Quillwort genome highlights divergences in aquatic CAM photosynthesis

The humble quillworts are an ancient group of about 250 small, aquatic plants that have largely been ignored by modern botanists. A group of researchers, led by Boyce Thompson Institute's Fay-Wei Li, have sequenced the first ...

New cyanobacteria species spotlights early life

Cyanobacteria are one of the unsung heroes of life on Earth. They first evolved to perform photosynthesis about 2.4 billion years ago, pumping tons of oxygen into the atmosphere—a period known as the Great Oxygenation Event—which ...

Fungi could manipulate bacteria to enrich soil with nutrients

A team of researchers from the Boyce Thompson Institute (BTI) has discovered a distinct group of bacteria that may help fungi and plants acquire soil nutrients. The findings could point the way to cost-effective and eco-friendly ...

Gene discovery may help peaches tolerate climate stress

A Boyce Thompson Institute-led team has identified genes enabling peaches and their wild relatives to tolerate stressful conditions—findings that could help the domesticated peach adapt to climate change.

Silk Road contains genomic resources for improving apples

The fabled Silk Road—the 4,000-mile stretch between China and Western Europe where trade flourished from the second century B.C. to the 14th century A.D. - is responsible for one of our favorite and most valuable fruits: ...

Harnessing psyllid peptides to fight citrus greening disease

Citrus greening disease, also called huanglongbing (HLB), is a bacterial infection of citrus trees that results in small, misshapen and sour fruits that are unsuitable for consumption, ultimately killing the tree. Because ...

Hornwort genomes could lead to crop improvement

Some 500 million years ago—when our continents were likely connected in a single land mass and most life existed underwater—hornworts were one of the first groups of plants to colonize land. But biologists have never ...

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