Geneticists at Stanford University have figured out a way to carefully control the structure of plant roots as they grow and branch.
By manipulating the depth and shape of a burgeoning root system, researchers hope they can one day reprogram crops to make them more resilient in the face ofA shallower root system, for instance, could help crops better absorb phosphorus near the surface. Whereas a deeper root system could be better for collecting water and nitrogen.
The genetic techniques Brophy and her colleagues use to achieve such high precision could potentially reprogram plants much faster than they can otherwise adapt and more precisely than they can be cultivated for desirable traits.
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