Hypoallergenic poplar. Free Technical Library News

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hypoallergenic poplar

24.12.2022

The researchers have edited the genes of the trees so that in the spring they produce only "hairless" seeds that do not cause allergies.

Selective breeding of plants is very broad and is aimed at giving them new useful traits or enhancing certain qualities. For example, scientists change the size, appearance, nutritional value, yield, resistance to pests, heat, cold, salinity or drought.

As a rule, such work is carried out by selecting and crossing individual plants that have the necessary properties. However, the work is laborious and usually requires a certain amount of waiting time for the plants to mature.

If the reproductive cycle of vegetable plants is only a few months, then for trees this period can include several years - this is a very long cycle, which significantly slows down the work of scientists. But it seems that in a new study, scientists from the University of Georgia solved two main problems at once - firstly, they reduced the reproductive cycle of poplars, and secondly, they made their seeds “naked”, and therefore hypoallergenic.

In the course of the study, the scientists turned to the CRISPR gene-editing system to try to speed up the process. For their experiment, the scientists chose poplar, which has a long juvenile period - from 7 to 10 years.

Previously, in such studies, scientists usually focused on gene regulators that directly affect the development of the plant. But, unfortunately, success in poplar research seemed patchy. In the new study, scientists completely changed the approach and eliminated the negative impact.

Using the CRISPR gene editing system, the scientists eliminated the CENTRORADIALIS (CEN) gene, which suppresses flowering initiation in young plants. According to study co-author CJ Tsai, he and his colleagues managed to reduce the flowering time of poplar from at least 7 years to 3-4 months, and the annual period of organ development to several days.

Scientists believe that this breakthrough will further allow scientists to accelerate the process of deducing new beneficial traits in plants. By the way, researchers have already taken advantage of this “accelerator” of the process - in the course of the study, they were able to edit another poplar gene to reduce the number of cotton-like seed attachments that cause allergies in thousands of people. Tsai says the study has been successful, and scientists have now provided the molecular basis for growing "bald" seeds, which can further reduce the amount of allergens carried.

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The experimental flexible elastic battery measuring 2 by 2 cm has a flat shape, can be attached to a fabric that collects sweat, and quickly connects to any mobile gadgets, including smart watches, medical sensors and other devices.

During testing, a volunteer fastened an elastic battery on his wrist and rode a bicycle for 30 minutes. During the experiment, the element generated a voltage of 4,2 V at a power of 3,9 mW, which allows you to feed the temperature sensor and provide data transfer from the sensor to a smartphone via Bluetooth. The battery does not contain harmful or corrosive materials that are harmful to human health or the environment.

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