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Brazil's Embrapa develops drought-tolerant soybeans
Dec. 1, 2014
BrazilResearchers at Embrapa Soja (the soybean unit of the Brazilian Research Corporation) are developing GMO soybean capable of resisting extreme weather conditions. Specialists in plant physiological ecology, led by scientist Alexandre Nepomuceno, managed to introduce a gene that makes soybean more tolerant to drought.
"Named Y, this gene is able to activate and enhance natural defense genes of plants. With this, plant capacity to withstand drought increases. Isolated from plant Arabidopsis thaliana, the Y gene is patented by the Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences - an agency from the Japanese government.
During the 2013/2014 crop season, in experimental fields of Londrina, soybeans with gene Y were compared with plants of similar genetic background without the Y gene. "The plants with the Y gene had a productivity increase of 13.5% when compared to non-GM beans," pointed out the researchers chief.
The drought is a problem that has caused losses of nearly US$ 27 billion just in two of the major production areas of soybean: Rio Grande do Sul and Paraná, where soybean plantings failed to produce 55 million tons. To have an idea, the lost grains between 2004 and 2014 represent more than what is produced from two crop seasons in the Southern region of Brazil.
Source: AgroNews
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