Use of the powerful gene-editing tool CRISPR-Cas9 could help to breed cacao trees that exhibit desirable traits such as enhanced resistance to diseases, according to Pennsylvania State plant scientists. The cacao tree, which grows in tropical regions, produces the cocoa beans that are the raw material of chocolate. Reliable productivity …
The precise substitution of an existing allele in crop species with an elite allele is a major goal in plant breeding. Single nucleotide polymorphism in the NRT1.1B gene between the indica and japonica subspecies in rice (Oryza sativa) is responsible for improved Nitrogen Use Efficiency (NUE). A team of researchers …
United States Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue, has issued a statement to provide clarification on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) oversight of plants produced through innovative new breeding techniques which include genome editing. The statement says that under its biotechnology regulations, USDA does not regulate or have any plans …
The rate of increase in plant yields due to breeding of new varieties is currently too low, which makes researchers look for new ways to speed up the process so that sufficient food can be provided to the population of the planet by 2050. Two recently published articles in Trends …
Steroidal glycoalkaloids (SGAs) are toxic specialized metabolites found in Solanaceae crops such as potato. Potato contains the SGAs α-solanine and α-chaconine, which are produced from cholesterol. The research team from Kobe University Graduate School of Agriculture in Japan led by Akiyama Ryota aimed to develop potato lines with less or …
On January 18, 2018, Advocate General (AG) Michal Bobek of the Court of Justice of the EU (ECJ) published his advisory legal opinion addressing whether and how organisms resulting from several conventional and newer breeding techniques should be regulated under the EU’s genetically modified organism (GMO) law. In his analysis, …
Water deficit significantly reduces growth and production of apples and is detrimental to the quality and size of the fruits. For this reason, water use efficiency is essential when growing apples. An apple tree of good agricultural quality must be able to efficiently use and transport water, which not only …
International team of researchers has successfully developed a new type of wheat containing 10 times more fiber than common wheat, which helps improve gut health and also fights bowel cancer and type 2 diabetes. The research team consists of experts from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), the …
A new method called ‘speed breeding’ greatly shortens generation time and accelerates breeding and research programmes. The new breeding platform developed by teams at the John Innes Centre, University of Queensland and University of Sydney, uses a glasshouse or an artificial environment with enhanced lighting to create intense day-long regimes to …
Researchers at the University of California, Davis, led by Professor Jorge Dubcovsky, have recently discovered gene conferring resistance to the Ug99 strain of wheat stem rust that has caused significant losses in recent years in North Africa and Asia, becoming a world-wide threat. Wheat is essential for feeding humanity, and …
