Plant defects caused by chromosome imbalances

Plant physical defects can be predicted based on chromosome imbalances. Research conducted at Univ. of Calif.-Davis Genome Center found that physical defects in plants can be predicted based on chromosome imbalances. This could lead to being able to determine how the addition or deletion of genes and the organization of the genome affects organisms.
Project scientist Brian Dilkes, a Purdue Univ. assistant professor of horticulture, said understanding why and how these imbalances result in certain characteristics could provide insight into how to correct the defects in not only plants, but also in animals and humans. Understanding how the imbalances cause changes could allow scientists to manipulate plant traits to increase biomass for fuels or other purposes.
The research used the plant Arabidopsis thaliana. The study findings can be found in the journal Genetics.

Pictured: Brian Dilkes, a Purdue Univ. assistant professor of horticulture, was part of a research team that determined that plant physical defects can be predicted based on chromosome imbalances.
Photo by Tom Campbell, Purdue Agricultural Communication