Slides from the Plant Genomics & Gene Editing Congress: Europe
Posted 2nd September 2019 by Joshua Sewell
The latest event in the Plant Genomics series provided two days of intriguing topics and case studies, not least concerning the ECJ ruling on gene editing and Machine Learning techniques in plant genomics. We have made the following presentation slides available from Ian Bancroft, Anna Coll, Aalt-Jan van Dijk, Nigel Halford, and Jurriaan Ton.
Can bacteriophages combat bacterial diseases of plants?
Posted 3rd December 2018 by Jane Williams
The bacterial nature of a plant disease was first proven in 1878–1880 by T. J. Burrill in the University of Illinois when studying fire blight. The number of known species of pathogenic bacteria is in constant change due to the clarification of phylogenetic relatedness upon receipt of new data, but as of 2014 the number of phytopathogenic bacteria genera that unite them was 39 1.
Is Palm Oil Sustainable for People?
Posted 1st January 2018 by Jane Williams
Palm oil belongs to Elaeis, which is the only genus of Arecaceae family that produces edible oil. The current commercial planting is mainly E. guineensis, (Jacq.) originating from West Africa, selected due to its yield superiority. The cultivations occur throughout the tropical belt, especially in Southeast Asia, Africa and South America. To date, palm oil has become the most important oil crop in the world, accounting for 37% of global vegetable oil production. However, palm oil sustainability is always debated. Is palm oil really sustainable for people? To answer this, some facts are worth pondering.