Discovering which genes are responsible for male plants could enable new genetic control. By
12/14/2020 Scientists are getting closer to finding the genes for maleness in waterhemp and Palmer amaranth, two of the most troublesome U.S. agricultural weeds. Finding the genes could enable new “genetic control” methods for the weeds, which, in many places, no longer respond to herbicides. Waterhemp and Palmer amaranth are dioecious, meaning they have both male and female plants. “If we knew which genes control maleness and we could make those genes proliferate within the population, every plant in the field would be a male after a few generations, and theoretically, the population would crash,” says Pat Tranel, a University of Illinois weed scientist and lead author on a study in
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IMAGE: University of Illinois scientists are getting closer to finding the genes for maleness in waterhemp and Palmer amaranth, two of the most troublesome agricultural weeds in the U.S. Finding the. view more
Credit: Lauren D. Quinn, University of Illinois
URBANA, Ill. - Scientists are getting closer to finding the genes for maleness in waterhemp and Palmer amaranth, two of the most troublesome agricultural weeds in the U.S.
Finding the genes could enable new genetic control methods for the weeds, which, in many places, no longer respond to herbicides. If we knew which genes control maleness and we could make those genes proliferate within the population, every plant in the field would be a male after a few generations, and theoretically, the population would crash, says Pat Tranel, professor and associate head in the Department of Crop Sciences at the University of Illinois and lead author on a study in
Scientists are getting closer to finding the genes for maleness in waterhemp and Palmer amaranth, two of the most troublesome agricultural weeds in the U.S.