News & Events

"Move over CRISPR, the retrons are coming!" Researchers at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University and Harvard Medical School (HMS) have created a new gene editing tool called Retron Library Recombineering (RLR) that enables millions of genetic experiments to be performed simultaneously.

We demystify recent advances in genome assemblies for the heterozygous staple crop cassava (Manihot esculenta), and highlight key cassava genomic resources. Cassava, Manihot esculenta Crantz, is a crop of societal and agricultural importance in tropical regions around the world. Genomics provides a platform for accelerated improvement of cassava's nutritional and agronomic traits, as well as for illuminating aspects of cassava's history including its path towards domestication.

Dr. Desiree M. Hautea of the Institute of Plant Breeding of the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) was recognized this year by the Asian Scientist Magazine for her contributions in the research and development towards adoption of the Bt eggplant in the Philippines. Dr. Hautea is the project leader of the Bt Eggplant Project, an initiative of UPLB which started in the early 2000s that aimed to develop and commercialize transgenic eggplant varieties that are resistant to the eggplant fruit and shoot borer (EFSB) in the Philippines.

Millions of farmers and their families have benefitted in the last three decades of ISAAA's existence, through our knowledge sharing, capacity building initiatives, and support services. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, ISAAA stood at the forefront of science by continuous sharing of knowledge globally on biotech crop adoption, gene editing, animal biotech, science communication, among others.

Standard issues on cultivation and utilization values of potato, tomato, chrysanthemum flower and carnation flower (Dianthus caryophyllus) on April 7, 2021. Setting up the DUS and VCU of cassava and cashew nut varieties was addressed on April 26, 2021.

Maize (Zea mays L.) is a highly versatile crop with huge demand of nitrogen (N) for its growth and development. N is the most essential macronutrient for crop production. Despite being the highest abundant element in the atmosphere (~ 78%), it is scarcely available for plant growth. To fulfil the N demand, commercial agriculture is largely dependent on synthetic fertilizers. Excessive dependence on inorganic fertilizers has created extensive ecological as well as economic problems worldwide

“If managed and governed differently, food systems could be a lever of global change, at the vanguard of sustainable living for all, leading other sectors with solutions and inspiration.” CGIAR, the largest publicly-funded agricultural research partnership in the world, has challenged governments and donors to double funding to end hunger and halt climate change by 2030.

USAID will support US leadership in the Agricultural Innovation Mission for Climate (AIM-C) including through investments in the CGIAR System to accelerate global agricultural innovation and the use of climate-smart technologies by smallholder farmers. The AIM-C initiative will be advanced at the UN Food Systems Summit in September 2021, and launched at COP26 in November 2021 through the UK’s COP26 Campaign on Adaptation.

Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is a major staple root crop of the tropics, originating from the Amazonian region. In this study, 3354 cassava landraces and modern breeding lines from the Embrapa Cassava Germplasm Bank (CGB) were characterized. All individuals were subjected to genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS), identifying 27,045 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Identity-by-state and population structure analyses revealed a unique set of 1536 individuals and 10 distinct genetic groups with heterogeneous linkage disequilibrium (LD).

Working with private seed companies, ICRISAT is helping integrate more women and youth into seed production enterprises in Tanzania. Recently we supported the efforts of the seed company Mbozi Highlands (MHEG), to enhance the production, promotion, marketing and adoption of new high-yielding varieties of groundnut and sorghum in the country. This was by designing and developing training manuals to train farmers, identifying and contracting 92 new seed producer groups (women and youth);

Making sure that the collections of beans, cassava, bananas, and forages remain alive, even during the quarantine, is an essential job of the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT in order to preserve the world’s biodiversity and food safety. From its work sites in laboratories, greenhouses, and experimental fields in Palmira, Colombia, and at the University of Louvain, in Belgium, Mónica, Melissa, Madelyn, Ramiro, Javier, Jair, Wilmer, Vincent, and Bart tell us about their experience in which they take on with equal responsibility the preventive measures established by the health authorities of their countries and those of our own organization.

Resistance to thrips is an important trait for pepper growers. These insects can cause extensive damage to fruits, flowers and leaves on field and greenhouse grown plants worldwide. Two independent studies in Capsicum identified diterpene glycosides as metabolites that are correlated with thrips resistance. In this study, we fine-mapped a previously defined thrips resistance QTL on chromosome 6, to a region of 0.4 Mbp harbouring 15 genes. Two of these 15 candidate genes showed differences in gene expression upon thrips induction, when comparing plants carrying the resistance allele in homozygous state to plants with the susceptibility allele in homozygous state for the QTL region.