Praia, July 15, 2025 (Lusa) - A scientific study on plant samples collected in Cabo Verde provides new suggestions for developing agricultural crops in soils with high salt content due to the influence of seawater, according to an article consulted on Tuesday by Lusa.
"Our findings reveal a knowledge-based method for developing salt-tolerant crops, which may be attractive for both conventional and organic farming," the scientists say, detailing the laboratory experiments carried out.
The work ‘Parallel evolution of salt tolerance’ in samples of the plant Arabidopsis thaliana collected in Cabo Verde was published in the latest edition of the journal Science Advances, available on the Internet.
The article is shared by 15 authors from universities and research centres in France and Spain, and although this is not the first time that plant resistance to salinity has been studied, the study offers genetic and biochemical evidence that could underpin new biotechnological approaches.
"Soil salinisation is a major threat to agriculture" and, in this case, the Cabo Verde Islands "are located 600 kilometres off the coast of Africa and are characterised by arid environments and highly saline soils," the authors point out.
"We found that Arabidopsis thaliana plants native to these islands accumulate “glucuronyl-mannose”, which protects them from salt stress", a compound whose production scientists link to a specific gene, called GH38cv.
Plants carrying GH38cv mutations "show no defects in growth, fitness or biotic resistance under standard laboratory conditions, but have better germination rates, longer roots, better water status and greater fitness than non-mutated plants when exposed to salt stress".
According to the article, the mutations "evolved independently on two distinct islands within the Cabo Verde archipelago", Santo Antão and Fogo, "illustrating an example of parallel evolution for salt tolerance in this environment".
"Our findings may have practical implications for agriculture (...). In summary, both the synthesis and application of “glucuronyl-mannose”, as well as the targeted genetic editing of GH38cv, offer promising nature-inspired strategies to increase salt tolerance in crops and ornamental plants through biotechnological approaches," they conclude.
The insularity of Cabo Verde is one of the factors contributing to its biodiversity and has aroused scientific interest in various fields.
In March, another group of scientists indicated that a type of date palm that is believed to exist only in Cabo Verde may help similar trees adapt to climate change and other problems.
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