A part of the global food crisis is the inefficiency of current irrigation
methods. More irrigated water evaporates than reaches the roots of crops,
amounting to an enormous waste of water and energy. Tel Aviv University
researchers, however, are investigating a new solution that turns the
problem upside-down, getting to the root of the issue. They are genetically
modifying plants' root systems to improve their ability to find the water
essential to their survival

The Root Cause of Wasting Water

When it comes to water, every drop counts. "Improving water uptake by
irrigated crops is very important," says Prof. Amram Eshel, the study's
co-researcher from Tel Aviv University's Plant Sciences Department. His
team, with that of Prof. Hillel Fromm, hope to engineer a plant that takes
advantage of a newly discovered gene that controls hydrotropism, a plant's
ability to send its roots towards water.

Scientists in TAU's lab are observing plants that are grown on moist air in
the University's lab, making it possible to investigate how the modified
plant roots orient themselves towards water. Until now, aeroponics (a method
of growing plants in air and mist) was a benchtop technique used only in
small-scale applications. The current research is being done on the
experimental model plant Arabidopsis, a small flowering plant related to
cabbage and mustard.

Environmental Consequences Have Economic Consequences Too

"Our aim is to save water," explains Prof. Eshel. "We are increasing a
plant's efficiency for water uptake. Plants that can sense water in a better
fashion will be higher in economic value in the future."

There can be significant water-saving consequences for farmers around the
world. "We are developing plants that are more efficient in sensing water,"
says research doctoral student Tal Sherman, who is working under Prof. Amram
Eshel and Prof. Hillel Fromm. The project is funded by a grant from the
Israeli Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to Prof. Fromm and
Prof. Eshel.

Ideas Planted in Darwin's Time

In the nineteenth century, scientists were already observing that plant
roots naturally seek out the wetter regions in soil.

Although the phenomenon is well documented, scientists until recently had no
clue as to how the mechanism worked, or how to make it better. New insights
from the Tel Aviv University study could lead to plants that are super water
seekers, say researchers.
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