COVID-19 and global collaboration in science
Posted 11th May 2020 by Liv Sewell
International collaboration and travel are integral to the life of researchers and biotechnology professionals. But coronavirus has made travel impossible.
We look back over two decades of growth in international scientific collaboration to understand the extent of the effects of reduced mobility and consider what collaboration will look like in the foreseeable future.
Using genome editing technology within a systems biology approach to understand plant immunity
Posted 2nd March 2020 by Liv Sewell
Interested in systems biology, omics technology, and plant bioinformatics? Catch up with one of our speakers from the 8th Plant Genomics and Gene Editing Congress: Europe, Professor Kristina Gruden…
Managing plant stress in the era of climate change: Realising global sustainable development goals
Posted 17th February 2020 by Liv Sewell
Dr Salme Timusk was the first to show that native soil bacteria have the ability to protect plants against drought conditions. Salme writes here about plant microbiome interaction studies: how they can facilitate plant health and contribute to solutions for climate change.
Sustainably Improving Crop Yield and Composition through Enhanced Photosynthesis
Posted 8th January 2020 by Joshua Sewell
Understandably, one of the main themes of the recent Plant Genomics & Gene Editing Congress: USA was how research and industry can enable farmers and plant growers to meet the growing challenges of global food security. In his presentation, Greg Bryan introduced us to ZeaKal, a photosynthesis company developing solutions for farmers.
The Top 5 Plant Genomics Articles of 2018
Posted 26th December 2018 by Jane Williams
It has been an eventful year for plant genomics: we’ve seen advancements in plant disease research, the sequencing of the wheat genome, which was finally achieved through a worldwide collaboration of researchers spanning 13 years, and the ruling on the legal status of gene-edited crops.
As 2018 draws to a close, we thought it was a good time to reflect. Here, we’ve collated our top articles of the year.
Increasing Shelf Life of Perishable Produce Using Patented Gene Technology
Posted 21st September 2018 by Jane Williams
The eIF‑5A protein is highly conserved in all plants and animals and is the only protein in any organism that has the unique hypusine modification caused by the Deoxyhypusine Synthase (DHS) enzyme. The unmodified-to-hypusinated ratio of these two forms of eIF‑5A determines the fate of the cell. Recent studies suggest that eIF‑5A is mainly involved in RNA metabolism and movement through the cell, thereby regulating cell growth, proliferation, and programmed death. These stable genetic changes will significantly enhance crop traits, including:
An Updated Round-Up of the Top Plant Genome Databases
Posted 29th August 2018 by Jane Williams
There’s more plant genome databases than there ever has been before. We’ve collated the most recent databases for ontology information on a variety of crops, including: rice, maize, wheat, sorghum, barley, millet, rye, and oats.
Transcriptomic Profiling of Pearl Millet for Salinity Stress Response
Posted 17th August 2018 by Jane Williams
In an article which discussed the exploration of the ‘orphan crop’ pearl millet, Amibka Dudhate concluded that photosynthesis, plant hormone signal transduction, and mitogen-activated protein kinase signalling pathways are significantly activated on the advent of drought stress in pearl millet. Her colleague, Harshraj Shinde, expands on these findings.