Researchers have discovered how plants sense low oxygen levels, and are using the information to produce flood-tolerant crops.
In the case of severe flooding, crops struggle to survive because they are starved of oxygen.
Julia Bailey-Serres and researchers were able to identify the molecular mechanisms involved in the process.
When plants are starved for oxygen they begin to use energy reserves as an alternative. As a result more sugars are broken down to generate adenosine triphosphate (ATP) because of the lack of oxygen.
Normally plants would use oxygen to generate ATP, which is used for energy storage.
Read more at Nature