Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 4434 STATUSAustralia PLANT BREEDERS are constantly working to produce higher-yielding crop varieties that are less susceptible to disease and extreme environmental conditions. But a University of Western Australia geneticist says these efforts have been hampered by a lack of understanding of specialized cells within plant roots. Tim Stuart has helped improve knowledge of root development, which is an important first step in improving nutrient use and uptake by root cells. According to the team, there are at least six different types of specialized root cells, each of which has been genetically altered within the plant in a natural process called epigenetics. One of the cell-types that differs the most is the gravity- sensing columella cell, which helps the root grow downward to locate more water and better anchor the plant. Columella also plays an important role in nutrient uptake. They drew their conclusions after breaking down a plant root into individual cells with enzymes before placing each cell into a single drop of liquid in a process called fluorescence- activated cell sorting. At Duke University these cells were subject to a laser resulting in a fluorescent signal that could be measured. Plant breeders in Australia work to further their understanding of plant roots while policymakers in Europe, Ghana and India look to make changes — be it plant breeders rights, how technology is used in agriculture or royalty collection. As extensive research in the past showed known proteins produced specific fluorescent markers, each cell could then be classified according to its proteins and placed into a tube with identical cells. These were then DNA-sequenced at The Salk Institute producing huge data sets that Stuart analyzed for his thesis. The work has enabled the authors to show for the first time that groups of root cells have epigenetic differences and produce different sets of proteins, meaning they can perform specialized functions. “If you look at the whole root you don’t get any idea that these differences are there,” Stuart says. “But if you look at these different groups of cells within the root, you see that there’s actually massive differences between the cells. It’s the first step in understanding the development of the root and the function of these different cell types.” They have based their experiments on the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, a tiny member of the mustard family that generations of botanists have studied because it reproduces every six to eight weeks, allowing research to progress rapidly. Stuart says this work will pave the way for similar research on crop species to help improve nutrient uptake, nutrient use and plant growth. STATUSEurope AGRICULTURE FACES many challenges ranging from climate change to rising food demand. On June 7, Members of the European Parliament adopted an own-initiative report on how technological innovation could sustainably increase productivity. Anthea McIntyre, an EMP from United Kingdom, outlined that innovation can be used for all types of agriculture. “We have to ensure all our farmers can benefit from technological innovation,” she says. “I want to very much see farmers involved in creating things, benefitting from technology, but also steering the way — actually identifying particular problems they’ve got.” The report identifies several domains where research should be encouraged and supported, such as plant breeding techniques. “Plant breeding already has saved a land about the size of Latvia,” she says. “We can produce more on less land. That means that we are not destroying biodiversity.” McIntyre also stressed the importance of water management. “It’s frightening agriculture uses 70 per cent of the world’s fresh water,” she says. “The first thing is to improve the breeding of crops so we have crops that require less water, but also look at ... irrigation techniques.” She also addressed people’s fears about using technology.