Microbiome within Plants, the Rhizophagy cycle and metagenomic discovery strategies
Posted 12th December 2018 by Jane Williams
As a result of revolutionary breakthroughs in recent years, plant research has evolved dramatically. At the 6th Plant Genomics & Gene Editing Congress: USA, the latest NGS, “omic” and gene editing technologies being used for progressing plant based research were examined. If you weren’t able to be there in person, these slides are now available from Sharon Doty, James White & Axel Visel.
To regulate or not to regulate: Current legal status for gene-edited crops
Posted 4th May 2018 by Jane Williams
Gene editing is the latest and sexiest DNA editing tool in the continuum of plant breeding innovations. With genetically modified organism (GMO) technology, scientists introduce “foreign” genes, i.e. genes from a different organism, into crops. With gene editing, scientists create additional genetic variation by making precise changes to the existing crop’s genome. It offers great opportunities, but also creates regulatory challenges.
What’s Next for Plant Genomics?
Posted 25th December 2017 by Jane Williams
2017 is drawing to a close and it’s about that time where we begin to reflect. It has been a huge year for plant genomics in terms of technological advancements in the field with two developments in particular: CRISPR and disease resistance.
Successful sequencing, along with the improvement of biological data sets, have given plant scientists the tools and knowledge to make exciting developments to benefit agriculture. Research in plant disease resistance is being used to tackle global issues, such as food security, and novel gene editing technologies like CRISPR will take this research even further.
The Development and Application of CRISPR-Cpf1
Posted 20th December 2017 by Jane Williams
Genome editing is slowly causing, or has perhaps already caused, a paradigm shift in the world of agriculture and in plant genomics in general. The ability to precisely and easily edit genes has never been as widespread before as it is now. The technology is causing a momentous shift towards using genome editing to not only validate gene function but also to create better crop varieties for the sustenance of a growing human population.
Engineering the Microbiome – the Next Frontier
Posted 12th October 2017 by Jane Williams
Microbial ecology, our understanding of what determines the robustness and community dynamics of microbial consortia, and synthetic biology, the art of engineering microorganisms to perform particular physiological or metabolic functions, are rapidly becoming allies in the race to develop novel therapeutic strategies in the microbiome space.
CRISPR: From Early Discoveries to Applications in Plant Science
Posted 28th June 2017 by Jane Williams
The discovery of CRISPR happened by accident in 1987. First applied in mammalian cells in 2013, a year later it was applied to plant cells. Our timeline highlights the milestones of this novel technology until its most recent developments and applications in plant science.
Early And Present Applications Of CRISPR/Cas9
Posted 19th May 2017 by Jane Williams
Genome editing technologies are a type of genetic engineering leading to the targeted modification of the genome of interest via the insertion, deletion or replacement of specific DNA sequences [1]. Amongst these, CRISPR/Cas9 is certainly the most promising and plant researchers have quickly realised its importance as its use is applied to several plant species [2, 3].
A Focus On Genome Editing And Bioinformatics
Posted 10th May 2017 by Jane Williams
During the 5th Plant Genomics and Gene Editing Congress, experts in the field of bioinformatics and genome sequencing shared their contributions in plant research. We made some of their presentation slides available for you to download.