A landmark discovery for genomes of 15 wheat varieties which represents breeding around the world has been sequenced by an international group of scientists led by the University of Saskatchewan (USask). According to Curtis Pozniak, Director of USask Crop Development Center (CDC), the discovery is "like finding the missing »
Cornell University is developing a system to extract energy from cattle manure to meet the campus's peak demands for heat in the winter months. In the Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy, by AIP Publishing, scientists involved with the project give a detailed analysis of the issues required to make »
A research team from the Centre for Research in Agricultural Economics (CRAG) has found that plants are more tolerant to soil salinity by regulating the TEMPRANILLO (TEM) genes. These findings open up new possibilities in the development of plant varieties that are better adapted to climate change. The study, led »
University of Florida scientists led by tropical plant geneticist Dr. Alan Chambers have developed a tool to unlock the genetic traits that pinpoint the vanilla variety that produces an abundance of beans, grows efficiently and sustainably, with consumer-approved taste. The results of this study are published in a paper in »
Securing food supplies around the globe is a challenge facing humanity, especially in light of the predicted increase in the world's population and the effects of climate change. Greater crop diversity in agriculture is seen as a stabilizing factor for food security. Yet crop diversity alone is not sufficient. Researchers »
Scientists led by a team from John Innes Centre (JIC) have developed a genetically modified (GM) tomato enriched with the Parkinson's disease drug L-DOPA in what could become a new, affordable source of one of the world's essential medicines. L-DOPA is produced from tyrosine, an amino acid found in many »
A professor has found a way to boost the production of triacylglycerol -- the main component of vegetable oil -- in plant leaves, a technique that could allow producers to harvest oil from large, leafy plants that also have other uses. Sorghum, for example -- a global source of grain »
A research team at the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science (HFIPS), Chinese Academy of Science led by Prof. WU Yuejin has developed a rice variety using ion beam breeding technology. Prof. Wu's team applied ion beam mutagenesis in crop breeding to promote the development of molecular breeding. The rice variety »
Anthraquinones are a class of naturally occurring compounds prized for their medicinal properties, as well as for other applications, including ecologically friendly dyes. Despite wide interest, the mechanism by which plants produce them has remained shrouded in mystery until now. New work from an international team of scientists including Carnegie's »
Biochar -- a charcoal-like substance made primarily from agricultural waste products -- holds promise for removing emerging contaminants such as pharmaceuticals from treated wastewater. That's the conclusion of a team of researchers that conducted a novel study that evaluated and compared the ability of biochar derived from two common leftover »
Joshua Benoit of the University of Cincinnati has helped decode the genetics of agricultural pest New World screwworms that feed on livestock and thrips, tiny insects that can transmit viruses to tomatoes and other plants. Benoit and his co-authors sequenced the genome of screwworms and identified ways of slashing populations »
