The Earth is now greener than it was two decades ago, according to the satellites of US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Data from NASA satellites revealed that China and India are the leading countries in terms of increased greening on lands. This is attributed to the ambitious tree …
Wheat is one of the most economically-important crops grown in wide areas globally. This crop faces drought in many areas, affecting its production. Thus, a drought tolerant wheat would be a desirable alternative for growers to combat water deficit conditions. A gene (Helianthus annuus homeobox 4 or HaHB4) from sunflower …
A new, unprecedented study conducted by a large research consortium led by INRA reports that a diet based on MON 810 or NK603 transgenic maize does not affect the health or metabolism of rats. Under the conditions of GMO 90+1 project, the researchers did not detect any harmful effects of …
Tomato plants emit an aroma in order to ward off bacterial attacks. This volatile compound is hexenyl butyrate (HB), and according to testing by researchers at the Institute for Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology, Spain, it has great potential for protecting crops from infections, drought, etc. The finding has been …
The chili pepper, from an evolutionary perspective, is the tomato’s long-lost spitfire cousin. They split off from a common ancestor 19 million years ago but still share some of the same DNA. While the tomato plant went on to have a fleshy, nutrient-rich fruit yielding bountiful harvests, the more agriculturally …
Plant biologists at the University of California, Davis have discovered a way to make crop plants replicate through seeds as clones. The discovery, long sought by plant breeders and geneticists, could make it easier to propagate high-yielding, disease-resistant or climate-tolerant crops and make them available to the world’s farmers. The …
Researchers report that they can efficiently produce antifungal proteins in plants based on a modified tobacco mosaic virus. The results of this research, which could have a major impact in the agri-food industry, have been published in the Plant Biotechnology Journal. The fungi that cause diseases in plants, animals and …
Researchers have been using biolistics in delivering the genome editing complex in wheat due to difficulties in Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation in the species. However, scientists from Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences in China and colleagues overcome this limitation by successfully targeting three wheat genes using CRISPR-Cas9 delivered via Agrobacterium-mediated genetic …
A database that features the vast amount of research and development on biotech crops being conducted by public sector institutions and research centers around the world is now available. The database produced by CropLife International features the crops being developed in different countries, including the traits for each crop. The …
Researchers from Pennsylvania State University have fooled soybean plants into thinking they were under attack by temporarily silencing the expression of a critical gene. After selectively cross breeding those plants with the original stock, the progeny “remember” the stress-induced responses and become more vigorous, resilient, and productive. This epigenetic reprogramming …
