BTI Welcomes 2023 Undergraduate Student Researchers

BTI Welcomes 2023 Undergraduate Student Researchers

On June 5, Boyce Thompson Institute welcomed 39 undergraduate students from colleges across the country to experience the life of a researcher for 10 weeks. Now in its 23rd year, BTI’s NSF funded Plant Genome Research Program (PGRP) and USDA funded Innovations in...
Wild tomato genome will benefit domesticated cousins

Wild tomato genome will benefit domesticated cousins

Wild relatives of crops are becoming increasingly valuable to plant researchers and breeders. During the process of domestication, crops tend to lose many genes, but wild relatives often retain genes that could be useful – such as genes that confer resistance to...
BTI Welcomes Summer Student Interns

BTI Welcomes Summer Student Interns

On May 31, Boyce Thompson Institute welcomed 41 of the country’s brightest undergraduate students from universities around the country to experience the life of a researcher for 10 weeks. Ten more research interns from local area high schools will join the Institute...
Gene discovery may help peaches tolerate climate stress

Gene discovery may help peaches tolerate climate stress

A BTI-led team has identified genes enabling peaches and their wild relatives to tolerate stressful conditions – findings that could help the domesticated peach adapt to climate change. The study, co-led by Boyce Thompson Institute faculty member Zhangjun Fei,...
Tomato’s Wild Ancestor Is a Genomic Reservoir for Plant Breeders

Tomato’s Wild Ancestor Is a Genomic Reservoir for Plant Breeders

Thousands of years ago, people in the region now known as South America began domesticating Solanum pimpinellifolium, a weedy plant with small, intensely flavored fruit. Over time, the plant evolved into S. lycopersicum – the modern cultivated tomato. Although today’s...
Silk Road Contains Genomic Resources for Improving Apples

Silk Road Contains Genomic Resources for Improving Apples

The fabled Silk Road – the 4,000-mile stretch between China and Western Europe where trade flourished from the second century B.C. to the 14th century A.D. – is responsible for one of our favorite and most valuable fruits: the domesticated apple (Malus domestica)....
Congratulations Spring 2020 Graduates!

Congratulations Spring 2020 Graduates!

We are pleased to announce that six BTI researchers received their degrees from Cornell University this spring. Congratulations to our newest alumni: Jason Hoki, Schroeder lab, PhD in Chemistry & Chemical Biology, Dissertation title: “Development of...
Algal genome provides insights into first land plants

Algal genome provides insights into first land plants

In order to shift from water to land – a transition that still puzzles scientists – plants had to protect themselves from drying out and from ultraviolet (UV) radiation, and they had to develop structures to support themselves without the buoyancy provided by water....
Harvesting Genes to Improve Watermelons

Harvesting Genes to Improve Watermelons

When many people think of watermelon, they likely think of Citrullus lanatus, the cultivated watermelon with sweet, juicy red fruit enjoyed around the world as a dessert. Indeed, watermelon is one of the world’s most popular fruits, second only to tomato – which many...
BTI Welcomes Summer Student Interns

BTI Welcomes Summer Student Interns

On June 3, Boyce Thompson Institute welcomed 35 of the country’s brightest undergraduate students from universities around the country to experience the life of a researcher for 10 weeks. Eight more interns from area high schools will join the Institute for seven...
BTI Scientists Create New Genomic Resource for Improving Tomatoes

BTI Scientists Create New Genomic Resource for Improving Tomatoes

Tomato breeders have traditionally emphasized traits that improve production, like larger fruits and more fruits per plant. As a result, some traits that improved other important qualities, such as flavor and disease resistance, were lost. Researchers from Boyce...
BTI Promotes Faculty Member Fei

BTI Promotes Faculty Member Fei

David Stern, president of the Boyce Thompson Institute (BTI), is delighted to announce that faculty member Zhangjun Fei has been promoted to Full Professor on February 27, 2019. Fei was evaluated on his achievements to date and the potential he possesses. Fei has made...
New CRISPR database to catalyze collaborations

New CRISPR database to catalyze collaborations

Recently developed gene editing tools like CRISPR/Cas enable scientists to figure out the functions of myriad plant genes. While these studies could eventually lead to the creation of crops with improved traits like increased disease resistance or higher yield,...
New ‘Tomato Expression Atlas’ dives deep into the fruit’s flesh

New ‘Tomato Expression Atlas’ dives deep into the fruit’s flesh

Researchers at BTI, Cornell and USDA published a spatiotemporal map of gene expression across all tissues and developmental stages of the tomato fruit – the genetic information underlying how a fruit changes from inside to out as it ripens. Their data is available in the new Tomato Expression Atlas (TEA).

Pumpkin genomes sequenced revealing uncommon evolutionary history

Pumpkin genomes sequenced revealing uncommon evolutionary history

For some, pumpkins conjure carved Halloween decorations, but for many people around the world, these gourds provide nutrition. Scientists at Boyce Thompson Institute (BTI) and the National Engineering Research Center for Vegetables in Beijing have sequenced the genomes of two important pumpkin species, Cucurbita maxima and Cucurbita moschata.

Newly-published spinach genome will make more than Popeye stronger

Newly-published spinach genome will make more than Popeye stronger

Today in Nature Communications, researchers from BTI and the Shanghai Normal University report a new draft genome of Spinacia oleracea, better known as spinach. Additionally, the authors have sequenced the transcriptomes (all the RNA) of 120 cultivated and wild spinach plants, which has allowed them to identify which genetic changes have occurred due to domestication.

$6.5 Million Grant May Lead to Disease-Resistant Cucurbits

$6.5 Million Grant May Lead to Disease-Resistant Cucurbits

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.

Student Symposium Caps Off 2015 Summer Intern Program

Student Symposium Caps Off 2015 Summer Intern Program

“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

BTI Welcomes New Crop of Summer Interns

BTI Welcomes New Crop of Summer Interns

BTI welcomes 20 college-level interns for 10 weeks of research in Plant Genome Research Program, the Bioinformatics Program or the Bioenergy Education Program.