"Peptides could revolutionise how food is grown"
The Universities of Queensland and Sydney collaborated on the study, which has found about 130 CLE peptide hormones in legumes that were essential to growth and development.
Senior Lecturer at the Centre for Integrative Legume Research Brett Ferguson said while peptides were known to exist in plants, bacteria and animals, their role as signals to regulate development was little understood.
"We see this in humans and we see this in animals and this class, these CLE peptides, have critical roles in controlling the development of plants," Dr Ferguson said.
"We're really interested in identifying signals that are required for growth and development; hopefully we can use those signals to optimise food security and agricultural sustainability."
Read more at ABC News (Kalle Buchanan)