this can can be challeng- University has revealed age response, heat stress DNA barcode that the also conserved in plants.
ing in plant genetics since the functions of hundreds response, toxic chemical team could read to see This information can be
plants can be self-fertile, of genes in algae, some response, and algal preda- how that mutant was doing
unlike most animals. of which are also found in tor response. in a specific environmental used to engineer plants to
plants. The breakthrough stress condition. be more tolerant to heat
Many plants have unique will aid attempts to ge- Several of the genes they or cold stress, temperature
genetic abilities that make netically modify algae for discovered in algae have The group discovered new stress, or improve photo-
speciation easier, such as biofuel production and counterparts in plants with gene functions in hundreds synthesis, all of which will
being well suited to poly- generate climate-resistant the same roles, indicating of genes. For example, become increasingly im-
ploidy. Plants are special agricultural crop types. that the algal data can they learned that a gene portant as climate change
in that they can synthesize help scientists understand widely found throughout threatens the world’s food
energy-dense carbohy- “Plant and algae genetics how those genes function multicellular organisms supply.
drates via photosynthesis, are understudied. These in plants as well. helps repair damaged
which is accomplished organisms make the foods, DNA. Another 38 genes,
through the usage of fuels, materials, and medi- Automated approaches to when disrupted, caused A better understanding
chloroplasts. Chloroplasts cines that modern society analyzing tens of thou- problems with using energy of algae genetics will
have their own DNA which relies on, but we have a sands of mutants quickly, from light, indicating that also improve engineering
allows them to serve as poor understanding of how known as high-throughput these genes played roles in strategies to make them
an additional reservoir for they work, which makes methods, are typically used photosynthesis. produce more products,
genes and genetic diver- engineering them a difficult to understand gene func- like biofuels.
sity, as well as creates an task,” said corresponding tion on a genome-wide Yet another cluster of
additional layer of genetic author Robert Jinkerson, scale in model systems like genes helped the algae “The data and knowledge
complexity not seen in an- an assistant professor of yeast and bacteria. This is process carbon dioxide, a generated in this study is
imals. Despite its difficulty, chemical and environmen- quicker and more efficient second crucial step in pho- already being leveraged
plant genetic research has tal engineering at UC Riv- than studying each gene tosynthesis. Other clusters
significant economic im- erside. “A common way to individually. High-through- affected the tiny hairs, or to engineer algae to make
plications. Many crops can learn more about biology is put methods do not work cilia, the algae use to swim. more biofuels and to im-
be genetically modified to to mutate genes and then very well in crop plants, This discovery could lead prove environmental stress
increase yield and nutri- see how that affects the however, because of their to a better understanding tolerance in crops,” said
tional value as well as gain organism. By breaking the larger size and the difficulty of some human lung and Jinkerson.
pest, herbicide, or disease biology we can see how it of analyzing thousands of esophageal cancers, which
resistance. works.” plants. might be partially caused Reference: “Systematic
by defective cilia motility. characterization of gene
Genes contain all of the The researchers conduct- The researchers, therefore, function in the photo-
instructions that an or- ed tests that generated used a high-throughput A newly discovered gene synthetic alga Chla-
ganism needs to survive, millions of data points robot to generate over cluster protected the algae mydomonas reinhardtii” 5
develop, and reproduce. using algal mutants and 65,000 mutants of Chla- from toxins that inhibit
But identifying a gene automated tools. The mydomonas reinhardtii, a cytoskeleton growth. These May 2022, Nature Genet-
and understanding what it researchers were able to type of single-celled green genes are also present ics.
does are two very different uncover the functional role algae closely related to in plants and the discov-
things. Many genes include of hundreds of poorly char- plants and easy to alter ery could help scientists DOI: 10.1038/s41588-022-
unexplained instructions, acterized genes and identi- genetically. They subject- develop plants that grow 01052-9