Scientists discovered a “genetic goldmine” that could be used by crops to withstand hotter and drier climates due to global warming.
Experts at New York University have discovered the plants in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile, which is one the driest areas on Earth.
These plants have genes that enable them thrive in the most Marslike regions of Earth. They are also closely related to staple foods like grains and potatoes.
According to Professor Gloria Coruzzi (lead author), it opens the door for engineering more hardy fruits and vegetables. She has compiled more than 200 blooming species.
Professor Coruzzi stated, “In an era where climate change is rapid, it’s crucial to uncover the genetic basis to increase crop production and resilience in dry and nutrient-poor environments.”
The Chilean researchers created an unrivalled ‘natural lab’ in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. This is one of the harshest and most dry environments on Earth.
The coast desert is situated between the Pacific coast line and the Andes mountains. It is an arid plateau but in spring, a corner of it is covered in flowers.
There are more than 200 species that thrive in the region, including yellow ananuca and purple pata de Guanaco. They thrive in an inhospitable climate that receives 0.01 centimeters per year.
The team also mentioned other varieties such as perennial shrubs, annuals, and grasses.
Mesquite trees, buckwheat bush, ferns and black sage have deep roots and fleshy leaves that retain the moisture and now an international team is getting to the bottom of a phenomenon that has baffled scientists for decades.
They created an unprecedented ‘natural lab’ that identified the genes and microbes responsible for the power of the most challenging plants on the globe.
It is hoped that the findings published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences will feed the world in the coming decades, as the planet warms.
Professor Rodrigo Gutierrez of The Pontifical Catholic University of Chile was co-author. He said that the study of desert plants has direct relevance to areas around the globe that are becoming more arid as a result of climate change.
He stated that factors such as drought, extreme temperature, and salt in soil pose a significant threat for global food production.
The plants must also withstand high altitudes, low nutrients in the soil, and extreme sunlight radiation.
Over a ten year period the researchers collected, labelled and froze the 32 most dominant plants taken from 22 sites across the desert in different vegetational areas and at every 320ft of altitude.
The samples were kept under liquid nitrogen and sent 1,000 kilometres under dry ice to Prof Gutierrez Lab in Santiago, where staff traced their DNA.
Some people grew in areas where temperatures fluctuated over 50 degrees from day-to-night – or where there was high radiation.
Others were found in soil largely made up of sand and lacking nutrients. Only a few days of annual rain was enough to bring them all to safety.
Analysis revealed that some species had growth-promoting bacteria close to their roots. This adaptive strategy optimizes the intake of nitrogen, which is critical for growth in the Atacama’s nutrient-poor soils.
Gabriela Carrasco helped identify, label, collect, and freeze plant samples in the Atacama desert. These samples were then stored under dry ice for RNA extractions. They traveled approximately 1,000 miles.
By comparing 32 species of similar protein sequences from around the world, genes whose gene sequences were adapted could be identified.
This was done by phylogenomics, which reconstructs an organism’s family trees.
Prof Corruzi stated: “The goal was use this evolutionary tree based genome sequences for identification of changes in amino acid sequences encoded by the genes that support evolution of Atacama plants adaptation to desert conditions.
Atacama’s riverbeds have been dry for around 120,000 years. Temperature changes can be extreme with daytime temperatures hovering around 77F and nighttime temperatures dropping to 28F.
NASA has looked into it in search of clues to life in the Martian subsurface.
Dr Gil Eshel from NYU is co-author. He stated: “This computationally intensive genomic analysis involved the comparison of 1,686,950 proteins across more than 70 species.
“We used the super-matrix containing 8,599764 amino acids to reconstruct the evolutionary history for the Atacama spp.
The study identified 265 candidate genes whose protein sequence changes were selected by evolutionary forces, producing mutations that could underlie plant adaptation to the desert conditions.
These genes include genes that regulate light and photosynthesis. This may allow plants to adapt to extreme radiation.
The researchers also discovered genes that regulate stress response, salt, detoxification, and metal.
They could be related with the ability to withstand a nutrient-poor environmental.
Most studies on plant tolerance are based on laboratory experiments with a few species, which leaves out the ecological context.
Experts at New York University have discovered that the plants were found in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile, which is one the driest places in the world.
Dr Viviana Araus (co-author) is a member Prof Gutierrez’s laboratory. She said that by studying an ecosystem in its natural setting, she was able to identify adaptive genes, molecular processes, and genes among species confronted with a common harsh environment.
The Atacama’s surprising blossom is locally known as the “flowering desert”.
Prof Gutierrez stated that most of the plant species that we identified in this research had never been studied before.
“As some Atacama plants have close relatives to staple crops like potatoes and legumes, the candidate genes that we identified are a genetic goldmine for engineering more resilient crops, which is a necessity given our planet’s increasing desertification.
The findings have been published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.