The School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, the University of Hong Kong (HKU), in collaboration with the Institut de Biologie Moléculaire des Plantes (CNRS, Strasbourg, France), has identified a new strategy to simultaneously enhance health-promoting vitamin E by ~6-fold and double both provitamin A and lycopene contents in tomatoes, …
Potato is the fourth most widely consumed plant food by humans after rice, wheat and corn, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It is a staple food in some Asian, African and South American countries where there is a high incidence of vitamin A and vitamin E deficiencies. A …
Rutgers scientists have found an efficient way to enhance the nutritional value of corn by inserting a bacterial gene that causes it to produce a key nutrient called methionine, according to a new study published online today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The discovery could benefit millions …
The National Biosafety Authority of Kenya published in the Kenya Gazette issued by the Authority of the Republic of Kenya on the 8-th September 2017 under Gazzete Notice 8846 the list of approved GMO applications for the period 2016-2017. The list includes the approval for National Performance Trials targeting the …
Researchers in China have developed a genetic engineering approach capable of delivering many genes at once and used it to make rice endosperm (seed tissue that provides nutrients to the developing plant embryo) produce high levels of antioxidant-boosting pigments called anthocyanins. The resulting purple endosperm rice holds potential for decreasing …
Imaginature Ltd is a company specialized in cut-flower development. Recently, the company has applied for approval from the National Biosafety Authority (NBA) in Kenya for open field trials related to growing GM Gypsophila in the country. Usually the flowers of Gypsophila or also known as “Baby’s Breath” are white in …
Pectate lyase genes are known to be potential candidates for enhancing the firmness of fruits. However, the potential of these genes to increase the shelf life of fruits after harvesting has not been fully investigated. In a recently published article in the Plant Biotechnology Journal, a team of scientists with …
Insect pests that are rapidly adapting to genetically engineered crops threaten agriculture worldwide. A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reveals the success of a surprising strategy for countering this problem: Hybridizing genetically engineered cotton with conventional cotton reduced resistance in the pink bollworm, …
Optimizing plant architecture to increase yield, stress tolerance, and water use efficiency (WUE) is a major challenge for modern agricultural biotechnology. Gibberellins are growth hormones known to be directly related to plant height and tillering, which in turn are directly related to grain yield in cereals. GA 2-oxidase is a …
Biodiesel production in the U.S. from vegetable oils has increased substantially during the past decade. However, its further increase is limited by the low amounts of oil produced per hectare from temperate oilseed crops. Recently novel transgenic sugarcane has been developed to accumulate both sugars and lipids in stems, making …
