A new petunia has been developed at the Vineland Research and Innovation Centre that can survive without water for longer than traditional petunias. The plant was produced using an exciting new reverse genetics technology that Vineland researchers are now applying to other horticultural crops such as tomatoes and peppers, with the potential for many more. The science of genetics is rooted in the observations of Gregor Mendel, a 19th century Austrian monk who recorded how certain traits were inherited in pea plants. This classical or "forward" approach to genetics starts with observing traits or characteristics in order to identify the genes or DNA sequences that are responsible. Reverse genetics works in the opposite direction, using DNA sequence information to understand or influence characteristics of the whole plant.
展开▼
