University of Manchester - Seeds of change

Plants that respond better to changes in the environment - giving greater crop yields under conditions of global warming - could be developed following a study into weeds that grow in pavement cracks. A team at the University of Manchester has identified a protein that helps plants to "track" the environment and increase their capacity to grow. Some plants, including important crops, are less able to track their environment and are thus unable to cope with changes. The team hopes to use traditional breeding or genetic modification to introduce the protein, thereby increasing crop yields.