UC Riverside's plants perform in drought

In California, researchers at UC Riverside have found a way to heighten a plant’s cellular response to drought.  Plants under drought stress produce abscisic acid, a stress hormone to help the plant survive.  The research, conducted at the laboratory of Associate Professor Sean Cutler, has now succeeded in supercharging the plant’s stress response pathway by modifying the abscisic acid receptors so that they can be turned on at will and stay on.  This could bring drought-tolerant crops a step closer to becoming a reality.

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