Plant's lack of 'flower power' pays dividends
An unusual strain of plant that never flowers has enabled scientists to isolate a gene that is essential for the formation of the branches on which flowers form. Writing in Nature Communications today, Tuesday 24 April, an international team of scientists which includes Professor Noel Ellis from Aberystwyth University, outline how they studied a mutant pea plant, Pisum sativum, to identify the gene that leads to formation of flowering branches on plants. By comparing it with flowering plants, the researchers were able, after many years of painstaking research, to identify a gene that controls the development of these branches on plants. Professor Ellis from the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS) at Aberystwyth is an expert on legumes - plants such as peas and clover. He believes this work puts in place the methods, principles and expertise needed to use genetics for the development of more productive and environmentally beneficial legumes. Pro...