https://phys.org/biology-news/agriculture en-us Agriculture, livestock, farming and food processing news The ability to genetically engineer plants is largely thanks to a microscopic helper: a bacterium called Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Agrobacterium in the wild causes damaging tumors in flowering plants, including some economically important crops, but its ability to insert its own DNA into host plants is what makes it both a pest to farmers and a powerful tool for biotechnology. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-method-biofuel-bioproduct.html Biotechnology Agriculture Thu, 07 Nov 2024 12:08:05 EST news650203682 The cities of Santa Ana and Garden Grove have been placed under quarantine on Wednesday in light of an uninvited and unwelcome visitor: the oriental fruit fly, an invasive pest that attacks over 230 crops including fruits, nuts and vegetables. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-invasive-fruit-fly-species-southern.html Plants & Animals Agriculture Thu, 07 Nov 2024 11:30:01 EST news650200922 "How is plant growth controlled?" and "What is the basis of variation in stress tolerance in plants?" were among the 125 most challenging scientific questions, according to the journal Science in 2016. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-scientists-reveal-strigolactone-perception-mechanism.html Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture Thu, 07 Nov 2024 09:30:38 EST news650194234 Biologists at Washington University in St. Louis have discovered the origin of a curious duplication that gives plants multiple ways to override instructions that are coded into their DNA. This research could help scientists exploit a plant's existing systems to favor traits that make it more resilient to environmental changes, like heat or drought stress. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-biologists-evolved-multiple-ways-override.html Evolution Agriculture Wed, 06 Nov 2024 14:00:01 EST news650107578 In a study of salmon samples from Seattle, Washington, grocery stores and sushi restaurants, DNA analysis revealed that 18% were mislabeled. Tracie Delgado and colleagues at Seattle Pacific University, WA, U.S., present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS ONE on November 6, 2024. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-grocery-reliable-sushi-restaurants-salmon.html Ecology Agriculture Wed, 06 Nov 2024 14:00:01 EST news650105034 A small team of horticulturists in China and the U.S. has found that spraying rice plants with a zinc oxide nanoparticle solution helps them better handle the stress of a heat wave. In their study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the group conducted experiments involving spraying rice plants in a heated greenhouse. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-spraying-rice-zinc-oxide-nanoparticles.html Biotechnology Agriculture Tue, 05 Nov 2024 09:00:02 EST news650019223 If left unchecked, insect pests can devastate crops. To minimize damage and reduce the need for insecticide sprays, crops have been genetically engineered to produce bacterial proteins that kill key pests but are not harmful to people or wildlife. However, widespread planting of such transgenic crops has led to rapid adaptation by some pests. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-usual-reveals-genetic-basis-pest.html Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture Mon, 04 Nov 2024 15:51:31 EST news649957885 Texas A&M AgriLife researchers uncovered a promising target for controlling gene expression and other cellular processes, which could lead to advancements in crop resilience and our understanding of certain human diseases. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-discovery-protein-key-role-rna.html Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture Fri, 01 Nov 2024 09:12:54 EDT news649671169 Two small molecules that are produced by the plant Arabidopsis thaliana are shown to have the opposite effect on how fast its leaves age. The molecules are peptides, short chains of amino acids. While the peptide SCOOP10 accelerates aging, SCOOP12 suppresses it. Together, these peptides are thought to regulate the aging process in plants. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-international-team-small-molecules-fast.html Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture Thu, 31 Oct 2024 12:30:11 EDT news649596601 A gene called COLD6 contributes to cold tolerance in rice, potentially offering a pathway to use molecular design to breed a rice variety with higher resistance to cold stress. This work appears October 30 in Molecular Cell. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-gene-cold-tolerance-rice-opportunities.html Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture Wed, 30 Oct 2024 11:00:01 EDT news649496461 Sorghum, often relegated to animal feed in developed countries, boasts significant nutritional potential that remains largely untapped for human consumption. This oversight presents a critical challenge for health-conscious consumers and nutritionists who are increasingly searching for sustainable food options to address chronic health issues. Sorghum is not only abundant but also resilient, requiring fewer resources than many other crops, making it environmentally friendly. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-sorghum-bioactive-compounds-modern-diets.html Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture Tue, 29 Oct 2024 10:27:03 EDT news649416422 A new study by researchers at the UT sheds light on historical changes in the amount of water humanity consumes to grow the world's main crops. The analysis demonstrates that despite increasing crop water productivity, the total amount of water we consume keeps growing, which may exacerbate the already existing myriad of related environmental and socio-economic issues. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-humanity-consumes-trillion-cubic-meters.html Ecology Agriculture Mon, 28 Oct 2024 16:43:25 EDT news649352602 Climate change presents an unprecedented challenge for European vintners, particularly for the more than 1,000 protected designations of origin. In Italy, these include the production of DOC and DOCG wines, which account for 35% of the EU total, with France at 31%. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-climate-wine-flexibility.html Ecology Agriculture Mon, 28 Oct 2024 11:59:04 EDT news649335541 Meat grown in a lab isn't science fiction anymore. Cultured meats have existed for over a decade, and as of 2023, you might even find lab-grown chicken in restaurants (in the U.S., at least). Now, with the literal support of plant-based scaffolds, "clean meat" options are expanding. Researchers publishing in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry have created a prototype cultured pork using a new material: kafirin proteins isolated from red sorghum grain. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-sorghum-grainbased-scaffolds-lab-grown.html Biotechnology Agriculture Mon, 28 Oct 2024 11:53:03 EDT news649335181 Research from Dr. Giovanni Sena's group in the Department of Life Sciences highlights an intriguing method to help protect plants from pathogen attacks using weak electric fields. