Leaders from the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) met with Minister Narumon Pinyosinwat of the Thailand Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MOAC) to discuss advancing collaborative efforts in rice research and development. The IRRI delegation, led by Director General Dr. Yvonne Pinto, Asia Director Dr. Jongsoo Shin, and Country Representative Dr. Bjoern Ole Sander

The global gene editing market value is expected to reach USD 17.5 billion by the end of 2031 with a compound annual growth rate of 13.9% from 2023 to 2031. This projection is according to the latest report of Transparency Market Research. The growth in the gene editing market is attributed to the advancements in biotechnology, increasing investments in biotech research, and a boost in applications of gene editing tools in healthcare, agriculture, and industrial sectors.

Plant experts from the University of Western Australia (UWA) and the University of Copenhagen provide two viable options for feeding the world in the midst of a worsening climate. The first option is to introduce genes that confer resistance to environmental stress into existing high-yield crops, while the second option is to domesticate wild plants that are resistant to environmental stresses but have lower yields than domesticated crops. They discussed these techniques in their feature article published in Frontiers in Science.

Researchers from China's Shaanxi Normal University led by Dr. Xianfeng Liu have published a new study highlighting a decline in rice quality in East Asia, particularly China and Japan, brought about by changing temperatures. Dr. Xianfeng Liu and colleagues used data collected over 35 years to explore the patterns in rice quality from Japan and China based on head rice rate (HRR). HRR is a portion of milled rice kernels that retain 75% of their length after milling, during which the husk and bran are removed.

On December 2, 2024, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, vacated the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) final rule (7 CFR part 340) that was issued in May 2020 for organisms developed using genetic engineering (GE). Since May 2020, at least 99 GE plants have been exempted.

A team of scientists from the United States has made a game-changer discovery — a gene in poplar trees that enhances photosynthesis and boosts tree height by as much as 200 percent. The discovery raises hopes of gaining higher yields from important food crops and could aid national efforts to grow poplar trees for jet fuels as an alternative to petroleum-based fuels. The gene, which the scientists call "Booster," occurs naturally in poplar trees. It enhances photosynthesis and, therefore, boosts plant growth.

A study published in Global Change Biology reports about genetically engineered potato plants that can grow 30% larger tubers under heatwave conditions without affecting the nutritional quality of the tubers. The research was conducted by a team of experts led by Katherine Meacham-Hensold of the University of Illinois in the US.

The global market of genetically modified crops is projected to be valued at USD 24.80 billion in 2024 and expected to reach USD 35.56 billion with a compound annual growth rate of 5.3% during this period. This information is according to the report of Coherent Market Insights on GM crops market size and trends.

A research team from Australia and China has uncovered important genetic and genomic information in the world's most comprehensive wheat genome sequencing and assembly project to date. The research reveals the evolution of wheat and offers a springboard for future genome references and global breeding programs.

Researchers from Wageningen University & Research (WUR) and Michigan State University have uncovered genetic variation in the unexplored DNA of the photosynthetic and energy factories of Arabidopsis plants. Such variation plays a crucial role in photosynthetic efficiency in plants and could pave the way for more productive, climate-resilient crops.