Plants form protective cuticle layers that help them guard against water loss and pathogens. Understanding how these layers form and function could help scientists develop more stress-tolerant plants, improving our ability to grow crops that will be more adaptable. Algoma University’s Isabel Molina is working with researchers at the University of California, San Diego and Cornell University to study the genes responsible for making and maintaining the fatty acids and waxes plants use to assemble their cuticles.
Helping plants–especially crops–to better withstand drought and high temperatures is increasingly important in the face of climate change.
