The Earth is currentlyexperiencing an increase in global temperature which in turn is causing dramatic changes in global weather patterns. This global temperature change is referred to as Global Warming and is the result of a combination of natural processes and the buildup of greenhouse gases (example-carbon dioxide) in the atmosphere. Global Warming is disrupting established weather patterns and causing floods in some areas and droughts in other areas. Although conditions can result in food shortages or even famine, drought has the potential for causing the most widespread and severe problems with global food production.

      Since Global Warming is now a part of life we must first find ways to adapt to the global climate changes and eventually find methods to reverse or reduce Global Warming’s severity. Crop modification is a way to enhance or change plant characteristics so that the plant is better able to grow in hostile environments such as drought. One method widely used by scientists for changing characteristics in an organism is called site-directed mutagenesis.  In this method, plant scientists, or geneticists, knows beforehand the identity and location of the DNA containing genes that are responsible for controlling the targeted characteristics. Thee geneticist can then modify the genetic material (DNA) inside of the genes and produce plants with the desired characteristics.

      In most cases, however, the scientists may want to produce plants with a special characteristic but may have no idea about the number of genes or the chromosomes that contain the genes. Since the scientists are unable to directly modify the genes, they often use some form of natural selection genetics. This method, first describe by Gregor Mendal,  relies on the observation that all forms of life on earth carry similar, though not necessarily identical genes for controlling a given property. There can be substantial genetic variation even in plants within the same species. Broccoli plants within the same species, for example, have genes that control how the plant utilizes water and nutrients for growth during the growth cycle. There are a large number of genes that are responsible for controlling this process. If a large number of plants are growing in an area with an adequate supply of water, the plants that are the most efficient water users would grow in much the same way as the water-inefficient plants. If, however, an environmental pressure such as a drought occurs, the water-efficient plants would grow and suffer less of an impact than the water-inefficient plants.

      The ‘Best Drought Resistant Plant’ (BDRP) project uses a variation of natural selection called screening. In this study, investigators will grow a random selection of broccoli plants in an aqueous solution of plant growth nutrients. The seeds used in the study will come from plants of the same species and variety (ie. genetically similar) and each plant will experience the same growing conditions. The selection method differs from the environmental-pressure method in that each plant will grow under conditions of adequate water availability. Instead, measurements of plant mass and nutrient solution usage over the initial 6-8 weeks of the growth cycle will be used to determine which plants have the potential for superior growth in drought conditions. Investigators will compare the ratios of plant mass/nutrient solution usage and use the value of this ratio as an indicator of drought survivability. Investigators will select those plants with the largest ratio values and allow these plants to continue growing in an outdoor setting. As a result, the impact of Global Warming may be lessened if the cross-pollination of the BDR plants produces a new strain of broccoli with the enhanced ability to withstand periods of drought.