News & Events

According to a perspective article written by Nigel Halford of Rothamsted Research, GM crop developers are currently focused more on seeking permission to use GM crops for feed and food, instead of developing new GM crop varieties. Furthermore, the meaning of GM in the context of crop biotechnology is also not well defined. Because of this, there is an uncertainty on how genome-edited crops should be regulated. Concurrently, Member States impose national bans on GM crops without concrete evidence of safety concerns.

Strigolactones (SLs), a group of terpenoid lactones derived from carotenoids, are plant hormones that control numerous aspects of plant development. Although the framework of SL signaling that the repressor DWARF 53 (D53) could be SL-dependently degraded via the SL receptor D14 and F-box protein D3 has been established, the downstream response genes to SLs remain to be elucidated. Here we show that the cytokinin (CK) content is dramatically increased in shoot bases of the rice SL signaling mutant d53.

A new study led by scientists at The University of Sheffield's Institute for Sustainable Food has discovered how plants create networks of air channels, the lungs of the leaf, to transport carbon dioxide (CO2) to their cells. The scientists used genetic manipulation techniques to reveal that when plants have more stomata, it forms more airspace. The channels act like bronchioles – the tiny passages that carry air to the exchange surfaces of human and animal lungs.

Findings of a study from La Trobe University led by Dr. Ricarda Jost have provided a deeper understanding of the mechanisms whereby plants sense how much and when to take in the essential nutrient, phosphorus, for optimal growth. The team found a protein called SPX4 senses the nutrient status – the ‘amount of fuel in the tank' of a crop – and alters gene regulation to either switch off or turn on phosphorus acquisition, and to alter growth and flowering time

Compositional analyses were performed on samples of rice grain, straw, and derived bran obtained from golden rice event GR2E and near-isogenic control PSBRc82 rice grown at four locations in the Philippines during 2015 and 2016. Grain samples were analyzed for key nutritional components, including proximates, fiber, polysaccharides, fatty acids, amino acids, minerals, vitamins, and antinutrients

A team of scientists from different institutions led by the University of Missouri has mapped the genetic family of three vegetables — canola, rutabaga, and Siberian kale — to identify the genes selected for by early farmers.To identify the genes that were selected during domestication, J. Chris Pires, a professor of biological sciences with the Christopher S. Bond Life Sciences Center

The use of genetically modified (GM) maize could increase crop yield by up to 50 percent, according to a study conducted by the Mozambique Agricultural Research Institute (IIAM). Maize is considered to be one of the most important crops in the country.

Sensing and responding to environmental water deficiency and osmotic stresses are essential for the growth, development, and survival of plants. Recently, an osmolality-sensing ion channel called OSCA1 was discovered that functions in sensing hyperosmolality in Arabidopsis. Here, we report the cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) structure and function of an OSCA1 homolog from rice (Oryza sativa; OsOSCA1.2), leading to a model of how it could mediate hyperosmolality sensing and transport pathway gating.

Years of relentless efforts led by Uganda Biosciences Information Center (UBIC) to integrate modern biosciences into Uganda's middle/secondary schools' curriculum were finally rewarded. Uganda's Ministry of Education and Sports endorsed a new curriculum for agriculture course unit that requires students to be trained on modern biosciences including modern biotechnology applications.

In 2018, two Bt cotton varieties have been approved for commercialization by the Nigerian federal government. The GM cotton varieties, developed by Mahyco Nigeria Private Ltd. in collaboration with the Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR) at Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, were designed to address the major yield losses in cotton caused by the bollworm insect pest.

Increasing maize kernel starch content may not only lead to higher maize kernel yields and qualities, but also help meet industry demands. By using the intermated B73 × Mo17 population, QTLs were mapped for starch content in this study. A major QTL Qsta9.1 was detected in a 1.7 Mb interval on chromosome 9 and validated by allele frequency analysis in extreme tails of a newly constructed segregating population.

South Asia Biotechnology Centre (SABC) based in New Delhi, India, through the project Safeguarding Agriculture and Farmers against Fall Armyworm (SAFFAL), in collaboration with Taralabalu Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Davangere; Department of Agriculture, Karnataka; and University of Agriculture and Horticultural Sciences, Shivamoga met maize farmers, extension officials, retailers, and local media during a workshop on management of fall armyworm (FAW) at Taralabalu Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Davangere, Karnataka on June 29, 2019.