Israeli scientists offer solution to famine
Team led by chancellor of Kinneret College develops new technology which may enable crops to weather draughts worldwide, thus minimizing famine, strife
An Israeli team of scientists has developed a new technology which may enable crops to weather draughts worldwide, thus minimizing famine and strife.
The team, led by Professor Shimon Gepstein, chancellor of the Kinneret College, genetically engineered a plant that can withstand draughts by "freezing itself" after not receiving water for a certain period of time, and then "returning to life" after the water supply is renewed, and this without incurring any damage to the plant’s physical structure.
The finding was discovered by chance while running experiments on prolonging plants’ longevity and the shelf-life of vegetables. Experimenting on tobacco leaves, the scientists were able to develop a plant that lives twice as long as the average tobacco plant, providing flowers and fruits long after the regular plants have withered and died.
When the tips of the leaves were cut off, the regular plants yellowed and died after a week, whereas the genetically engineered plants stayed green for a full 21 days.
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The breakthrough was revealed when some of the plants were left in the green house unattended for four weeks. Tobacco plants require watering every two to three days. When the plants were discovered they had not lost their vitality.
The team decided on a series of monitored tests. Regular and engineered plants were not watered for three weeks. The regular plants died, and the engineered plants once again began to grow after receiving water, having incurred no damage during the "draught period."
This discovery is especially significant for the State of Israel. Wheat is planted at the beginning of the winter and sprouts after the first rain, but will die if there is no subsequent rainfall.
With this new technology, the wheat shoots will be able to withstand considerable amounts of time with no rain. Furthermore, scientists forecast more common world-wide draughts in the future as a result of climate changes, and this newly acquired knowledge may serve as the solution to this looming global threat.
Lastly, the plants flourished with only a third of the water usually required to water plants. With water sources dwindling, this new Israeli technology may be the key for the survival of agriculture in various areas in the world.
A spokesman for the Kinneret College told Tazpit News Agency that the findings have are already being implemented, at that international firms have expressed interest in the technology.
Reprinted with permission from Tazpit News Agency
