Applying CRISPR beyond Arabidopsis thaliana

Few technologies have made as big a splash in recent years as CRISPR/Cas9, and rightfully so. CRISPR/Cas9, or clustered regularly interspaced palindromic repeats (CRISPR) and associated genes, is a bacterial gene editing ...

Simplifying simple sequence repeats

Simple sequence repeats (SSRs) are regions of DNA with high diversity, and they have long been a mainstay for botanists examining the genetic structure of plant populations. However, as the cost of sequencing DNA continues ...

Making sense of remote sensing data

Remote sensor technologies like cameras, GPS trackers, and weather stations have revolutionized biological data collection in the field. Now researchers can capture continuous datasets in difficult terrain, at a scale unimaginable ...

Targeting DNA sequencing for plant biodiversity research

Third-generation sequencing (TGS) technologies like the portable MinION sequencer promise to revolutionize biology, but getting there will require tweaking techniques. Particularly, the low output delivered by TGS sequencers ...

Methods in belowground botany

Plant root systems play a crucial role in ecosystems, radically impacting everything from nutrient cycling to species composition. Despite their importance, scientists are just beginning to develop the tools to understand ...

Emerging frontiers in phenological research

As climate change looms, we urgently need to understand how ecosystems will respond. Plant phenology, or the timing of developmental events like flowering, offers a powerful lens to make sense of the changes we are likely ...

page 2 from 10