plant genes News
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Major breakthrough on how viruses infect plants
CSIRO plant scientists have shed light on a problem that has puzzled researchers since the first virus was discovered in 1892 – how exactly do they cause disease? In a major breakthrough that helps us better understand how viruses cause diseases in plants – and potentially in animals and humans – Dr Ming-Bo Wang and Neil Smith of CSIRO Plant Industry have revealed a ...
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Genetic change could make crops thrive on salty soils
Scientists have genetically modified plants to tolerate high levels of salt — offering a potential solution to growing food in salty soils. The researchers inserted a gene to remove salt — in the form of sodium ions — from water taken up by the plant before it reaches the leaves, where it does most damage. The research was published in The Plant Cell this month (7 July). High salinity reduces ...
By SciDev.Net
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Sloppy seed-sorting main culprit in GM crop escapes
Careless handling of seeds may be the key reason for the unintended spread of genetically modified (GM) crops, a study has found. The discovery challenges the widespread belief that the main source of GM contamination is the transfer of pollen by bees from GM crops to non-GM counterparts in neighbouring fields. Human error during seed production and handling is the more likely culprit, say the ...
By SciDev.Net
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The J.R. Simplot Company Announces Innate™ All-Native Plant Technology
The J. R. Simplot Company's Plant Sciences business announces Innate™ Technology, the all-native biotechnology platform for improving crops, leading to new, better and healthier foods. Innate™ Technology is a patented plant biotechnology process that works with a plant's own genes to enhance desirable traits and to decrease less desirable traits. Traditional plant breeding is a ...
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Finalists Announced for the World Agri-Tech Demo Day
Rethink Events, hosts of San Francisco’s upcoming World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit, together with Royse AgTech Innovation Network, are delighted to announce the twelve companies selected to pitch their ag and food-tech solutions to local VCs at the newly launched “World Agri-Tech Demo Day”. The Demo Day, taking place on March 27, offers an opportunity to very early-stage, ...
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Time is ticking for some crop`s wild relatives
New edge of extinction research is creating a revival of conservation and interest in what these old plants mean to the future Experts and photos available on this topic! A botanist brings a species of alfalfa from Siberia, to the United States. His hope? The plant survives, and leads to a new winter-hardy alfalfa. But what also happened during this time in the late 1800's, isn't just a story ...
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New Discovery Will Enhance Yield and Quality of Cereal and Bioenergy Crops
A team of scientists led by Thomas Brutnell, Ph.D., director of the Enterprise Rent-A-Car Institute for Renewable Fuels at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center have developed a new way of identifying genes that are important for photosynthesis in maize, and in rice. Their research helps to prioritize candidate genes that can be used for crop improvement and revealed new pathways and ...
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Plants host pathogenic bacteria from livestock farming
Disease-causing bacteria resulting from livestock farming can contaminate food products and find their way to humans. This occurs remarkably effectively via plants, which explains why recent outbreaks due to infection with EHEC and other E. coli and Salmonella strains are regularly attributed to the consumption of fresh vegetables. These are the findings of researchers from Wageningen UR ...
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Creating Better Soybeans
In rows of petri dishes, soybean roots bathe in fluorescent light, an unremarkable site unless you work in the laboratory where they grow. The simplicity of the setup belies the complexity of the research that went into creating the roots. For decades, the genes of the seeds that produced these roots have been tinkered with to create a plant that resists a common and highly destructive soybean ...
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Biofuel and crop research grows by AUS$1.6m
The research team will identify the genes associated with key plant properties responsible for growth, flowering and grain-filling in grasses. They will use the advanced robotic and imaging plant research tools of the Australian Plant Phenomics Facility (APPF) to conduct the research. The US Department of Energy (DOE) has recognised the unique, world-class capability that the APPF affords by ...
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Biodiversity is the basis for Integrated Pest Management
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is now the norm in agriculture and horticulture. All stakeholders – national and European government agencies and public bodies, agriculture and horticulture organisations, businesses, universities and research institutes – agree with this statement. "More biodiversity and the use of resistant plants are crucial to the successful implementation of ...
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Some but not all plants can defend themselves against disease on saline soil
Some plants with resistance against a specific disease are also able to defend themselves effectively when they are stressed due to, for example, drought or saline soil. At the same time, the resistance of other plants no longer functions in these very same conditions. Although this had been assumed for some time, Wageningen scientist Christos Kissoudis is the first person to show why. As a ...
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Genetics not enough to increase wheat production
The deep gene pool that has allowed wheat to achieve ever increasing gains in yield may be draining. Crop scientists estimate that 50% of the gain in wheat production over the past century has been due to breeding. According to a new study, however, that improvement has been slowing since the late 1980s, with little chance that future increases in yield can be met by breeding efforts alone. The ...
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Carbon credits to be used to fund GM food crops
US biotech firm Arcadia Biosciences has announced a plan to help fund the planting of genetically modified rice with carbon credits. The company will work with the Chinese government to give farmers who plant their crops carbon credits, which they can then sell on the global carbon trading market. Arcadia is touting its GM rice as a greener alternative to the regular crop. The plant has had a ...
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GM cotton genes found in wild species
Genetically modified (GM) cotton genes have been found in wild populations for the first time, making it the third plant species — after Brassica and bentgrass — in which transgenes have established in the wild. The discovery was made in Mexico by six Mexican researchers investigating the flow of genes to wild cotton populations of the species Gossypium hirsutum. They found ...
By SciDev.Net
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Crossbreeding GM crops may increase fitness of wild relatives
A new study has investigated the effects of interbreeding a genetically modified squash crop with its wild relative. The findings demonstrate that it could cause wild or weedy relatives to become more resistant to disease. Genetic Modification (GM) can be used to develop crops that are resistant to specific pests. However, there are concerns that if a GM crop interbreeds with its wild or weedy ...
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Vertical Farming Reaches New Heights In Germany With Fraunhofer IME
The AVF was invited to visit its member Fraunhofer IME in Aachen, Germany, one of 72 institutes of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, the leading organization for applied science in Europe with over 26,000 employees and various international branches around the world. The Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME has six different sites in Germany and conducts research in the ...
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Maize seedlings predict drought Tolerance
Scientists have developed a new method for measuring drought tolerance in maize. By comparing the shoot-to-root ratio in seedlings stressed by low water, scientists can predict whether a plant has the right mix of genes for adapting to drought conditions. The ideal drought-resistant maize should have a higher ratio of root surface area compared to leaves and stems. Developing enough adult plants ...
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Method to differentiate open pollinated varieties of maize developed
Open pollinated varieties of maize are going to be easier to distinguish from each other, thanks to scientists at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in Africa and Mexico. They have developed a new technique to differentiate the genes of one open pollinated variety from another, particularly important to African farmers, most of whom do not plant hybrid varieties. The ...
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New chapter proudly sponsors first national Non-GMO month
New Chapter, Inc., is proud to sponsor the first ever "Non-GMO Month" this October by participating in the "Celebrate your right to choose Non-GMO" campaign on Facebook. A newly developed Facebook application will educate users about GMOs and the Non-GMO Project; it will also feature brands participating in the product verification program, such as New Chapter. In addition, the Facebook campaign ...
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