News & Events

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today issued a stark warning of multiple, looming food crises, driven by conflict, climate shocks, the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, and massive public debt burdens - exacerbated by the ripple effects of the war in Ukraine which has pushed food and fuel prices to accelerate in many nations across the globe. These shocks hit in contexts already characterized by rural marginalization and fragile agrifood systems.

Triticale is a wheat–rye hybrid with a higher abiotic stress tolerance than wheat and is better adapted for cultivation in light-type soils, where aluminum ions are present as Al-complexes that are harmful to plants. The roots are the first plant organs to contact these ions and the inhibition of root growth is one of the first plant reactions. The proteomes of the root apices in Al-tolerant and -sensitive plants were investigated to compare their regeneration effects following stress.

A new CRISPR-Cas9-based vector system that can deliver the target gene-of-interest into plants while removing undesired genetic traces was developed in Canada. The new system features controllable auto-excision through its core design of embedded multi-clonal sequence and the use of inducible promoters to control the expression of the Cas9 nuclease.

Two studies led by graduate student Stephany Toinga and potato breeder Isabel Vales in the lab of Keerti Rathore at Texas A&M AgriLife show how researchers are learning how to alter the ratio of potatoes' two starch molecules – amylose and amylopectin – to increase both culinary and industrial applications of potato. The studies also outline how CRISPR technology can advance the uses of the world's largest vegetable crop.

In a context of reduced insecticide use, the development of cultivars resistant to insect pests is crucial for an integrated pest management. Pea (Pisum sativum) is a crop of major importance among cultivated legumes, for the supply of dietary proteins and nitrogen in low-input cropping systems. However, yields of the pea crop have become unstable due to plant parasites. The pea aphid (Acyrthosiphon pisum) is an insect pest species forming a complex of biotypes, each one adapted to feed on one or a few related legume species.

The genetically modified herbicide tolerant (GMHT) cotton that was planted for 2 years in China did not exhibit any harmful effects on the arthropod community and was observed to have the same abundance and diversity of the insects as that of its near-isogenic line counterpart. The GMHT cotton variety GGK2, known to have glyphosate tolerance, and its near-isogenic non-GMHT counterpart K312 were planted for two seasons in 2019 and 2020 in an experimental station in Anyang, Henan, China.

Rothamsted Research has sown seeds of genetically edited Camelina sativa weeks after regulations for scientific field trials in the United Kingdom were eased, which allows researchers much more freedom to plan and conduct field experiments. Farm staff prepared and seeded the plots in just a few hours, but the big difference was the time saved in applying for permission to conduct the trial.

Seed weight, as an important component of seed yield, is a significant target of peanut breeding. However, relatively little is known about the quantitative trait loci (QTLs) and candidate genes associated with seed weight in peanut. In this study, three major QTLs on chromosomes A05, B02, and B06 were determined by applying the QTL-seq approach in a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population.

In an extensive review of consumers' perception of the use of genetically modified (GM) crops as food products, evidence showed that consumers were willing to buy and consume foods derived from GM, including gene-edited, plants. The review also states that GM plants in New Zealand for food production are unlikely to have long-term deleterious effects in overseas markets.

Asian Scientist Magazine released the list of 100 most outstanding researchers in the region for 2022. Every year since 2016, Asian Scientist 100 celebrates the success of the best and brightest researchers in Asia, highlighting their achievements in various scientific disciplines. This year's list includes experts from Bangladesh, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, Mongolia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.

- The workshop on "Development strategy outlooks of science and technology; renovation and creating in terms of agriculture and rural development during 2021-2030"; May 18 2022.

- Nguyễn Văn An preliminary submitted his study on "Re-selection of Phu Quoc black pepper germplasm" by DOST; May 21 2022.

Soil salinity is a major environmental stress that restricts the growth and yield of crops. Mining the key genes involved in the balance of rice salt tolerance and yield will be extremely important for us to cultivate salt-tolerance rice varieties. In this study, we report a WUSCHEL-related homeobox (WOX) gene, quiescent-center-specific homeobox (OsQHB), positively regulates yield-related traits and negatively regulates salt tolerance in rice. Mutation in OsQHB led to a decrease in plant height, tiller number, panicle length, grain length and grain width, and an increase in salt tolerance.