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News

Oct 17
2
Image: soy plant in the field, with close-up of soybean pod. Credit: Julio César García / Pixabay

BONZAI Genes and Salinity Stress: A Path to Sustainable Agriculture

By | Blog, ECRi, News, Post

In the field of agricultural science, understanding the intricacies of soybean resilience holds profound significance. Soybeans (Glycine max) are a pivotal crop species, highly regarded for their versatility and their substantial contribution to global food and feed supplies, as well as biofuel production. New research aims to shed light on the intricate mechanisms that govern the BONZAI genes, illuminating their pivotal role and the complexities of their regulated expression within saline environments.

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Oct 16
0
farmer working in a rice field

The cloning of the first genic dominant male sterility gene in rice may revolutionize breeding processes

By | Agriculture, News, Plant Science

Male sterility in plants enhances breeding and hybrid crop production. The elusive Sanming Dominant Genic Male Sterile (SDGMS) Rice, discovered in 2001, offered stable male sterility. Scientists recently unraveled the SDGMS gene’s mechanism. They found that in sterile plants, a retrotransposon triggers SDGMS expression in tapetal cells, causing male sterility. This discovery highlights the importance of transposable elements in genome evolution and the utility of SDGMS rice for efficient breeding without manual emasculation.

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Oct 13
0
Image: Comparison of wild-type growing root hairs (left) and the BUZZ mutant with little root hair nubs, as seen through a scanning electron microscope. Credit: Karen Sanguinet, Washington State University

Gene required for root hair growth, nitrate foraging found in grasses

By | News, Plant Science

Scientists have found a plant gene that drives the growth of root hairs, the tiny structures that help plants find water and nutrients in the soil. The gene, dubbed “BUZZ,” causes faster-growing, denser webs of roots and may also determine how plants find and use nitrates, a prime source of nitrogen essential to plant growth. Nitrates are also used in fertilizers that can pollute the environment as runoff, and this genetic discovery could ultimately help plant scientists find ways to grow crops more sustainably.

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Oct 11
0
Image: mixture of clean peppers or various colours. Credit: Kai Pilger / Pixabay

Unlocking the Genetic Code of Peppers: New Study Reveals Insights into Domestication and Diversity

By | Agriculture, News

Peppers are a versatile, flavorful, and widely popular crop, used not only as a healthy food source but also for their medicinal properties. In a new study, an international team of researchers has sequenced the genomes of key cultivated and wild pepper species, offering unprecedented insights into pepper evolution, domestication, and genetic diversity. 

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Oct 10
0
Image: For a cacao plant to bear such rich fruit, it needs effective pollination. A research group, in which JMU was involved, has investigated how this can best be achieved. Credit: Justine Vansynghel / Uni Würzburg)

Optimizing cacao pollination for higher yields

By | Agriculture, News

The success of cacao cultivation depends to a large extent on functioning pollination. If there is a lack of pollinators, for example, this leads to lower yields – and thus to financial problems for farmers. A study has now investigated how the yield and quality of organic cacao can be increased – through a more efficient plantation design that’s taking ecological aspects into account. During research in Peru, the researchers identified pollination techniques that improved pollination success and produced higher quality fruit.

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Oct 06
1
Image: Autumn leaves of wild grapevine that grows on salty soil. KIT researchers studied how that works. Credit: Maren Riemann, KIT. 

Researchers Study Salt Tolerance of Wild Grapevine to Make Crops More Resilient

By | Agriculture, Fruits and Vegetables, News

Rising sea levels due to climate change and artificial irrigation cause soil salinity to increase. This has a negative impact on agriculture, including viticulture. The plants die, yields decrease. Researchers have therefore studied a wild grapevine of higher salt tolerance. Their goal is to identify the genetic factors that make the grapevine resilient. They can then be inserted into commercial varieties, thus securing viticulture.

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Oct 05
0
Image: Rice field image. Credit: Pixabay

Disease-resistant plants may modulate disease susceptibility in their neighbors

By | Agriculture, News, Plant Science

Researchers discovered a form of social immunity in wheat and rice. Disease susceptibility in wheat and rice is modulated not only by genetic resistance traits, but also by interactions with neighbouring plants of the same species. The findings, show that inter-plant cooperation can reduce disease susceptibility by nearly 90 percent in certain cases, as much as is conferred by a plant’s own resistance genes. The findings create new possibilities for improving plant resistance to disease and reducing the use of pesticides.

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Oct 04
0
Image: tomato plant. credit: 1195798 / Pixabay

You say tomato, these scientists say evolutionary mystery

By | Agriculture, Fruits and Vegetables, News

Biologists have found evidence for evolutionary “syndromes”—sets of traits that occur together—that help to explain how tomatoes first evolved their distinctive blend of color, sweetness, acidity and aroma. The research, not only shines a light on how fruits evolve in the wild, but will also be valuable to crop-improvement efforts aimed at breeding more nutritious and appealing varieties of fruits.

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