( When given extra shots of the plant ste...)Ozone recovering, but unlikely to stabilize at pre-1980 levels, says study

When given extra shots of the plant steroid brassinolide, plants "pump up" like major league baseball players do on steroids. Tracing brassinolide's signal deep into the cell's nucleus, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have unraveled how the growth-boosting hormone accomplishes its job at the molecular level.

The Salk researchers, led by Joanne Chory, a professor in the Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology Laboratory and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, published their findings in this week's journal Nature.

"The steroid hormone brassinolide is central to plants' growth. Without it, plants remain extreme dwarfs. If we are going to understand how plants grow, we need to understand the response pathway to this hormone," says Chory. "This study clarifies what's going on downstream in the nucleus when brassinolide signals a plant cell to grow."

Brassinolide, a member of a family of plant hormones known as brassinosteroids, is a key element of plants' response to light, enabling them to adjust growth to reach light or strengthen stems. Exploiting its potent growth-promoting properties could increase crop yields or enable growers to make plants more resistant to drought, pathogens, and cold weather.

Unfortunately, synthesizing brassinosteroids in the lab is complicated and expensive. But understanding how plant steroids work at the molecular level may one day lead to cheap and simple ways to bulk up crop harvests.

Likewise, since low brassinolide levels are associated with dwarfism, manipulating hormone levels during dormant seasons may allow growers to control the height of grasses, trees or other plants, thereby eliminating the need to constantly manicure gardens.

Based on earlier studies, the Salk researchers had developed a model that explained what happens inside a plant cell when brassinolide signals a plant cell to start growing.

But a model is just a model. Often evi
'"/>

Source:University of Colorado at Boulder

Page: 1 2 3
Related biology news :

1. Tibetan antelope slowly recovering, WCS says
2. Medical experts: US unlikely to have enough vaccines to stop avian flu
3. Access to antiretrovirals unlikely to reduce HIV infection rates
4. Individuals and populations differ in gene activity levels, not just genes
5. Yellowstone microbes fueled by hydrogen, according to U. of Colorado study
6. Canadian youth 4th highest in international obesity study
7. Sandia completes depleted uranium study
8. Frog peptides block HIV in lab study
9. Experimental shingles vaccine proves effective in nationwide study
10. Patient-choice C-section rate rises 36%: HealthGrades study
11. Volunteers sought for avian flu vaccine study