18 Sep 2019 --- Previously known for contributing to fruit color and shape, rider retrotransponsons, or jumping genes, have been found to alter the gene expression and physical characteristics of plants. Recent research conducted by the University of Cambridge’s Sainsbury Laboratory (SLCU) and Department of Plant Sciences, UK, has shown that jumping genes’ native regeneration attributes has the potential to vary fruit and vegetable traits. This could allow crops to better cope with more extreme conditions driven by the changing climate such as helping to make them drought-resistant.