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UrduUsing a 26-year-old common garden forest, a multi-institutional team of researchers collected fine root samples from four temperate tree species (three deciduous and one coniferous) that varied in their morphology.
Tag: Plant Science
Engineered increase in mesophyll conductance improves photosynthetic efficiency in field trial
Researchers have engineered mesophyll conductance, which plays a key role in photosynthesis and refers to the ease with which CO2 can move through a leaf’s cells before ultimately becoming sugar to feed the plant. Their results are featured in an upcoming paper in the Plant Biotechnology Journal.
Engineered increase in mesophyll conductance improves photosynthetic efficiency in field trial
Researchers have engineered mesophyll conductance, which plays a key role in photosynthesis and refers to the ease with which CO2 can move through a leaf’s cells before ultimately becoming sugar to feed the plant. “This is one of the few…
Media Tip: Argonne’s Advanced Photon Source to accelerate biological and environmental research
In October 2023, the Advanced Photon Source (APS), a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science user facility at DOE’s Argonne National Laboratory, officially launched a new initiative to expand biological and environmental research at the world leading X-ray and analysis facility.
Enhancing the efficiency of plant regeneration
Crop modification can be traced to the beginning of agriculture and human civilization. Native Americans, for example, developed corn from a wild grass called teosinte more than 7,000 years ago. Methods to increase crop resiliency and sustainability have evolved, and improved, over time.
Scientists develop novel method to explore plant-microbe interactions
DOE funding allows researchers to gain closer look into plant-microbe symbioses.
Thirsty wheat needed new water management strategy in ancient China
Research from Washington University in St. Louis shows that a practice of purposeful water management, or irrigation, was adopted in northern China about 4,000 years ago as part of an effort to grow new grains that had been introduced from southwest Asia. But the story gets more complex from there. Wheat and barley arrived on the scene at about the same time, but early farmers only used water management techniques for wheat.
Unearthing the secrets of plant health, carbon storage with rhizosphere-on-a-chip
Scientists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have created a miniaturized environment to study the ecosystem around poplar tree roots for insights into plant health and soil carbon sequestration.
Multi-scale research uncovers microbes that affect sorghum drought response
By bridging experiments in the lab and field, Danforth Center scientists and their collaborators identified microbes that influence sorghum development during drought.
St. Louis Comes Together to Announce the Taylor Geospatial Institute
The Taylor Geospatial Institute is a first-of-its-kind institution that brings together eight leading research institutions to collaborate on research into geospatial technology.
Cornell program promotes African links, diversity in plant sciences
The Cornell University Assistantship for Horticulture in Africa, a program that brings master’s students from sub-Saharan Africa to Cornell to complete doctorate degrees in horticulture, has now added a second assistantship for African Americans.
Research Finds Key Advances Towards Reducing the Cost of Plant Improvement
These findings, An siRNA-guided ARGONAUTE protein directs RNA Polymerase V to initiate DNA methylation, were recently published in the scientific journal Nature Plants.
Dr. Elizabeth “Toby” Kellogg Receives the 2021 Asa Gray Award Recognizing a Lifetime of Achievements
Elizabeth “Toby” Kellogg, PhD, Member and Robert E. King Distinguished Investigator, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center recently received the 2021 Asa Gray Award from The American Society of Plant Taxonomists (ASPT).
New gene could help improve tomato flavor and shelf life
A team of researchers have identified a gene that regulates tomato softening independent of ripening, a finding that could help tomato and other fruit breeders strike the right balance between good shelf life and high-quality flavor.
Plant compound may protect bees from deadly virus that makes them lose their way home
Around the world, honeybees are dying in large numbers.
Texas A&M AgriLife turns up heat on U.S. hot pepper market
New hot pepper agronomic practices and technologies could help rejuvenate the U.S. market and help reduce production costs for producers.
$25M center will use digital tools to ‘communicate’ with plants
The new Center for Research on Programmable Plant Systems, or CROPPS, funded by a five-year, $25 million National Science Foundation grant, aims to grow a new field called digital biology.
Danforth Center Announces New Principal Investigator
Tessa Burch-Smith, PhD, has joined the Danforth Center as Associate Member and Principal Investigator. Her research is focused on how plant cells communicate with each other through intercellular pores called plasmodesmata.
NSF Taps Danforth Center to Lead New Institute to Advance the Restoration of Natural and Agricultural Ecosystems
The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center today announced a $12.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to establish the New Roots for Restoration Biology Integration Institute (NRR-BII).
Facial recognition AI helps save multibillion dollar grape crop
New technology, using robotics and AI, is supercharging efforts to protect grape crops and will soon be available to researchers nationwide working on a wide array of plant and animal research.
New insights on flowering could boost cassava crops
Two new publications examining cassava flowering reveal insights into the genetic and environmental factors underpinning one of the world’s most critical food security crops.
Golden Rice Approved for Commercial Propagation in the Philippines
Filipino rice consumers are close to benefiting from a provitamin A-infused rice with the approval of its commercial propagation permit.
