One of the world’s most primitive plants has yielded the secret of how plants open and close the pores in their leaves, known as stomata. Finnish scientists have discovered the gene that controls the mechanism and are now working on ways of stimulating it. Drought resistant plants, such as many endemic Australian species, can close their stomata in hot and dry weather, reducing evaporation to survive drought. Some scientists plan to use the knowledge to genetically engineer drought resistant food crops.
Read the full story