Scientists at KU Leuven and the Alliance of Bioversity International and International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) have developed a method to multiply coconut trees faster and conserve coconut genetic resources more efficiently in gene banks. Drawing inspiration from banana research, Bart Panis (KU Leuven Laboratory for Tropical Crop Improvement/the …
Researchers from Wageningen University & Research (WUR) have unraveled the onion genome, a breakthrough that will help speed up the development of new onion varieties that are resistant to various stresses such as drought and meet the world’s growing demand for onions. Onion is one of the most widely grown …
Scientists from the Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS), Canada have developed a packaging film made of shellfish shells, essential oils, and nanoparticles to keep strawberries fresh for up to 12 days. The film possesses antifungal and antimicrobial properties that help in preserving the strawberries. It is made of …
Medicago, a biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Quebec City, and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) have announced the positive interim Phase 2 clinical trial safety and immunogenicity data for Medicago’s plant-derived COVID-19 vaccine candidate, which was tested in combination with GSK’s pandemic adjuvant. These results are part of the ongoing Phase 2/3 study and …
A study conducted by researchers from the University of Bonn in Germany and Southwest University in China sheds light on an unusual interdependence. They found that maize can attract special soil bacteria that, in turn, help the plants to grow better. The results could also lead to breeding new varieties …
An international team of researchers from the International Rye Genome Sequencing Group (IRGSG) and their collaborators from 14 countries led by the IPK Leibniz Institute in Germany has released the genome sequence of rye, a distinctly climate-resistant cereal plant that is of considerable importance for Germany and north-eastern Europe. Rye …
Cyanobacteria produce plastic naturally as a by-product of photosynthesis—and they do it in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way. Researchers at the University of Tübingen have succeeded for the first time in modifying the bacteria’s metabolism to produce this plastic in quantities to be used industrially. Around 370 million tons …
University of Florida scientists led by tropical plant geneticist Dr. Chambers co-led the generation of a “chromosome-scale” sequencing of vanilla DNA. Four vanilla species were sequenced from a collection of more than 300 varieties established at the Homestead research facility. The sequencing project provided genetic information that lays the groundwork …
Researchers from John Innes Centre (JIC) have mapped out the plant immune system. The research provides a roadmap to plant immunity, with a focus on cell-surface and intracellular immune receptors. The review paper, published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, explains concepts of the plant immune system to readers from …
On October 7, 2020, The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry jointly to Emmanuelle Charpentier of the Max Planck Unit for the Science of Pathogens and Jennifer A. Doudna of the University of California, Berkeley for the development of a method for genome editing. This …
