Researchers have engineered grasses to produce a purple pigment in response to specific chemical cues, allowing for non-destructive detection of chemical exposure. This breakthrough enables plants to act as sentinels in the field, reporting adverse conditions that may impact crop and human health.
Researchers will leverage genetic diversity and advanced phenotyping to understand sorghum's stress resilience, linking genotype to phenotype through genomics and gene editing. The project aims to develop crops that thrive in stressful environments, informing engineering and breeding strategies for future climates.
A collaborative research team is studying how photosynthetic cells retain 'heat stress memory', a key adaptive mechanism that could help crops withstand intense heat waves. The team aims to decode this process using genome-scale and high-throughput approaches.
The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center has awarded two startups, APOLO Biotech from Argentina and Innovaciones Circulares from Costa Rica, with access to world-class infrastructure for research and development. The selected projects focus on sustainable solutions for crop losses and phosphorus fertilizer recovery.
The Danforth Plant Science Center has hired George "Cody" Bagnall as Director of its Field Research Site, a 140-acre testing ground for real-world plant science applications. The site allows researchers to test hypotheses in authentic field conditions, bridging applied and basic plant science with environmental realities.
A comprehensive guide to improve plant imaging workflows, addressing unique challenges such as waxy cuticles and autofluorescence. The resource provides a unified workflow framework, focuses on reproducibility and reporting standards, and offers practical illustrations and tools.
The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center has awarded proof-of-concept funding to four scientific teams developing breakthrough technologies for food security and environmental sustainability. These projects aim to improve crop resistance, develop customized weed control strategies, exploit plasmodesmata to control plant disease, and en...
The National Science Foundation has awarded Spearhead Bio a Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I grant to develop improved corn varieties. The company's breakthrough platform, TAHITI, enables precise and seamless gene insertion into crops.
The Danforth Plant Science Center welcomes Dr. Justin Conover and Dr. Erin Sparks as new faculty members, expanding their expertise in polyploidy and plant biomechanics. These additions strengthen partnerships with the University of Missouri, elevating research on crop genetics and resilience.
Spearhead Bio's TAHITI technology enables seamless integration of genes into crops, promising faster and cleaner path to crop improvement. The startup aims to generate next-generation improved crops with desired traits, improving speed to market and consumer acceptance.
Researchers at the Danforth Center are developing perennial crops with deep roots to conserve nutrients and water, increasing yield and reducing input costs. The project aims to optimize breeding strategies and explore symbiotic relationships between corn and mycorrhizal fungi to improve soil health.
A research team has uncovered key genetic regulatory factors that control pleiotropy, a phenomenon where a single gene influences multiple traits. The study sheds new light on how genes governing leaf angle and tassel branching in maize can be modulated to optimize crop productivity.
Researchers develop new techniques for volume electron microscopy (vEM) and cryo-electron tomography to study plant cellular processes. The project aims to unlock new possibilities for crop development with enhanced resilience, productivity, and sustainability.
Giles Oldroyd, a renowned plant geneticist, has been named as the next President of the Danforth Plant Science Center. He is recognized for his work on symbiotic interactions between plants and beneficial bacteria and fungi, and will lead the center in driving innovative research and expanding its impact globally.
A new collaborative research team is developing sorghum hybrids with nitrogen-saving traits by leveraging genetic diversity from wild relatives. The project aims to reduce fertilizer application levels, increase resilience, and productivity for grain sorghum producers.
The partnership will improve crop productivity and resilience through research and extension services. Improved crops will provide Rwandan farmers with resistant varieties to devastating insect pests and diseases.
A joint program between the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center and Enhanced Nature will develop methods to accelerate AMF growth in vitro. This project could enhance sustainable agriculture practices by improving fungal production and increasing demand for high-quality AMF products.
A new tool called TATSI enables efficient and accurate genome editing in plants, increasing the rate of targeted DNA integration by an order of magnitude. This technology has the potential to improve crop traits such as virus resistance and nutrient levels, addressing global challenges in agriculture.
Researchers found that mosses can gain significant biomass in elevated CO2 conditions due to improved photosynthesis and a delicate balancing of life cycle transition. This study provides crucial insights into moss growth under elevated CO2 levels, which may benefit climate change models.
A team of researchers has identified a single nucleotide mutation that confers resistance to cassava mosaic disease, which causes significant yield losses worldwide. This discovery has implications for improving cassava yields and sustaining farmer income, and could also shed light on disease-resistance in other major crops.
Plant scientists can now image above and below-ground structures with unprecedented clarity, revealing new insights into biological processes. The development of three-dimensional X-ray microscopy enables the observation of microscopic molecular and cellular processes driving plant phenotypes.
Scientists discover that small RNAs recruit RNA Polymerase V to initiate DNA methylation, enabling crop breeders to avoid silencing from the start. This finding has substantial implications for reducing the cost and effort of producing transgenic crops.
The New Roots for Restoration Biology Integration Institute aims to integrate plant traits, communities, and the soil ecosphere to advance restoration of natural and agricultural ecosystems. The project seeks to understand how root traits influence plant interactions with each other and with the soil.
AgTech NEXT 2021 explores intersections of agriculture, innovation, and climate change. The event features thought-provoking discussions on carbon markets, geospatial sciences, and food security.
An international team has developed a cassava variety with high-level resistance to two devastating diseases and higher levels of iron and zinc. The research builds on previous work demonstrating that increasing mineral content in cassava storage roots is possible using RNAi-mediated technology.
