Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences improved the tocopherol composition of maize to maximize its use for human and livestock health. The results are published in Transgenic Research. The seeds of many plant species, including maize, have high gamma (γ)-tocopherol but low alpha (α)-tocopherol contents, α-tocopherol, a form …
A research team at the University of Toronto in Canada has successfully tested a new strategy to identify genetic resources in the ongoing battle against plant pathogens such as bacteria, fungi, and viruses, which infect and destroy food crops worldwide. The team led by David Guttman and Darrell Desveaux wanted to know how plants …
While nearly everyone around the world eats corn, not everyone knows that the crop is extremely sensitive to cold weather because it is a tropical plant. Now a research team at the Boyce Thompson Institute has taken a step closer to developing a new type of corn that can recover …
Scientists from the University of Würzburg, Germany and partners are exploring on the capability of modified plants to store more carbon dioxide, which can possibly slow down climate change. Their findings are published in Trends in Biotechnology. Excessive carbon dioxide released through the soil and vegetation respiration that is not absorbed by plants through photosynthesis fuels global …
Rice provides daily subsistence for about three billion people worldwide and its output must keep pace with a growing global population. In light of this, the identification of genes that enhance grain yield and composition is much desired. Scientists have provided a new strategy to enhance grain yield in rice …
A group of scientists were able to successfully developed genetically modified (GM) poplar trees that do not emit the gas isoprene. Two field trials in the US showed that the GM poplars were not affected by their non-production of isoprene and they grew normally just like conventional poplars. Isoprene is …
Scientists from the University of Glasgow have discovered a safe and novel method that can safeguard important crops from the widespread bacterial disease caused by Pseudomonas syringae (Ps). Ps infects a wide range of crop species worldwide including tomato, kiwifruit, pepper, olive, soybeans, and fruit trees. Plant diseases result to massive economic losses, …
Researchers at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire have discovered a gene that controls the regulation of iron uptake in plants. The newly-discovered gene, known as Upstream Regulator of IRT1 (URI), controls when genes should be expressed in plant roots to begin iron uptake. According to the team, URI controls as …
When plants come under attack from invading bacteria, viruses or fungi, they mount a two-pronged response, producing both offensive chemicals to kill invaders and defensive chemicals to prevent infestations from spreading. Now, scientists at Stanford have used a type of chemical vaccine to switch on this plant defense system to …
The market for biologically-derived proteins is said to reach US$300 billion in the future. Currently, industrial enzymes and other proteins are made in large, expensive fermenting reactors, but using plants to produce them could reduce production costs by three times. Researchers at Cornell University and the University of Illinois have …
