Genes that help leaves last Researchers have identified the genetic variations needed to prolong the lifetime of leaves, which increases photosynthetic periods and improves plant productivity. Climate Change and Environment Food and Natural Resources Fundamental Research © atokic, Thinkstock The constantly growing global demand for plant products means that scientists need to come up with new ways to improve crop productivity and sustainability. One promising approach is to genetically engineer plant crops with prolonged leaf lifespan, which will result in longer photosynthetic periods and thus better productivity. The EU-funded CROPLIFE (Enhanced plant productivity through control of lifespan) initiative worked to improve leaf lifespan through molecular biology and genetic engineering. The researchers focused on the model crop species barley (Hordeum vulgare) and ryegrass (Lolium perenne), which are both well-studied plants. Researchers identified several molecular markers for senescence (programmed cell death) in barley, which can be used to study leaf lifespan. This information was used to choose senescence-associated transcription factors (proteins that regulate when senescence can occur) for further study. CROPLIFE identified variant crops that mature earlier than normal plants in ryegrass. The team also found other genetic variations linked to changes in lifespan and senescence. Researchers studied the variation in barley and ryegrass regarding lifespan. They identified the early maturity genes in barley and developed genetic markers for both plants. CROPLIFE has used the knowledge gained so far to produce several mutated barley and ryegrass lines, enabling researchers to now identify the key regulators of senescence. Keywords Genetic variations, plant productivity, leaf lifespan, CROPLIFE, barley, ryegrass
