Canadian researchers have been issued an American patent on a process that allows plants to protect themselves against drought.
Isolated nucleic acid encoding farnesyl transferase alpha, or FTA, is one of two signaling genes that Performance Plants has identified as playing a role in a plant’s ability to withstand drought conditions.
The other gene, FTB, has been patented in Europe, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa, with applications pending and nearing approval in Canada and the United States.
Syngenta Seeds is developing the pair of genes, which together are called Yield Protection Technology, for corn, soybean and canola applications. Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. is working on turf plants.
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Performance Plants, with offices in Saskatoon and Kingston, Ont., said the patents are necessary to fund commercial development of crops that use the genes to best advantage.
Canola breeders are also starting the commercialization process using the genes.
Malcolm Devine, Performance Plants’ commercialization officer, said it will take about four years before the technology appears in corn growers’ fields and several more after that for canola.
The company said the application of its technology will allow crops to be more water efficient and reduce runoff containing fertilizers and pesticides.
Stomates, which are the pores plants use for respiration, close under drought conditions. FTA and FTB cause plants to sense the drought sooner, causing stomates to close earlier and maintain moisture.
Plants wilt more slowly and when water returns they recover more thoroughly.
“Ours will recover rather than have long lasting damage and that saves yield,” Devine said.
Performance Plants feels the technology will allow economical grain production in areas normally considered too dry.
“The biggest single market is corn in the U.S.,” Devine said.
However, canola, soybean, turf grass and ornamental flowers are also under development.
“We have done extensive work with canola with testing in all three prairie provinces and are confident it is an important technology for the region’s farmers,” he said.
“Discussions are at an earlier stage in canola than corn; corn is four years out. Our seed partners need to start from scratch to create their own plants, adding this gene to their germplasm and then do the licensing and regulatory work.”
Plant Performance is a privately held company that is funded through venture capital from Saskatchewan and Ontario.
Research discovery and administrative offices are in Kingston, while the Saskatoon location places genes into plants and seeds into plots.
The company is also pursuing heat tolerance research to prevent flower abortion in oilseed crops during early season heat waves.