Danforth Center and international partners unveil landmark insect resistant cowpea for Nigerian farmers
Nigeria has achieved a major milestone in the history of agricultural research and development with the commercial launch of Pod Borer Resistant (PBR) Cowpea.
Sensing what plants sense: Integrated framework helps scientists explain biology and predict crop performance
Scientists have invested great time and effort into making connections between a crop’s genotype and its phenotype. But environmental conditions play a role as well. Iowa State University researchers untangle those complex interactions with the help of advanced data analytics in a newly published study.
New smartphone app predicts vineyard yields earlier, more accurately
Cornell University engineers and plant scientists have teamed up to develop a low-cost system that allows grape growers to predict their yields much earlier in the season and more accurately than costly traditional methods.
Grape genetics research reveals what makes the perfect flower
Cornell University scientists have worked with the University of California, Davis, to identify the DNA markers that determine grape flower sex. In the process, they also pinpointed the genetic origins of the perfect flower.
How a new malting barley variety for California came to be
Twenty-year process involved evaluating malting barley germplasm strains, breeding efforts
Plastomics Enters Agreement with Amfora for Soybean Protein Enhancement
Plastomics will use its proprietary transformation technologies to introduce Amfora gene-editing constructs into high performance soybean germplasm.
Celebrating seeds – food security and hope
Crop Science Society of America to hold Seed Week celebration
Plastomics and Evogene’s Ag-Seed division enter a collaborative agreement targeting novel insect control traits for soybean
Plastomics, Inc. and Evogene Ltd.’s Ag-Seed division announced a collaboration agreement targeting novel insect control traits for soybean. .
Helping stevia brave the cold
The popular stevia sweetener comes from a tropical crop. New research is helping find the varieties that can grow in colder climates.
Two Danforth Center Scientists Receive Prestigious Awards Recognizing Their Achievements And Leadership
Andrea Eveland received the Marcus Rhoades Early Career Award at the 63rd Maize Genetics Conference. Malia Gehan received the 2021 North American Plant Phenotyping Network (NAPPN) Early Career Award at the NAPPN annual conference.
What do ants and soils do for each other?
Soil aeration and water infiltration among benefits ants provide
Cataloguing genetic information about yams
New collection of resources will help yam breeders and farmers
Reviewing the importance of International Year of Plant Health
Protecting plants helps the United Nations meet many of its sustainable development goals
How do different root structures affect soil?
Root architecture, formation play key roles in modifying soil
Making wheat and peanuts less allergenic
Research uses plant breeding and biotechnology to remove proteins associated with food allergies.
Urban agroforestry and its potential integration into city planning efforts
Healthy food production, erosion prevention among many benefits
Stealing the spotlight in the field and kitchen
New dry beans from UC Davis combine desirable qualities for both farmers and consumers
What is the status of public plant breeding programs in the United States?
Programs could disappear as they see reduced budgets, staffing
Tepary beans – a versatile and sustainable native crop
This drought and heat tolerant crop can provide nutrition, even when grown in harsh environments.
Can the parts of plants we can see help predict the parts of them we can’t?
Aboveground traits can predict what certain species look like below the ground
Nate McDowell: Then and Now / 2010 Early Career Award Winner
Nathan McDowell, a staff scientist at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, used his 2010 Early Career Award to study how trees survive and die during drought because vegetation plays a major role in the global carbon cycle.
Tomato could get genetic reboot from wild ancestor
Researchers from Boyce Thompson Institute have created a reference genome for the predecessor of the modern tomato, and discovered sections that underlie fruit flavor and disease resistance, among other characteristics.
Researchers identify genetics behind deadly oat blight
A multi-institution team co-led by a Cornell University researcher has identified the genetic mechanisms that enable the production of a deadly toxin called Victorin – the causal agent for Victoria blight of oats, a disease that wiped out oat crops in the U.S. in the 1940s.
Tackling food allergies at the source
Food allergies cost billions of dollars and cause enormous suffering for people. Researchers are trying to remove the source of food allergies altogether — troublesome proteins made by our favorite crops.
Research helps improve a key ingredient in vegetable oil
Plant breeding advances will help farmers growing oil palm, an important oilseed crop
The Root of Microplastics in Plants
Micro- and nanoplastics were not absorbed by plant cells but did attach to the root cap. This could bode well for future cleanup of contaminated environments, but not well for root crops, like carrots.
$2M grant supports more sustainable path for organic farmers
Organic crop farmers in the Northeast and Upper Midwest are facing an increasing number of challenges related to climate change and invasive pests, but a $2 million grant from the USDA will help them find sustainable solutions.
New Research Reveals Infertile Spikelets Contribute To Yield In Sorghum And Related Grasses
The researchers used radioactive and stable isotopes of carbon, RNA-seq of metabolically important enzymes, and immunolocalization of Rubisco to show that the sterile spikelet collects carbon from the air and carries out photosynthesis while the awn does not.