Plants have large vacuoles that store water, while animal cells have much smaller vacuoles. If scientists want to develop crops that can survive longer during drought, which method would be most useful?
Increase the size of plant vacuoles so they can store more water.
The large central vacuole of a plant cell stores water along with dissolved substances. When it is full, it presses the cytoplasm against the cell wall and keeps the cell turgid, which keeps leaves and young stems firm.
During drought the plant takes up little water from the soil. A larger vacuole holds a bigger reserve of water, so the plant can draw on it for longer and keep its cells turgid before wilting sets in. So increasing the size of the vacuoles would help crops survive longer without water.
Making the vacuoles small like those of animal cells, reducing the water they store or removing them altogether would all reduce the plant's water reserve and turgidity, making the crop wilt sooner during drought.
Hence, Increase the size of plant vacuoles so they can store more water.
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