For long, they were dubbed as the villain among vegetation, sucking all the water from ground, spreading rapidly along the coast and degrading the environment. More than a century after Prosopis juliflora, a shrub, was introduced in Indian soil by the British, scientists are now trying to use its genes to engineer rice varieties that can withstand water scarcity.

After coming up with rice grains that are resistant to saline conditions by tapping genes of mangroves, researchers at M S Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) have now identified genes in P juliflora that help the weed withstand extreme climatic conditions like salinity and drought. This, they say, can help develop transgenic rice grains that can cope with aridity...................Read more

Source: The Times of India