Passing on new traits without altering DNA: new technique

January 31, 2012 |

In Switzerland, University of Neuchâtel researchers have demonstrated that stimulating a plant’s natural defenses also increases the capacity for disease resistance in its descendants.  Instead of working on the DNA of their model plant, Arabidopsis thaliana, the researchers worked instead on molecules located close to the DNA, and primed them with either β-amino-butyric acid or an avirulent isolate of bacteria from the genus Pseudomonas.

The descendants of primed plants defended themselves faster and better against a vector of mildew and a pathogenic bacterium.

Category: Research

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