. Earth Science News .
FARM NEWS
Amino acid swap may help wheat tolerate rising heat
by Sommer Brokaw
Washington DC (UPI) May 04, 2020

British scientists said Monday that an amino acid swap can help protect wheat crops from rising heat due to global warming.

Similar to smart thermostats that switch on and off based on heat from sun, the amino acid Rubisco activase, or Rca, turns the plant energy-producing enzyme Rubisco on or off based on sunlight, according to a study published Monday in The Plant Journal.

Switching just amino acid from the plant's Rca can help Rubisco work better to trigger photosynthesis more efficiently at hotter temperatures, Lancaster University researchers said in a press release.

Elizabete Carmo-Silva, a senior lecturer at Lancaster Environment Center, said findings in the Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency project could also help with other crops such as cowpea and soybean.

"The cool thing here is that we have shown how this one amino acid swap can make Rca active at higher temperatures without really affecting its efficiency to activate Rubisco," Carmo-Silva said, "which could help crops kickstart photosynthesis under temperature stress to churn out higher yields."

The researchers found that swapping out just one of 380 molecular building blocks allowed plants to tolerate higher levels of heat.

The hope, they say, is that the method of activating Rubisco can be perfected to help plants grow better in a wider variety of environs.

Carmo-Silva points to the range of temperatures in Africa -- an average of around 71.6 degrees, to Nigeria's average 86 degrees, and up to areas farther north on the continent that reach 100.4 degrees -- as areas it is important to help crops be more durable against rising heat.

"If we can help Rubisco activate more efficiently across the temperatures, that is really powerful and could help us close the gap between yield potential and the reality for farmers who depend on these crops for their sustenance and livelihoods," she said.


Related Links
Farming Today - Suppliers and Technology


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


FARM NEWS
Honey bees face chronic paralysis pandemic in Britain
wWashington DC (UPI) May 01, 2020
The virus responsible for chronic bee paralysis is spreading rapidly among honey bee colonies in Britain, according to a new study. Between 2007 and 2017, scientists visited 24,000 beekeepers to survey the health of commercial bee colonies in England and Wales. In 2007, the disease was found only in Lincolnshire, a county in eastern England. Just ten years later, the virus had spread to 39 of 47 English and six of eight Welsh counties. Though the virus was isolated among just a handful o ... read more

Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.



Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

FARM NEWS
Balcony protests and e-rallies as epidemic curtails May Day demos

Canada invests in online mental health care amid COVID-19 crisis

Swiss soldiers fight COVID-19 armed with Bluetooth app

New York's homeless flock to empty subway trains

FARM NEWS
Scientists discover just how runny a liquid can be

Papua New Guinea seizes Barrick, Zijin gold mine

'Animal Crossing' offers digital getaway under lockdown

Sustainable structural material for plastic substitute

FARM NEWS
Nearly 100,000 evacuated after Uzbekistan dam bursts

Ocean acidification prediction now possible years in advance

CO2 emissions from dry inland waters globally underestimated

Life is bubbling up to seafloor with petroleum from deep below

FARM NEWS
Seal behavior helps scientists predict changes in Antarctic krill distribution

NASA space laser missions map 16 years of ice sheet loss

Arctic bird turns down immune system to conserve energy in winter

Glacier detachments: A new hazard in a warming world?

FARM NEWS
Honey bees face chronic paralysis pandemic in Britain

Virus helps infected bees slip past the guards of healthy hives

UAE wages war on tiny scourge threatening date palms

Amazonians go hungry despite living in one of the most biodiverse places on Earth

FARM NEWS
'Wobble' may precede some great earthquakes, study shows

Strong earthquake strikes off Crete, no casualties

New study finds connection between fault roughness and the magnitude of earthquakes

New Zealand volcano disaster victims to sue cruise ship firm

FARM NEWS
S.Africa to deploy 73,000 more troops for lockdown

Madagascar president launches coronavirus 'remedy'

Cameroon admits army role in February killing of 13 civilians

Lesotho's army withdraws as calls mount for PM to resign

FARM NEWS
Evidence of Late Pleistocene human colonization of isolated islands beyond Wallace's Line

Commuter data helps scientists define metropolitan boundaries

Study reveals rich genetic diversity of Vietnam

Diverse livelihoods helped resilient Levanluhta people survive a climate disaster









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.