Kinetochore, a protein super‐complex on the centromere of chromosomes, controls chromosome segregation during cell division. The NDC80 complex, made up of NDC80, NUF2, SPC24 and SPC25 proteins, connects spindle fibers to the kinetochore. While it is found in most species, functional studies of this complex are rare in Arabidopsis.

New research led by Oxford University reveals that sweet potato likely arrived naturally in Polynesia in pre-human times, challenging the belief that one of the world's most important crops was transported from America to Polynesia by people. Christopher Columbus' arrival in America in 1492 marked the beginning of the great age of exploration in the world.

The Agricultural Biotechnology Research Center of the next Generation Bio-Green 21 Project was established through a public contest by Rural Development Administration (RDA) in South Korea. Prof. Park Soon-ki of Kyungpook National University was selected as the research team leader in January 2018.

The Kenyan government is banking on adoption of Bt cotton to revive the textiles and apparel industry and increase the contribution of the manufacturing sector to the country's GDP from the current 9.5 percent to 15 percent by 2022. Speaking during a national biotechnology stakeholders' luncheon, adviser on textile value chain at the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Cooperatives Mr.

Cassava features prominently in the crop portfolios of Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam. The crop plays a key role in the local economies of all three countries, with Thailand and Vietnam being the two largest global exporters of cassava products, and Cambodia relying on cassava as its second most cultivated agricultural crop. Over the past 20 years cassava production in these regions has risen dramatically,

“The work done by SIMLESA has yielded increasing farm-level food security and productivity, in the context of climate risk and change,” said Eyasu Abraha, Ethiopian Minister for Agriculture and Natural Resources, at the official opening of SIMLESA’s end of project external review and stakeholders’ meeting. The four-day event reflected on the project’s achievements, challenges and opportunities through an external project review and stakeholder discussions.

Aquaponics has become all the trend. The combination of aquaculture, the practice of fish farming, and hydroponics, the cultivation of plants in water without soil, aquaponics is one example of recirculating systems generally called Integrated Aquaculture Agriculture (IAA). Some integrated farms can reduce water consumption by 90% compared to traditional agriculture. This is very good news for the agriculture sector, which worldwide, uses about 70% of available freshwater.

A new study conducted by a research team from John Innes Centre (JIC) has isolated a gene that controls the shape and size of wheat spikelets. The study focused on the genetics behind a specific mutant trait in bread wheat known as paired spikelets, where a wheat inflorescence is formed of two spikelets instead of the usual one. This trait, which bears resemblance to flower production in corn and rice, is a variation that could lead to increase in yield.

A research group from Nagoya University and Tohoku University has discovered new compounds that can control stomatal movements in plants. The research team found compounds that show stomata closing activity, which is expected to be useful for drought tolerance to suppress withering of plants, and also stomatal opening activity, which would lead to increased carbon dioxide uptake by plants.

Researchers at the RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science (CSRS) in Japan have discovered a small hormone that helps plants retain water even when none is available in the soil. The study, published in Nature, shows how the peptide CLE25 moves from the roots to the leaves when water is scarce and helps prevent water loss by closing pores in the leaf surface.