So Sproutish: Anti-aging gene for plants gives drought protection

A gene for simulating youth in plants offers an unusual approach to protecting crops from drought, says an international research team.

HANGING ON. Regular tobacco plants (top) failed to recover after 15 days without water, but plants genetically engineered with an anti-senescence gene (bottom) perked up after watering resumed. Blumwald

The gene IPT, borrowed from a bacterium, codes for an enzyme that can delay the stress-triggered senescence of plant leaves.