Postdoctoral researcher Vered Tzin received support to present her work at the American Society for Plant Biology annual meeting in July, and Cairo Archer received an undergraduate research fellowship to support her summer research in the Jander lab
Tanksley made invaluable contributions to plant breeding and genetics, laying the foundation for targeted crop improvements to increase food security.
An international consortium of researchers has sequenced the two wild parent species of the domesticated petunia
Watermelons have changed from a small, bitter fruit that grows wild in Africa to the most popular fruit in the world. What’s next for watermelons?
Patel is about to graduate from Cornell–and the Martin lab–to return to his native California to continue his career in plant science.
Mimicking the effects of a Guatemalan tuber moth infestation in agricultural fields could increase potato yield and reduce pest damage.
Jim Giovannoni, BTI professor, USDA-ARS research molecular biologist and Cornell University adjunct professor, is recognized by the National Academy of Sciences for his significant contributions to plant science.
The Spring 2016 issue of the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation newsletter featured recent work by Dan Klessig. The newsletter highlighted his recent PLOS ONE paper on salicylic acid and human GAPDH.
In a JOVE publication, postdoctoral researcher Thomas Jacobs uses tomato hairy roots to demonstrate how multiple CRISPR vectors can be constructed in parallel in a single cloning reaction.
Research from the Klessig lab shows that HMGB3 signals to the plant immune system when tissues are damaged and makes plants more resistant to certain infections.
The group from Team I.M.P.A.C.T. of Rochester, NY, exposed young men to potential careers in the plant sciences.
Woodland agrimony is so rare in New York that there weren’t enough plants to study why it is in decline. The Van Eck lab used tissue culture techniques to multiply the plant.
Tompkins County has awarded Gomes Selman, a 2015 high school intern at BTI, its Distinguished Youth award for his numerous academic and volunteer commitments.
Giovannoni and Kochian both ranked in the top 1 percent of researchers publishing in plant and animal science.
Jander lab members investigate the chemical defenses that young corn plants use to fight off simultaneous attacks from hungry insects.
BTI announces the winning proposals submitted to the Triad Foundation’s Plants and Human Health grant program.
BTI researchers used a genome comparison approach to identify genes necessary for beneficial plant-fungal relationships, which may lead to better crop plants that require less fertilizer input.
BTI researchers will present current research on the Sol Genomics Network, using CRISPR to edit genomes, the whitefly genome and others.
Aphids thrive on a high-sugar diet, thanks to bacterial partners that help them breakdown plant sap and build essential amino acids from scratch.
Fluorescent proteins will allow researchers to track phosphate movement through cells in real time.
The active ingredient in aspirin blocks an enzyme that triggers cell death in Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s diseases, offering hope for novel treatments.
The bacterium believed to cause citrus greening disease creates multiple changes in both the Asian citrus psyllid that carries it and the beneficial bacteria that live within the insect.
What will your dinner plate look like in 2050? With discoveries from the Boyce Thompson Institute, future crops may have more nutrients and greater resistance to insects, drought and disease.
The GOBII project gathered researchers from breeding centers around the world to make a plan to develop the architecture for a genomics database for five staple crops.
The BTI tomato field experienced a damaging outbreak of bacterial speck disease this summer, but BTI’s Greg Martin has identified genetic regions in a wild tomato species that may make future varieties immune to these devastating bacterial strains.
Ongoing relationships with teachers enable Education and Outreach to host valuable professional development workshops on plant and insect science for dedicated teachers.
A technique to enhance beta-carotene levels in potatoes and cassava may one day help alleviate vitamin A deficiency in developing countries.
Researchers in the Stern laboratory will investigate potential benefits of “high-Rubisco” corn plants, under a new USDA-funded project.
Maria Harrison will participate in a $13.5 million, multi-institution systems biology project with Daniel Schachtman of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to develop sorghum that is more drought resistant and uses nitrogen more efficiently.
A consortium of 20 researchers is using advanced genomic techniques to accelerate the development of disease-resistant varieties of cucurbit crops. BTI Associate Professor Zhangjun Fei will lead the bioinformatics and genomics part of the initiative.
Students in Cornell University’s course, The GMO Debate: Science and Society, visited a genetic engineering laboratory at Boyce Thompson Institute, courtesy of Assistant Professor Joyce Van Eck and postdoctoral researcher Alex Amaro, Stern Lab.
Most people get a daily dose of virus in the form of plant or insect viruses that are harmless to humans. Consuming the occasional plant or insect virus should be the least of our worries.
The detection of 10 new citrus greening disease cases in California citrus trees weighed heavily on attendees of a recent citrus greening research meeting.
BTI researchers Harrison and Floss collaborate with Cornell physicists to understand how roots grow around barriers in the soil, while still heading down.
Researchers have found that salicylic acid targets the activities of HMGB1, an inflammatory protein associated with a wide variety of diseases, offering hope that more powerful aspirin-like drugs may be developed.
Hartz serves on the BTI Board of Directors where he advises and oversees the financial and administrative aspects of BTI. He also acts informally as an Ithaca representative, maintaining the strong connection between BTI and the local community.
“There is such a disconnect between what the average person knows about plant science and what we do in the lab here…I think it’s really important to be able to talk to anyone about what I do in a way that they understand.”
Harrison Lab has discovered that plants use EXO70I to form a membrane around the fungus in arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbioses, beneficial associations where plants receive phosphate from fungi in exchange for carbohydrates.
BTI Researchers pinpointed which genes are important at different stages of tomato fruit development by monitoring how gene expression changed in the first four days after a flower becomes pollinated.
“My experience was really valuable…It confirmed the fact that I want to do science…science doesn’t work a lot of the time…it’s having the motivation and determination to tackle problems that you’re always going to come across.” Juan G
To promote innovative research and collaboration, the Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research and the American Society of Plant Biologists are pleased to announce the formation of the Plant Science Research Network.
Fourteen teachers arrived at BTI from schools as close as Ithaca and as far as Anaheim, Calif. to attend the BTI Plant Biology Curriculum Development Projects (CDP) Teacher Institute July 13-17, 2015
Science teachers planted switchgrass seeds, sampled algae-glycerin soap, and participated in roleplaying activities at the Bioenergy and Bioproducts Education Program’s National STEM conference last week in Horseheads, N.Y.
When plants detect pheromones given off by nematode worms, they activate their immune system for protection. The chemical warning not only triggers defenses against nematodes, but also against bacterial, fungal and viral infection.
Professor James Giovannoni, “There’s a great deal of diversity that’s still available from these varieties that potentially have a lot of useful traits, including tolerance to stresses and important fruit traits.”
Summer internships at BTI let students try on the life of a scientist for a few months, while attending a variety of talks, trainings and social events. But what’s in it for the mentors, who painstakingly train them?
“The more we understand the molecular mechanisms involved in the infection process and in plant resistance, the more effective we’re going to be in breeding resistant crops,” said Professor Greg Martin.
A diverse group of researchers has teamed up to develop a therapeutic treatment for citrus greening disease, a bacterial infection that threatens the future of the U.S. citrus industry.
Some interns, like Cornell University first-year student Felix Fernandez-Penny, enjoy their time at BTI so much that they keep showing up at the laboratory, long after the summer ends.
