Biology Prof. Michael P. Timko and his team of researchers identified a gene that provides resistance to parasitic plants, publishing their findings in last week's issue of the journal, "Science." The research may prove especially useful in bettering the lives of African farmers who depend on the cowpea plant for survival.\nUsing the "viral induced silencing method," Timko was able to identify which gene in the cowpea plant was responsible for the plant's resistance to the parasitic plant Striga, which drains plants of water and nutrients. Plants missing this specific gene from their genetic sequence showed lessened resistance to the parasite.\nAfter isolating and identifying the gene, Timko's team researched how the gene provides Striga resistance to the plant. Understanding the process through which the gene provides parasitic resistance "will help us understand how to make a more durable resistance," Timko said.\nJust as the human body must fight off new and evolving strains of the flu every year, the cowpea plants must adapt to the ever-evolving Striga plant, Timko said. Pathogens, such as Striga, can attain the ability to break down resistance, but a more durable resistance would be able to avoid this possibility. By researching the mechanism in which the gene provides resistance to the cowpea plant, researchers hope to "stay one step ahead of the parasite," he said, and prevent the breakdown of the plant's resistance.\nThe identification of this gene provides the basis for further research, which may one day improve the lives of people around the world.\nStriga is most commonly found in Africa, India and Southeast Asia, Timko said. In these regions, particularly in Africa where the cowpea is an important crop, the food supply can be ravaged by Striga. When attacked by the Striga pathogen, the yield of the cowpea can be reduced up to 90 percent, research assistant Kan Huang said. The destruction of such a large quantity of crops can have a serious impact on the lives of African farmers.\nOther modes of controlling the parasite, like the use of expensive chemicals, are less feasible, especially in remote locations. Rather than using alternative methods, "we want to put the resistance into the host itself so that when the pathogen attacks the host, it will be resistant," Huang said.\nThe team is hopeful that the research will expand to include resistance against other Striga species.\n"Eventually we are going to conquer the Striga problem," Huang said.\n-Kate Colwell contributed to this article.
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