Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) funded
researchers from the Universities of Birmingham and Nottingham have
uncovered a new mechanism which allows plants to regulate root architecture,
a discovery that could lead to better ways of growing crops.

The researchers discovered that a gene called AtMYB93 plays an important
role in the regulation of root branching, an important aspect of root
architecture. They found that plants with AtMYB93 switched off, had more and
faster growth of lateral roots. They also discovered that the AtMYB93 gene
was switched on in root cells by the plant hormone auxin.

Dr. Juliet Coates, from the University of Birmingham's School of
Biosciences, said: "The AtMYB93 gene is exciting because of its
specificity-it is only expressed in roots, and only in a few cells next to
where the new root would form." She added that although the study is
conducted using Arabidopsis plants, many other flowering plant species such
as barley, rice, millet, grape, and oilseed rape have genes similar to
AtMYB93.

[www.bbsrc.ac.uk]