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-weak-external-electric-fields-crops.html Biotechnology Agriculture Fri, 25 Oct 2024 11:27:58 EDT news649074476 Apomixis is a form of asexual reproduction that allows hybrid rice to propagate by seeds. Recently, a collaborative research team led by Professor Li Jiayang from the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology (IGDB) of the Chinese Academy of Science established a new synthetic apomixis system using the rice endogenous gene OsWUS, which enables normal seed-setting rates. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-synthetic-asexual-reproduction-hybrid-rice.html Biotechnology Agriculture Thu, 24 Oct 2024 16:20:59 EDT news649005652 Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are essential airborne signals or odors that enable plants to communicate with other organisms and plants across short and long distances. A key aspect of this communication occurs when a plant is damaged by herbivorous pests, triggering the release of VOCs. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-volatile-compounds-defense-sustainable-pest.html Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture Thu, 24 Oct 2024 15:37:04 EDT news649003021 Photosynthesis, the chemical reaction that enables almost all life on Earth, is extremely inefficient at capturing energy—only around 1% of light energy that a plant absorbs is converted into chemical energy within the plant. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-electro-agriculture-food-dark-bioengineers.html Biotechnology Agriculture Wed, 23 Oct 2024 11:00:01 EDT news648894934 Researchers from Nagoya University Institute of Transformative Biomolecules (WPI-ITbM) in Japan and their colleagues have identified and derivatized a chemical compound that effectively regulates the density of stomata in model plants. Stomata are crucial for water regulation. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-chemical-treatment-pores-loss.html Biotechnology Agriculture Wed, 23 Oct 2024 05:00:01 EDT news648805441 Using plastic sheets for weed control, even under current best management practices, pollutes soil with macro- and micro-plastics and negatively affects critical soil functions, according to a study. The United Nations considers soil plastic contamination an environmental health and food security threat. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-farms-plastic-mulch-contaminating-agricultural.html Ecology Agriculture Tue, 22 Oct 2024 11:19:57 EDT news648814790 Invasive insect species bring a host of health, social, ecological and economic consequences, including crop damage, food insecurity, biodiversity loss, ecosystem disruption, human disease transmission and rising allergy rates. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-accurately-benefits-methods-invasive-species.html Ecology Agriculture Mon, 21 Oct 2024 13:29:24 EDT news648736159 Anthropogenic nitrogen deposition and climate change can reduce the competitive advantage of nitrogen-fixing plants, leading to reduced diversity of these plants in a community. Surprisingly, changes in temperature and aridity do not contribute to the observed temporal changes in the diversity of nitrogen-fixing plants, as an international research team including Dr. Thilo Heinken from the University of Potsdam found out. The results of the study have now been published in Science Advances. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-loss-nitrogen-fixers-threatens-biodiversity.html Ecology Agriculture Mon, 21 Oct 2024 10:43:33 EDT news648726205 Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology have identified GAME15 as a key protein that regulates the biosynthesis of both steroidal glycoalkaloids and steroidal saponins in plants of the genus Solanum. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-discovery-key-protein-biosynthesis-defense.html Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture Thu, 17 Oct 2024 14:00:02 EDT news648375443 Researchers at the University of Toronto have cracked the code of plant-to-fungi communication in a new study published in the journal Molecular Cell. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-soil-secret-language-decode-fungi.html Ecology Agriculture Thu, 17 Oct 2024 10:31:54 EDT news648379910 A study published in the journal Science Advances suggests that global fish farming, or aquaculture, may rely on significantly larger quantities of wild-caught ocean fish than previously calculated. The study is part of a special issue focused on expanding contributions from the aquaculture industry to food systems with an aim towards sustainability. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-aquaculture-wild-fish-previously.html Plants & Animals Agriculture Wed, 16 Oct 2024 16:01:50 EDT news648313303 Salmon are natural carnivores. In the wild, they eat insects, insect larvae, small herring, crustaceans, and animal plankton. However, in farming, salmon are also fed seafood-based feed, making production dependent on resource-intensive fishmeal and fish oil. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-vegetarian-salmon-health-humans-fish.html Cell & Microbiology Agriculture Wed, 16 Oct 2024 14:41:03 EDT news648308461 A paper published in Science Advances exposes the global aquaculture sector's growing dependence on wild fish. Despite industry claims to the contrary, these findings highlight how the growing appetite for expensive farmed salmon can leave coastal communities struggling to access affordable local fish like sardines and anchovies. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-global-north-appetite-farmed-salmon.html Plants & Animals Agriculture Wed, 16 Oct 2024 14:00:01 EDT news648286321 The increasing global demand for plant-based foods makes the use of pesticides necessary in order to protect crops from pests and ensure crop yields. However, there is one major disadvantage: the widespread use of pesticides has led to a considerable reduction in insect populations in the past. The decline in wild bees, which make a significant contribution to pollination and are therefore essential for agricultural yields, is particularly worrying. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-sensors-bee-friendly.html Biotechnology Agriculture Tue, 15 Oct 2024 16:22:04 EDT news648228122 A team of Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and university scientists has released two new oat germplasm lines to shore up the cereal crop's defenses against its most devastating fungal disease, known as "crown rust." https://phys.org/news/2024-10-oat-lines-ready-duty-crown.html Agriculture Tue, 15 Oct 2024 14:01:21 EDT news648219677 Researchers at the University of Georgia have identified a promising approach to addressing a longstanding challenge for plant geneticists: balancing disease resistance and growth in plants. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-salicylic-acid-based-strategy-disease.html Biotechnology Agriculture Mon, 14 Oct 2024 14:43:29 EDT news648135805