Nature 2013-05-02

Using membrane transporters to improve crops for sustainable food production.

Julian I Schroeder, Emmanuel Delhaize, Wolf B Frommer, Mary Lou Guerinot, Maria J Harrison, Luis Herrera-Estrella, Tomoaki Horie, Leon V Kochian, Rana Munns, Naoko K Nishizawa, Yi-Fang Tsay, Dale Sanders

Index: Nature 497(7447) , 60-6, (2013)

Full Text: HTML

Abstract

With the global population predicted to grow by at least 25 per cent by 2050, the need for sustainable production of nutritious foods is critical for human and environmental health. Recent advances show that specialized plant membrane transporters can be used to enhance yields of staple crops, increase nutrient content and increase resistance to key stresses, including salinity, pathogens and aluminium toxicity, which in turn could expand available arable land.