The discovery, made by researchers at the University of California, Davis, and the University of California, Berkeley, focuses on a family of proteins called CCT, which are found in all plants and are involved in a variety of cellular processes.
In this study, the researchers found that CCT proteins are also involved in regulating the expression of genes that are responsible for important crop traits. This finding could provide a way to modify these traits by manipulating the expression of CCT proteins.
"This discovery opens up a new avenue for crop improvement," said study lead author Sarah Hake, a professor of plant biology at UC Davis. "By understanding how CCT proteins regulate gene expression, we may be able to develop new ways to improve crop yields and resilience."
The researchers made their discovery by studying the expression of genes in Arabidopsis thaliana, a small flowering plant that is commonly used as a model organism in plant biology. They found that CCT proteins were involved in regulating the expression of genes that are responsible for a variety of traits, including drought tolerance, seed size, and flowering time.
"We were surprised to find that CCT proteins were involved in regulating such a wide range of traits," said study co-author Jocelyn Chan, a postdoctoral researcher at UC Berkeley. "This suggests that CCT proteins play a central role in plant development and physiology."
The researchers are now working to identify the specific mechanisms by which CCT proteins regulate gene expression. They hope that this knowledge will lead to the development of new ways to modify crop traits.
"We are excited about the potential applications of this research," said Hake. "By manipulating the expression of CCT proteins, we may be able to develop new crops that are better adapted to a changing climate and that provide increased yields."
The study is published in the journal Nature Genetics.
