Seed oil is important for human and animal nutrition as well as for various industrial applications. Genetic engineering strategies have been tried to increase oil content in seeds. However, few of these strategies involve manipulating the transporters. Pyruvate is a major source of carbon for fatty acid biosynthesis in plastids, and the embryo's demand for it is reported to increase during oil accumulation.

An international collaboration has been formed to discover novel sources of genetic resistance to devastating corn diseases. 2Blades Foundation and Monsanto Company have formed the collaboration and 2Blades is set to deliver the resistance genes together with The Sainsbury Laboratory. Diana Horvath, president of 2Blades said, "The combination of The Sainsbury Laboratory's extensive expertise in the molecular basis of plant disease, 2Blades' proficiency in managing the discovery and advancement of plant disease resistance.

Hon. Jackson Mbaju- Member of Parliament (MP) representing the people of Busongoro South in Kasese district, has urged researchers to ensure that the people of Kasese district are the first beneficiaries of genetically modified (GM) maize that can withstand drought and resist the pesky pest known as stem borer.

With as little as one-quarter of expected rainfall received, widespread drought conditions in the Horn of Africa have intensified since the failure of the October-December rains, FAO said today. Areas of greatest concern cover much of Somalia, north-east and coastal Kenya, south-east of Ethiopia as well as the Afar region still to recover from El Nino induced drought of 2015/16; as well as South Sudan which faces a serious food crisis due to protracted insecurity.

What’s wrong with the supermarket tomato? Consumers say they lack flavor, so a University of Florida researcher led a global team on a mission to identify the important factors that have been lost and put them back into modern tomatoes. In a study published today in the journal Science, Harry Klee, a professor of horticultural sciences with UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, identifies the chemical combinations for better tomato flavor.

A team of researchers from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis (WUSTL) has developed a new technique to regulate the amount of protein that a particular gene produces. The technique will allow biologists to tinker with genes, whether the goal is to turn cells into tiny factories for medicines, modify crops to grow with limited water, or study the effects of a gene on health.

Latin America and the Caribbean could be the first developing region to completely eradicate hunger if its governments further strengthen their implementation of a food security plan developed by the CELAC bloc, FAO’s Director-General José Graziano da Silva said today. Speaking at the Summit of Presidents and Heads of State and Government of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, Graziano da Silva stated that, "CELAC’s Food Security, Nutrition and Hunger Eradication Plan (FNS) represents the crystallization of governments’ political will to eradicate hunger before 2025."

Canada today announced it will contribute an additional $1 million to international bodies that develop the standards for food safety and plant protection. Lawrence MacAulay, Canada's Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, told FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva of the decision while both leaders both leaders were in Berlin attending high-level meetings including Sunday's meeting of agriculture ministers from the G20 countries.

In an effort toward better understanding of how the Zika virus infects host cells and spreads, researchers at Purdue University have published a high resolution structure of the immature Zika virus. The structure of the mature Zika virus has been published in 2016, and researchers point at the differences between immature and mature Zika virus.

The Minister for Agriculture of Punjab, Pakistan, Naeem Akhtar Khan Bhabha, acknowledged the importance of biotechnology during his visit to biotech corn field trial. The minister witnessed the biotech corn under field testing conducted by Monsanto in Pakistan. He was also briefed about the technology features, crop characteristics, trial and testing parameters, and agronomic practices.