EDINBURGH, Scotland, Dec. 13 (UPI) -- Scottish researchers say discoveries about the survival mechanisms of plants could lead to agricultural crops capable of adapting to sudden changes in climate.
Scientists at the University of Edinburgh say their investigations of how tiny algae renew old or damaged cell proteins could be useful in developing crops suited to climates in which weather changes quickly.
The speed at which protein renewal takes place determines the speed of adaptation to environmental changes such as a sudden frost or drought, a university release said Tuesday.
The research could lead to breeding crops incorporating proteins that respond quickly to changing conditions, scientists said.
"Until now, we knew that plants replaced their old and damaged proteins, but we had no idea how long this process took for individual proteins, or how this varied between different parts of the plant," Sarah Martin of the university's Center for Systems Biology said.
"Our findings will be useful in understanding more about how plants are programmed for survival."
