Dhaka,  Nov. 5, 2013. In an article titled, “Putative megaenzyme DWA1 plays essential roles in drought resistance by regulating stress-induced wax deposition in rice published in the November issue of  the agricultural section of PNAS(vol.110:17790-17795), Xiaoyi Zhu and Lizhong Xiong affiliated with National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, National Center of Plant Gene Research (Wuhan), Huazhong Agricultural University, China, have  reported characterizing a gene (DWA1) which encode a large protein comprising 2391 amino acids.  Said protein exerts genetic control on the load on leaves. The DWA1 protein contains a multienzyme-like structure, including a prokaryotic nonribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS)-like module and is conserved in vascular plants. Interestingly, the NRPS-like module with an AMP-binding domain can activate long-chain fatty acids for wax biosynthesis. This finding may have significant implications for improving the drought resistance of crop varieties through modifying wax biosynthesis.­­­­­