Researchers from the Institute of Plant Sciences (IPS) at the University of Bern, Switzerland have shown that specialized metabolites secreted by maize roots affect the quality of soil and in some fields, this effect increases the yields of wheat planted after maize in the same soil by more than 4%. …
Researchers at the Earlham Institute in Norwich have turned tobacco plants into solar-powered factories for moth sex pheromones using genetic engineering techniques. The team at Earlham Institute worked with scientists at the Plant Molecular and Cell Biology Institute in Valencia, Spain to engineer N. benthamiana, a species of tobacco, to …
Researchers from the Centre for Research in Agricultural Genomics (CRAG) have successfully shown that iron treatment helps increase the resistance against rice blast fungus and activate the plant’s immune response against the pathogen. A study published in the Rice journal reveals that exposing rice plants to moderately high levels of …
Researchers from the Centre of Excellence in Molecular Biology, University of the Punjab, used CRISPR-Cas9 to knockdown vacuolar invertase (VInv) gene, which resulted to reduced cold-storage sugar formation and sweetening in potatoes. The findings are published in Planta. CRISPR-Cas9-mediated knockdown of VInv gene was carried out using two sgRNAs in …
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) launched seeds into space as part of their initiative to develop crops that can withstand the impacts of climate change. The Arabidopsis and sorghum seeds are traveling to the International Space Station staring …
Nanjing Agricultural University researchers reported how they improved soybean’s resistance to Phytophthora without compromising growth. Their findings are published in Phytopathology Research. A plant’s immune system is turned on when it perceives the presence of pathogens. An active immune system impacts growth, making it a challenge to balance plant immunity …
Researchers from Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences and Yangzhou University in China developed low glutelin rice using the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing system. Their findings are published in Plant Science. Chronic kidney disease and phenylketonuria patients are required to consume rice with low glutelin content. Thus, one of the goals of …
Norfolk Plant Sciences Ltd welcomed the decision by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) which means US home growers should be able to purchase seeds and grow the nutritionally enhanced high-anthocyanin purple tomato from spring 2023. The USDA Regulatory Status Review (RSR) issued on Wednesday September 7 is based …
The European Sustainable Agriculture through Genome Editing network (EU-SAGE) has published an interactive database for genome-edited crops. The database shows that genome editing is used in a wide variety of crops to improve diverse characteristics, many of which can contribute to more sustainable agriculture. The EU-SAGE database represents state-of-the-art scientific …
University of Maryland scientists have developed CRISPR-Combo, a new tool for editing several genes in plants while simultaneously modifying the expression of other genes. This breakthrough, published in Nature Plants, allows genetic engineering combinations that work together to enhance the functionality and breeding of new crops. “As a proof of …
