This award will support Professor John Mullet of Texas A & M University in a research collaboration with Dr. Alejandra Covarrubias of the Plant Biotechnolgy Center in Cuernavaca, Mexico. The purpose of the research is to identify genes in plants that contribute to drought tolerance, drought avoidance and water use efficiency. Identification of these genes will allow new approaches to improve drought tolerance in crop species. The researchers will collaborate in the identification of genes induced in response to water deficit in Sorghum and Phaseolus. Sorghum will be studied because it is a drought tolerant cereal; Phaseolus varieties also share desiccation tolerance and the plant is an important source of food in Mexico. The analysis will focus on specific genes and study the role of abscisic acid in induced desiccation tolerance. In addition, the researchers will map the location of abscisic acid modulated genes on the RFLP map of Sorghum to help establish relationships between specific genes and drought tolerance under field conditions. The proposed collaboration will be of benefit to the U.S. side in extending their collection of genes to genes induced in response to more severe water deficits and genes responsive to abscisic acid, while the Mexican side will benefit from access to the U.S. researcher's gene collection and related information.
