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Researchers at The University of Western Australia have discovered a gene that allows dormant seeds buried in the soil to detect germination stimulants in bushfire smoke called karrikins.

The same gene has also been found to provide the means for plants to respond to a growth hormone called strigolactone, which controls shoot branching, the formation of beneficial fungal associations, and germination of parasitic weeds.

The findings reinforce the view that smoke from bushfires not only signals destruction but also provides the stimulus for new vigorous plant growth with the following rains.

UWA plant biologist Dr David Nelson, who led the research, selected plants that had lost the ability to respond to karrikins and then searched for the defective gene in those plants.

"It was a ‘eureka moment' when I looked at the DNA sequence of the defective gene and realised what we had discovered," he said.  "That one gene has two very different functions, one in fire ecology and the other in plant development."

The findings reflect the fact that the karrikins and the strigolactone hormone have very similar chemical structures.  Their slight differences allow them to perform different roles but their similarities mean they are detected by one plant chemical detection system.  Ultimately the detector system allows the plant to distinguish between these signals and respond appropriately.

Winthrop Professor Steven Smith said the findings will give us a new perspective on how to adapt plant and fire management and response.

"It will help us to understand how plant communities will respond in future to the increasing incidents of fire, how we should use fire to manage plants, and to investigate new methods for controlling weeds," Professor Smith said.

The discovery published in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America was a team effort by scientists from the Centre of Excellence for Plant Metabolomics , the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology , the UWA School of Biomedical, Biomolecular and Chemical Sciences , the UWA School of Plant Biology , Kings Park and Botanic Garden , and the University of Queensland.

Media references

Winthrop Professor Steven M. Smith (+61 8)  6488 4403
( Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology )
Janine MacDonald (UWA Public Affairs)  (+61 8)  6488 5563  /  (+61 4) 32 637 716