Vitamin C Is Essential for Plant Growth

October 6, 2007

Vitamin C Is Essential for Plant Growth Source:Science DailyAuthor:n/a

Researchers at the University of Exeter in the U.K. and Shimane University in Japan have made new discoveries concerning the production and importance of vitamin C in plants. The researchers identified a new enzyme that produces vitamin C, GDP-L-galactose phosphorylase, as will as the two genes that code for the enzyme. That knowledge allowed them to create genetically modified (GM) vitamin C-free plants. It was found that without vitamin C, the plants were unable to grow. Vitamin C was already known to be an antioxidant, helping plants deal with stresses such as drought, ozone, and UV radiation, but the new research indicates that plants are actually unable to grow without it. The researcher's work has been published in The Plant Journal. Nicholas Smirnoff, professor at the University of Exeter and the study's lead author, commented: "The discovery is exciting for me because it is the culmination of a long-term research programme on

vitamin C in plants at the University of Exeter. It opens new opportunities to understand fundamental growth processes in plants and to improve plant resistance to stresses in a changing climate. In the longer term I hope that it will contribute to the efforts of plant scientists to improve crop yield in a sustainable manner." Funding for the research was provided by Bio-Technical Resources, Exeter University School of Biosciences, the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, and a Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) studentship. The article can be viewed online at the link below.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070923205844.htm

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