Researchers found that infertile spikelets collect and transfer photosynthetic carbon to seed-bearing ones, increasing yield. Removing infertile spikelets reduced seed weight by 9%.
Researchers at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center have identified a novel seed dispersal gene in wild green millet, which could lead to more efficient crop production. The discovery was made through the analysis of nearly 600 genome sequences and confirmed by gene editing studies.
A team of scientists at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center has identified a sub-class of peptides in legumes that inhibit the growth of gray mold fungus. The peptides, known as NCR044, work by concentrating in the nucleolus and targeting fungal spores and germlings.
Researchers mapped non-coding genome in maize during early developmental window to understand inflorescence differentiation. The study provides a roadmap for adjusting gene expression precisely to improve grain yield and ear traits.
Researchers at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center have uncovered an environmentally sensitive male sterile phenotype in flowering plants. The discovery of this genetic pathway's role in regulating pollen production could lead to improved seed production and crop yields.
A recent study published in Nature reveals a new framework for understanding the evolution of green plants over 1 billion years. The research, led by an international consortium of scientists, generated gene sequences for over 1100 plant species and provides insight into how plants evolved to produce useful chemicals.
A team led by James Umen and Ru Zhang has identified hundreds of 'Deep Green' genes in land plants and green algae with unknown functions. These genes are likely to play important roles in photosynthetic cells and may be exploited to improve bioenergy crops under drought, heat or nutrient stresses.
Researchers at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center have identified a new sustainable method to produce lifesaving opiate antidotes by harnessing a microorganism that catalyzes N-demethylation, reducing waste and costs associated with current methods.
Researchers have discovered a previously unknown compartment within the symbiotic cortical root cells of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. The periarbuscular space now appears to be a complex network of membranes linking the plant cytoplasm to regions adjacent to the fungus, suggesting an efficient exchange of nutrients and molecules.
A previously believed pathway for sRNA production has been found to be present widely in flowering plants, evolved over 200 million years ago. This discovery could improve crop yields and breeding better varieties.
Researchers developed cassava with significantly higher iron and zinc concentrations through genetic modification, which can improve diets and health in West Africa. The 'biofortified' cassava retains mineral levels after processing and cooking, providing a nutritionally available source of essential micronutrients.
A new study has identified the earliest stages of evolution where distinct sperm and egg cell types first emerged from a simpler ancestral mating system. The research found that the sex-determining region associated with male-female differentiation in algae is surprisingly small, consisting of only one gene called MID.
Researchers at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center are studying the mechanisms behind cell-size control in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, a unicellular green alga. The study aims to gain insights into how cell division is controlled in more complex organisms where it's harder to study the impacts of noise on cellular decision making.
Researchers at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center have discovered a genetic mechanism that controls developmental traits related to grain production in cereals. The study found that precise regulation of plant hormones, specifically brassinosteroids, can modulate growth and differentiation of unique inflorescence morphology.
A breakthrough discovery has been made by suppressing the aflatoxin-producing fungus in groundnut, significantly improving food safety. The research, published in Plant Biotechnology Journal, has potential to contribute to food security in under-developed countries.
The partnership aims to improve food security crops with enhanced native traits, disease resistance, nutritional value, and biotic stress resilience. Gene editing is being employed to increase understanding of crop plants and deliver benefits to African farmers.
The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center has received a $3.4 million grant from the National Science Foundation to develop novel methods for predicting a plant's phenotype and precisely manipulating plant architecture traits in maize. The project aims to enhance yield potential and address the plateaued yields in recent years.
The US Department of Energy has awarded the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center $16 million to develop stress-tolerant sorghum lines for bioenergy production. The project aims to optimize photosynthesis and water use efficiency, leveraging recent investments from DOE to accelerate sorghum feedstock enhancements.
The Danforth Center is expanding its research program to optimize breeding strategies for grain sorghum, a critical source of nutrition for millions in Sub-Saharan Africa. The grant will support the development and deployment of advanced phenotyping and breeding technologies.
The VIRCA Plus consortium aims to improve agricultural productivity and enhance nutrition for smallholder households in East and West Africa by developing disease-resistant and nutritionally-enhanced cassava varieties. The project will address challenges such as plant viral diseases, which can destroy up to 100% of a cassava crop yield.
The PheNode, a solar-powered environmental sensor and phenotyping station, continuously monitors field crops for growth rate, stem diameter, height, and more. It provides crucial information for crop improvement and precision agriculture, helping growers make better decisions to manage their crops and reduce environmental footprint.
Scientists have discovered a mutation in algae that increases oil yields without sacrificing growth, opening up the prospect of reprogramming metabolism to produce more oil. The finding, published in The Plant Cell, reveals a new way to understand how cells control carbon metabolism and storage.
Researchers at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center have made significant breakthroughs in understanding the role of Heterotrimeric G proteins in plant development, stress tolerance, and yield improvement. The study revealed that specific G protein subunits play a crucial role in regulating plant growth and abiotic stress response.
The National Science Foundation is funding a project to develop non-destructive analysis of plant leaves in breeding lines, enabling rapid screening of breeding materials. The goal is to produce higher-indicin yielding breeders seed stock, increasing the cost-competitiveness of plant-derived indigo dye.
The USGA is collaborating with the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center to study seashore paspalum's salt tolerance. The research aims to develop more robust turfgrass varieties that require less fresh water and fewer chemical treatments, increasing environmental sustainability in the golf industry.