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an indian study has taken the global search for an alternative to the rubber tree a step closer to reality. A team of researchers from the Pondicherry University claims to have identified a set of key proteins that help guayule -- a perennial shrub of Mexican origin -- produce better quality natural rubber.

Guayule's rubber quality is even better than that of Hevea brasiliensis -- a tree endemic to Brazil that has become the sole source of commercially-produced natural rubber. But guayule has not been commercialised because of its low rubber yield.

Now, research done by D Sundar and his colleagues at the School of Life Sciences at Pondicherry University could help increase the shrub's rubber yield. Guayule is one of almost 2,500 plant species that produce rubber-like polymers.

"Once these proteins and enzymes [which help the conversion of monomer isoprenoid units into the rubber polymer (cis-1,4-polyisoprene)] are completely characterised, we could even think of introducing them into new crop species for increased rubber production," says Sundar, who received the Young Scientist's Award for this work at the Indian Science Congress held in Hyderabad recently.

The scientists had earlier found that rubber formation in guayule is cyclic: it is produced during the cooler months (November-February) and is not a perennial process as in the case of H brasiliensis . This was because low night temperatures enhance the expression of genes that code for enzymes involved in rubber synthesis.

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