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Research Project:
GENOMIC APPROACHES TO IMPROVING TRANSPORT AND DETOXIFICATION OF SELECTED MINERAL ELEMENTS IN CROP PLANTS
Location: Plant, Soil and Nutrition Research
Title: Membrane transporters as keys to improving crops for sustainable food production
Authors
 | Schroeder, Julian - | | Delhaize, Emmanuel - | | Frommer, Wolf - | | Guerinot, Mary Lou - | | Harrison, Maria - | | Herrera-Estrella, Luis - | | Horie, Tomoaki - | |
Kochian, Leon
| | Munns, Rana - | | Nishizawa, Naoko - | | Tsay, Yi-Fang - | | Sanders, Dale - |
Submitted to: Nature
Publication Type: Literature Review
Publication Acceptance Date: February 5, 2013
Publication Date: N/A
Technical Abstract:
With the global population predicted to grow by at least 25% by 2050, the need for sustainable production of nutritious foods is critical for human and environmental well-being. Recent advances show that specialized plant membrane transporters can be utilized to enhance yields of staple crops, increase nutrient content, and increase resistance to key stresses including salinity, pathogens, and aluminum toxicity, which in turn could expand available arable land. In this article we report on findings demonstrating that understanding the biology of plant membrane transporters can be a key contributor to the goal of global food security. We discuss examples where fundamental research is already being translated into practical applications such as enhancing the micronutrient content of grain and improving plant tolerance of saline and acidic soils. We further discuss potential applications linked to breakthroughs in basic research that are yet to be applied to crop plants. This perspective reviews the extent to which the rapid advances in plant transport research address global aspects of food security and how we can potentially reduce the time between trait identification in the laboratory and exploitation in the field.
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