Want to sleuth out the secrets to plant behavior? You need a genomic signature, of course. Using the latest tools of genetic analysis, ORNL researchers have developed a way to determine why plants behave the way they do at a molecular level. The technique involves genetically analyzing plants exposed to an unknown environmental stress and then comparing that genomic signature against a database of already known phenotype information linked to specific genes within the plant. A network analysis determines the gene clusters responsible for the behavior. These clusters are then used to create a signature that ties a particular group of genes to a specific function of the plant. Tracing these genomic signatures will help scientists understand the mechanisms of plant response to climate-change and determine the best varieties of plants for bioenergy crops.
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