Plant & Animal Genomes XIII Conference Plant & Animal Genomes XIII ConferenceJanuary 15-19, 2005
Town & Country Convention Center
San Diego, CA
Water availability is the major limitation to crop yields and the availability of water is the major restriction for agricultural production. Globally, agriculture is responsible for 67% of freshwater withdrawal (UNESCO, 2000). Studies on crop responses to water stress have revealed key biochemical and physiological pathways, which provide strategies to enhance water utilization and efficiency. Functional genomics provides a complimentary approach to identify novel insights in water use biology. By screening transgenic Arabidopsis plants over-expressing a broad array of transgenes, a family of transcription factors, previously not associated with water stress tolerance, has been discovered which confer resistance to water stress. Transformation of soybean plants with transgenes from this family results in drought tolerance in both green house and field screens, suggesting the function of this TF family is conserved across plant species. The transgenic soybean plants are providing novel insights in the biology of water utilization.