Skip to main content

KAI2 Improves Growth as Well as Germination After Fire

KAI2 improves plant growth after a fire germination
Why do plant seeds in Australia start germinating after a fire? It is because of Karrikin Insensitive2 (KAI2) a protein which has been present in plants for millions of years. KAI2 has been important for all plants for 400 million years.

When the KAI2 protein was removed from a higher, more recent plant, Arabidopsis thaliana, its leaves malformed. Yet splicing the KAI2 back by taking it from the ancient Selaginella resulted in improved A. thaliana growth, but it could no longer detect the presence of smoke the normal function of KAI2.

This finding shows the more general function of KAI2. It not only identifies karrikins in smoke, it is important for plant growth. "Sensing" is the main purpose of KAI2. Apparently it can be tuned to detect different things. This could help farmers control seed germination times.

Wheat is notorious for germinating in the grain during heavy rain periods. Being able to spray a chemical that stops this would save millions of dollars and improve crop yields. Furthermore, spraying to stop weeds from sprouting would be the supreme herbicide.
◆ Biology Ty Buchanan ◆
●
            Australian Blog ★  Adventure Australia
ALL BLOG ARTICLES· ──► (BLOG HOME PAGE)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
biology plants karrikins kai2 germination seed shoot sprout grow herbicides weeds control
Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

New Species Found in Australia

An endangered animal, Antechinus, has two new members. Well, they have been there all along. A team from Queensland University of Technology discovered the Tasman Peninsula Dusky Antechinus (Antechinus vandycki) in south east Tasmania, and nominated the Mainland Dusky Antechinus   (Antechinus mimetes) . The latter was known to be in New South Wales and Victoria but it is now a species in its own right. The Tasman Antechinus is about 13 cm long with a short tail weighing roughly 90g. It is located in Port Arther, Tasmania. Under threat from clearing of trees it resides in state forest in fragmented groups.  Survival is precarious in the isolated stands. While uncovering new species is rare in developed countries, new ones are being found in Australia all the time. This is due to the low population density of people in inland Australia. Unfortunately, new species when found are usually in small numbers and under threat. Antechinus are not helping themselves...
Read more

Albert Einstein's Genius Was Due to His Unusual Brain

Albert Einstein wasn't only a genius her was a very odd human being. His brain shows peculiar differences from the norm; it had many more folds than the average person. This gave the brain a greater surface area. It is like using a larger computer to do calculations. Upon his father's death in 1955, Thomas Einstein gave the pathologist permission to preserve the brain of Albert Einstein. It was photographed then dissected into 2,000 ultra-thin slices. The slices and slides of them were later distributed to researchers. The brain had more neurons and glia cells, well outside of the normal range; pariental lobes were unusual in the pattern of ridges and grooves. Einstein only had a brain of average size. The area controlling the tongue and face was larger, as was the region that involves attention and planning. Overall, Einstein's brain was complex. Many people think in words. He said his thinking was like a physical activity. If selection based on "healthy...
Read more

TV Dog

"Never anything on worth watching." Funny Animal Photos by Ty Buchanan http://www.adventure--australia.blogspot.com/ http://www.tysaustralia.blogspot.com/ http://adventure--australia.blogspot.com/atom.xml http://www.technorati.com/blogs/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vista Computer Solutions Blog        Australian Blog ★                          ALL BLOG ARTICLES · ──► ( BLOG HOME PAGE) Share Article
Read more