Russian scientists have created new forms of potatoes without flowers and resistant to diseases. On Monday, February 21, reports “Gazeta.Ru” with reference to the All-Russian Research Institute of Agricultural Biotechnology (VNIISB).
It is noted that scientists have resorted to the technology of editing two potato genomes, one of them is responsible for flowering, the second for resistance to various diseases, in particular, fungal infections.
“This is primarily the LFY gene, a transcription factor that controls the transition of plants to flowering. The second gene we are working with is the so-called negative regulator of resistance. Plants have genes whose inactivation leads to an increase in their resistance to various kinds of diseases, and one of such promising genes is EDR1,” said Vasily Taranov, candidate of biological sciences, head of the laboratory at VNIISB.
He clarified that genomic editing is currently at the stage of analyzing the results.
According to Taranov, blocking the flowering of potatoes is likely to achieve higher yields, since the energy resources of the plant can be spent on the formation of tubers.
Meanwhile, scientists say that full-fledged varieties of potatoes have not yet been created, since the technology is young, and besides, there are nuances at the legislative level.
“There is a debatable issue in the legislation: whether to equate genetically edited plants with genetically modified organisms. GMOs are not grown in our country, there is a moratorium on this. Genetically edited, most likely, will still be allowed, ”said Academician Gennady Karlov, director of VNIISB.
He explained that the essence of the new technology is that changes in genes are made by engineering methods without foreign interference.
April 2 last year it became known that the scientists of the Tambov State University. G.R. Derzhavin will study the fundamental foundations of the formation of the biomechanical properties of wood. The project became the winner of the competition for the support of scientific research conducted by the Russian Science Foundation.
Source: IZ
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
