{"id":106,"date":"2014-09-15T18:47:08","date_gmt":"2014-09-15T18:47:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/research.unl.edu\/annualreport\/2014\/?p=106"},"modified":"2014-11-18T22:42:44","modified_gmt":"2014-11-18T22:42:44","slug":"tapping-breakthrough-to-help-african-farmers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/research.unl.edu\/annualreport\/2014\/tapping-breakthrough-to-help-african-farmers\/","title":{"rendered":"Tapping Breakthrough to Help African Farmers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Manipulating how plants express their genes promises higher crop yields and better performance under drought or other environmental stress. UNL plant scientist Sally Mackenzie is harnessing her breakthrough in epigenomics to improve crops important to developing countries.<\/p>\n

\"Mackenzie_14048\"<\/a>
Sally Mackenzie<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Mackenzie discovered that using a transformation technique to turn off a specific gene found in most plants stunts the plant\u2019s growth. However, crossing this reprogrammed plant with an unmodified plant produces progeny with greatly enhanced growth, even when plants are stressed. This translates into up to 35 percent higher yields in many crops.<\/p>\n

Importantly, those enhanced characteristics remain stable in subsequent generations without altering their genetic makeup. That\u2019s because switching off the gene in the parent changes the progeny\u2019s epigenetics \u2013 or how their own genes are expressed.<\/p>\n

This technique requires significant resources to create an original transgenic plant, and some crop plants aren\u2019t amenable to transgenic transformation. With a nearly $3 million, three-year grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Mackenzie is exploring ways to tap this epigenetic potential to improve crops for low-resource African farmers.<\/p>\n

\"Mackenzie_14082\"<\/a> \"Mackenzie_14072_SM\"<\/a> \"Mackenzie_14068\"<\/a>