Scientists at the Salk Institute are buoyed after a first-of-its-kind study provided further clues on how plants in later stages of life protect themselves from environmental threats. Their findings could help scientists engineer new plants that capture and store more carbon for a longer duration.
The study was published in the Developmental Cell journal, and the team outlined how its discoveries could enhance future plants in a news release.
"Plants play a crucial role in capturing carbon from the atmosphere and storing it in the soil," noted the study's senior author, professor Wolfgang Busch. The scientists were particularly interested in the plant's phellem cells, which are abundant in suberin. Suberin is the molecule that helps facilitate the storing and capturing of carbon in plants. It notably provides longer-lasting carbon storage than what is stored in stems and leaves.
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All the time 💯 Past studies focused on younger plants, where lengthening new roots is the focus. Conversely, the Salk team wanted to home in on how older plants use different components, including their phellem cells, to ward off obstacles such as temperature, drought, and microbial infection. The overall armor that plants build is called the periderm. The scientists studied it using single-cell sequencing techniques and "debuted the first comprehensive gene expression atlas."
"Collecting this level of detail in mature plants across time has never been achieved before," said the study's first author, Charlotte Miller. "Other studies grind up entire roots and study them in bulk, but single-cell analysis allowed us to understand the genetic development of each individual cell type in the periderm."
The team's discoveries can be channeled into boosting new plants with more suberin to not only aid carbon capture and storage but also protect against root rot. The scientists aim for their close level of genetic examination to allow them to engineer plants with more phellem cells, suberin, and long-lasting carbon capture.
They join wide-ranging efforts to fully harness the capabilities of plants in absorbing carbon. Biotech company Living Carbon is examining the "diamond of the plant world," sporopollenin, as a potential solution. Binghamton University researchers, meanwhile, have taken a different tack with engineered artificial plants that can capture carbon indoors. Meanwhile, the Bill Gates-backed startup Graphyte is burying plant-made bricks filled with carbon underground.
Plants can play a big role in offsetting record-high carbon pollution, which contributes to the dangerous warming of the planet and consequent extreme weather events such as droughts.
The next move for the Salk team will be sifting through all the phases of phellem cell development to unearth how best to spur phellem development. It is also looking to gather more insights into overall periderm development and how suberin-rich cells outside the periderm protect plants against lateral root growth.
"Our work not only advances plant science but also opens the door to creating more robust crops and enhancing carbon sequestration through plant roots, providing solutions to both agricultural and climate challenges," concluded Busch.
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