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Researchers Surprised After They Graft Tomato Plants With Epigenetically-Modified Rootstock - SciTechDaily

Researchers Surprised After They Graft Tomato Plants With Epigenetically-Modified Rootstock - SciTechDaily

Researchers Surprised After They Graft Tomato Plants With Epigenetically-Modified Rootstock - SciTechDaily
Oct 22, 2020 2 mins, 27 secs

Novel grafted plants — consisting of rootstock epigenetically modified to “believe” it has been under stress — joined to an unmodified scion, or above-ground shoot, give rise to progeny that are more vigorous, productive, and resilient than the parental plants.

That is the surprising finding of a team of researchers that conducted large-scale field trials with tomato plants at three widely separated locations over multiple plant generations.

They contend that the discovery, which came from a collaboration between Penn State, the University of Florida and a small start-up company in Nebraska, has major implications for plant breeding.

The grafted tomato plants involved in the research produced seed that resulted in progeny that were, on average, 35% more productive.

Because the technique involves epigenetics — manipulating the expression of existing genes and not the introduction of new genetic material from another plant — crops bred using this technology could sidestep controversy associated with genetically modified organisms and food.

That is the hope of research team leader Sally Mackenzie, professor of plant science in the College of Agricultural Sciences and professor of biology in the Eberly College of Science at Penn State.

Building on previous research conducted by Mackenzie’s research group at Penn State, the rootstock came from tomato plants in which researchers manipulated the expression of a gene called MSH1 to induce the “stress memory.” That memory is inherited by some progeny, giving them the potential for more vigorous, hardy, and productive growth.

The MSH1 gene gave researchers access to the pathway controlling a broad array of plant resiliency networks, explained Mackenzie, who is the Lloyd and Dottie Huck Chair for Functional Genomics and director of the Plant Institute at Penn State.

“When a plant experiences a stress such as drought or prolonged extreme heat, it has the ability to adjust quickly to its environment to become phenotypically ‘plastic’ — or flexible,” she said.

The finding that those “remembered” traits passed from the roots through the graft to the top of the plant — published today (October 22, 2020) in Nature Communications — is hugely important, Mackenzie pointed out.

The grafted tomato plants involved in the research produced seed that resulted in progeny that were, on average, 35% more productive — a stunning outcome, she noted.

Xiaodong Yang, assistant research professor of biology (left) and Hardik Kundariya, who recently completed his doctoral degree requirements, led the project in the Mackenzie lab to demonstrate the effects of epigenetic manipulation on plant performance.

However, the plants that were the offspring of the grafted plants with the epigenetically manipulated rootstock mostly survived — and then they thrived.

Also involved in the research at Penn State were: Michael Axtell, professor of biology; Xiaodong Yang, assistant research professor of biology; Robersy Sanchez, associate research professor of biology; and Hardik Kundariya, graduate student in biology; Samuel Hutton, University of Florida; and Michael Fromm and Kyla Morton, EpiCrop Technologies, Lincoln, Nebraska.

October 19, 2020

October 19, 2020

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