Antifreeze Gene Could Lead To Frost Tolerance
9 April 2006 Presented at the BIO2006 meeting in Chicago, Illinois, US, the gene could help prevent crop losses due to frost, which are estimated to account for 5% to 15% of the world’s crop losses each year.
Minister of Innovation John Brumby represented scientists from the Department of Primary Industries based at the new Victorian AgriBiosciences Centre in Victoria, Australia, in presenting the findings. He was joined by Victorian Minister for Agriculture Bob Cameron, who noted that on average, frost destroys nearly US $140 million of the wheat and barley crops of Victoria and South Australia alone.
The gene is derived from a grass species that has the ability to inhibit ice crystal growth as a mechanism for freezing tolerance. It is one of only two vascular plants and the only grass species on the Antarctic peninsula. It survives in temperatures as low as minus-30 C and lives through winters with little or no light.
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