Opinion: Capsaicinoids: Pungency beyond Capsicum (Trends Plant Sci)
Plant Science Research WeeklyYou probably saw this article being discussed in your favorite news channel (in the UK, coverage spanned from the Daily Mail to the Guardian). In an Opinion article, Naves et al. discuss the genetics, biochemistry, ecology and health-benefits of capsaicinoids (the “heat” in chili pepper), and consider…
The transcriptional landscape of polyploid wheat ($) (Science)
Plant Science Research WeeklyWheat is a tough nut to crack, as it is hexaploid, comprising three diploid genomes (the A, B and D genomes). The International Wheat Genome Sequencing Consortium has released a fully-annotated wheat reference genome, and Ramírez-González et al. present a thorough analysis of its transcriptome. Although…
Review: Overview of attitudes towards genetically engineered food ($) (Annu. Rev. Nutrition)
Plant Science Research WeeklyThe appearance and growing importance of genetically engineered (GE) food, and the extensive resistance to it, raises many issues specific to this technology. Scott et al. analyze the bases of lay opposition to GE food and evidence for how attitudes change towards this topic. The authors indicate that…
Review: Medicine Is not Health Care, Food Is Health Care: Plant Metabolic Engineering, Diet and Human Health (OA)
Plant Science Research WeeklyNew Phytol. One of the consequences of the green revolution has been the increasing dependence on few staple crops, which provide calories but often lack the right amount of micronutrients such as vitamins and minerals. The consequences are collectively called “hidden hunger” and concern not only…
Review: The spring of systems biology-driven breeding ($) (TIPS)
Plant Science Research WeeklyIn this excellent review, Lavarenne et al. provide an accessible introduction to the tools and objectives of gene regulatory network (GRN) analysis. They include a glossary, show diagrams displaying different stages of GRN analysis, and provide links to key papers in which different methods have been…
Wheat research discovery yields genetic secrets that could shape future crops
Blog, Research, The Plant Cell, The Plant Cell: NewsA new study published in The Plant Cell has isolated a gene controlling shape and size of spikelets in wheat. Materials provided by the John Innes Centre.
A new study has isolated a gene controlling shape and size of spikelets in wheat in a breakthrough which could help breeders deliver yield…
Rewiring of the fruit metabolome in tomato breeding
Blog, Plant Science Research Weekly, Research, Research BlogCell. The tomato plant has been of keen interest to mankind for centuries, and its domestication led to delicious fruits much larger than their wild, bitter-tasting ancestors. Domestication of tomato had many intended outcomes (increased fruit size, less bitter taste), and several unintended consequences.…
Out of Uganda: An Aggressive Crop Killer That Threatens Global Food
Blog, Research, Research BlogFungal disease in wheat crops has been a serious but controllable problem, but a newer strain of what’s called “stem rust” has scientists worried.
January 8, 2018 by Kerstin Hoppenhaus & Sibylle Grunze
The video below is the first part in a six-part series examining the scourge of Ug99,…
Speed breeding is a powerful tool to accelerate crop research and breeding
Blog, Plant Science Research Weekly, Research, Research BlogNat. Plants. The current rate of crop plant breeding, limited by the long generation time of crop plants, is insufficient to address the needs caused by the enormous increase in the human population accompanied by climate change. Watson et al. have recently presented a method called ‘Speed breeding’…