A research team from Boyce Thompson Institute (BTI), the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and collaborators in China and France, has released the first high-quality genome sequence for the bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) and a reconstructed genome of the most recent Cucurbitaceae ancestor. The researchers compared the bottle gourd genome sequence to other cucurbit species to reconstruct the ancient genomic history of the Cucurbitaceae family.

Market research, collating literature, and action plan for changing approaches are some of the practical steps to make breeding of new plant varieties an enabling technology for developing countries. These were discussed by experts for innovation in plant, animal, and food sciences who gathered in Brisbane, Australia on November 20-22, 2017 during the International Tropical Agriculture Conference in 2017.

IFAD commemorates its 40^th birthday next year. Since approving the Fund's first projects in 1978, IFAD’s members have assembled periodically to review its operations, provide guidance for the future, and replenish the financial resources of the Fund, which it in turn uses to support agricultural and rural development in its developing member countries. The replenishment consultation process lasts about a year and involves four meetings of some 50 government delegates.

The PTEN gene is inactivated in various cancers. PTEN has a pseudogene in the human genome, PTENpg1, which up-regulates PTEN expression by acting as a miRNA sponge. Interestingly, one of the antisense RNAs from the PTENpg1 locus, PTENpg1 asRNA α, is found to epigenetically down-regulate PTEN transcription by recruitment of EZH2 and DNMT3a to the PTEN promoter in trans (1)

The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and BASF signed three agreements, paving the way for wider dissemination and adoption of direct-seeded rice (DSR) tools and technologies. Through this partnership, the two organizations will establish a multi-stakeholder DSR Consortium and further research on the use of non-genetically modified, herbicide-tolerant rice.

JAZ (Jasmonate ZIM-domain) proteins are important repressors in JA signaling pathway. JAZs take part in various developmental processes as well as in resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses in Arabiodopsis. However, in tomato, the studies on these JAZs are rare, especially on their roles in plant growth and development. The research team of Xiaohui Yu from Chongqing University in China isolated and studied a tomato JAZ gene, SlJAZ2.

Cactus plants need not be prickly and can act as precious natural resources, especially in dryland areas where they can make important food-security contributions for people and livestock.

FAO gathered experts on the hardy plant to pool their knowledge in a bid to help farmers and policy makers make more strategic and efficient use of landscapes often dismissed as arid and infertile.

 

When women are hurt, food insecurity and poverty prevail in many households. Eliminating gender-based violence (GBV) is crucial, not only because it violates human rights but also because it reinforces many contributing factors as an interview with FAO’s Deputy Director-General, Daniel Gustafson outlines on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) Panel on Genetically Modified Organisms of the European Food Safety Authority (GMO Panel) has published the Scientific Opinion on the safety of genetically modified glufosinate- and glyphosate-tolerant and insect-resistant maize 1507 × 59122 × MON810 × NK603 and its 10 subcombinations independently of their origin.

Argentina's Ministerio de Agroindustria has announced the commercial approval of genetically modified (GM) soybean SYN-000H2-5 event, a new biotech crop tolerant to glufosinate-ammonium herbicides and inhibitors of the HPPD enzyme.