Genetically engineered Israeli plants resistant to drought?

Last month, a team of scientists from Israel accidentally came across new technology that might allow plants to survive droughts worldwide. The team, led by the Chancellor of Kinneret College: Professor Shimon Gepstein, were testing the longevity and shelf-life of vegetables by cutting off the tips of tobacco leaves when their genetically engineered tobacco plants lived three times longer than the normal plants.

To further test the phenomenon, the team left their genetically enhanced tobacco plants alone without water for three weeks. Normal tobacco plants need water every one to two days, but the genetically engineered plants, receiving water after the three weeks, began again to grow, showing no damage during the ‘drought period’.

These genetically engineered plants also proved to only needed one-third of the water usually required to keep tobacco plants alive.

This new technology is very important for countries with low annual rainfall, so it is no surprise that many international firms are interested in the technology for the safety and security of their nations.