Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4
Page 5
Page 6
Page 7
Page 8
Page 9
Page 10
Page 11
Page 12
Page 13
Page 14
Page 15
Page 16
Page 17
Page 18
Page 19
Page 20
Page 21
Page 22
Page 23
Page 24
Page 25
Page 26
Page 27
Page 28
Page 29
Page 30
Page 31
Page 32
Page 33
Page 34
Page 35
Page 36
Page 37
Page 38
Page 39
Page 40
Page 41
Page 42
Page 43
Page 44
Page 45
Page 46
Page 47
Page 48
Page 49
Page 50
Page 51
Page 52
Page 53
Page 54
Page 55
Page 56
Page 57
Page 58
Page 59
Page 60
SPUDSMART.COM SUMMER 201526 If Plants Could Talk Scientists at Agricultural and Agri-Food Canadas Potato Research Centre hope to develop a handheld device that could one day tell farmers how their crops are doing. BY MELANIE EPP IMAGINE if you could walk into the field and have your potato plants tell you how they are doing. This groundbreaking technology is closer than you think. Two Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada scientists at the Potato Research Centre in Fredericton N.B. Bernie Zebarth and Helen Tai are working on a method for collecting data from plants almost the same way as a car mechanic assesses your cars engine. The researchers are looking at a process called plant gene expression as an indicator of how plants are behaving and what they are sensing in their environment. According to Zebarth plants like humans carry a library of their genetic material. Not all genes are turned on all of the time though. For example he says stress genes will only turn on when the plant experiences some kind of stressor such as nutrient deficiency disease cold temperatures or drought. Agricultural and Agri-Food Canada Scientist Bernie Zebarth is studying gene expression in potato plants as a way to assess nutrient needs of crops. ALL PHOTOS AAFC. The active genes are copied into RNA that is ribonucleic acid in a process called gene expression says Tai. At the molecular level RNA plays a central role in the pathway from DNA to proteins which are the workhorse of the plant cell carrying out critical biological functions. We extract RNA from plants and use it to query what genes are active and from that determine what stresses the plant is experiencing. FOCUS ON NUTRIENT NEEDS Specifically Zebarths and Tais research focuses on nitrogen phosphorus and potassium needs of potato plants. The goal says Zebarth is to develop a test capable of assessing the nutrient status of the crop as it grows in the field. In the future the researchers would like to broaden the scope of their work to also look at more plant stressors. Identification of the best genes to use in order to quantify the plant status is the more challenging part of the process. We initially focused on genes that can be used to assess potato nitrogen status. While we have made good progress we do not yet have a selection of genes that can be used reliably across all conditions Zebarth says. More recently we have started focusing on phosphorus and potassium as well he continues. Our long-term goal is to have a single assay that can detect multiple stresses. Tai is also working on a gene expression indicator for tubers that can guide the use of cold temperatures in storage. There may be something we can detect in the potato leaves during the growing season that would tell us about the starches and sugars inside the potato tuber which