The seventh most important crop in the world, sweet potato is an important source of calories, proteins, vitamins, and minerals. An international team of researchers from China and Germany has been able to sequence and phase the sweet potato genome, giving insights about the evolutionary history of the sweet potato.

Photosynthesis is one of the most important biological processes in the world. It works by using photosynthetic reaction centers (RC) — specialized membrane proteins — which collect the energy from light and use it to pump electrons across a biological membrane from one cellular electron carrier to another, resulting in the conversion of electromagnetic into chemical energy, which can be used by organisms.

The evolution of oxygenic photosynthesis by cyanobacteria was arguably one of the most significant biological events in Earth’s history, shaping the atmosphere and subsequently leading to diverse ecosystems (1). The permanent endosymbiotic merger between a cyanobacterium and a unicellular heterotrophic eukaryote in deep evolutionary time set the stage for the stunning diversity of photosynthetic eukaryotes and ecosystems seen today, giving rise to the supergroup Archaeplastida, the red, glaucophyte, and green algae and their descendent land plants.

Speaking at the conclusion of a four-day visit to Ethiopia, including to the drought-stricken Somali region, the heads of the United Nations food agencies made a joint call for greater investment in long-term activities that strengthen people's resilience to drought and the impacts of climate shocks.
 

Vietnam Genetics Association, Agricultural Genetics Institute, and Phu Yen Center for Application and Transformation of Technology (PYCAT) organized a conference on biotechnology applications and genetically modified products on July 17, 2017 in Tuy Hoa City, Phu Yen, Vietnam. The meeting was attended by leaders of Phu Yen Department of Science and Technology and more than 120 representatives from agencies under the Department of Science and Technology:

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs with roles in plant development and stress responses. Loss-of-function analysis of miRNA genes has been challenging due to the lack of suitable knockout tools. A team of scientists from various universities, led by Jian-Ping Zhou from the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, aim to study miRNA genes, specifically OsMIR528, in rice using CRISPR-Cas9.

During the annual APEC High-Level Policy Dialogue on Agricultural Biotechnology (HLPDAB) Meeting in Can Tho, Vietnam on August 20, 2017, the agenda included agricultural biotechnology policies, promotion of public-private partnerships in agricultural biotechnology research and applications, and the use of agricultural biotechnology in response to climate change

Researchers from South Dakota State University (SDSU) hope to transfer resistance to wheat streak mosaic virus to bread wheat from a distant relative, sea wheatgrass.

Associate Professor Wanlong Li of the Department of Biology and Microbiology said, "In wheat breeding, we have a lot of very important genes transferred from relatives to wheat varieties." For instance, resistance to leaf rust, stem rust and yellow rust, as well as powdery mildew, came from rye.

COMESA member states through its specialized agency ACTESA - Alliance for Commodity Trade in Eastern and Southern Africa have acknowledged the need for rigorous reforms on policies governing adoption of GM crops in Africa. This was during a two-day regional sensitization workshop on agri-biotech and biosafety held on August 30, 2017 in Kenya. The workshop brought together representatives from six COMESA member states actively involved in biotech research, the East African Community (EAC) and key private sector players.

The rapid urbanization of major rice-growing regions is limiting farmers’ access to land, labor, and resources such as water. As a response, the traditional method of transplanting rice seedlings is being replaced by directly sowing seeds in the field. This is less labor intensive, uses less water, and leads to faster crop establishment. However, directly sowing seeds may lead to uneven germination, decreased survival, increased competition from weeds, and lower crop yields.