Researchers discover how plants produce a new anti-stress molecule

New research identifies for the first time genes that help plants grow under stressful conditions, with implications for producing more sustainable food crops in the face of global climate change.

Led by the University of East Anglia (UEA), the study reveals the genes that allow plants to make a new anti-stress molecule called dimethylsulfoniopropionate, or DMSP. It shows that most plants produce DMSP, but high DMSP production allows plants to grow on the coast, for example in salty conditions.

Research also shows that plants can be grown under other stressful conditions, such as drought, when supplemented with DMSP or when plants are bred to make their own DMSP. Such an approach can be particularly beneficial in nitrogen-poor soils to improve agricultural productivity.

This is the first study to describe the genes that plants use to produce DMSP, identify why plants make this molecule, and find that DMSP can be used to improve plant stress tolerance. The results are published today in the journal Natural communications.

Professor Jon Todd, from UEA’s School of Biological Sciences, said: “Excitingly, our study shows that most plants make the anti-stress compound DMSP, but only the salt marsh grass Spartina is special because of the high levels it accumulates. because the Spartina salt marshes are global hotspots for the production of DMSP and for the generation of the climate-cooling gas dimethylsulfide through the action of microbes that break down DMSP.

Lead author Dr Ben Miller, also from the UEA School of Biological Sciences, added: “This discovery provides a fundamental understanding of how plants tolerate stress and offers promising avenues for improving the Crop tolerance to salinity and drought, which is important for improving agricultural sustainability. in the face of global climate change. »

The research team included scientists from the School of Biological Sciences, the UEA School of Chemistry, Pharmacy and Pharmacology and the Ocean University of China.

They studied a species of salt marsh cordgrass, Spartana anglica, which produces high levels of DMSP and compared its genes with those of other plants that produce the molecule, but mainly at low concentrations.

Many of these low DMSP accumulation species are crop plants that cover large areas in the UK, such as barley and wheat.

Researchers identified three enzymes involved in high-level production of DMSP in Spartina anglica. DMSP plays a crucial role in protecting against stress and is an integral part of the global carbon and sulfur cycle, as well as the production of climate-effecting gases.

Salt marsh ecosystems, particularly those dominated by Spartan cordgrass, are hot spots for DMSP production because these plants are capable of synthesizing unusually high concentrations of the compound.