Yet Another Impressive “Stunt” for Salicylic Acid
New research from the laboratory of BTI Professor Daniel Klessig finds that salicylic acid, or SA, plays a role in resistance to tomato bushy stunt virus or TBSV by blocking viral replication.
Why Rice Can’t Get Along with Its Neighbors
A new compound could make rice more weed-resistant. Researchers in the Jander laboratory first discovered b-tyrosine while looking for new defense compounds in rice.
Ammonium Transporter Saves Plant-Fungal Symbiosis, When Nutrients Run Low
The discovery of the role of this ammonium transporter improves the understanding of how the plant and fungal partners regulate the symbiosis and how phosphate and nitrogen move through the system.
RNase III Discovered to Function in Plant Chloroplasts
Research Associate Amber Hotto and colleagues, working in the laboratory of BTI President David Stern, have characterized the first RNase III enzymes that function within chloroplasts.
Of Spray Paint and Plant Stress
Klaus Apel’s work is a step in understanding how plants respond to stress…singlet oxygen doesn’t deserve its bad reputation for wrecking cells and killing the plant.
All’s Fair in Love and War (on Insects)
Patricia Pinheiro was drawn to the study of insects like a moth to flame. As a grad student in the Cornell Entomology Department and Assistant Professor Michelle Cilia’s lab, Pinheiro studies insects that feed on plants and transmit pathogens.
Lukas Mueller: Ace of Bases
The Yambase database will allow users to access the yam genome browser hosted by the Iwate Biotechnology Research Center in Japan and will house information about desirable yam characteristics and tools for breeders.
New equipment opens up ‘mass’ive possibilities
The Boyce Thompson Institute starts off 2015 with a generous gift from the Triad Foundation and researchers are about to open their most exciting present: a high-resolution mass spectrometer. The instrument, which can determine the chemical formula – and possibly even...
Jander Unlocks Molecular Pathways of Plants and Empowers People
Professor Georg Jander has seen that, when attacked, plants react at the molecular level. Jander’s dedication—to plant science and people—seems to be contagious.
Mexican Professors Revisit BTI’s Harrison Lab
Visiting scholars Dr. Ignacio Maldonado-Mendoza and Dr. Melina Lopez-Meyer from The National Polytechnic Institute (IPN) in Guasave, Sinaloa in Mexico have chosen to spend their one-year sabbatical at BTI.
Genomics Study of 360 Tomato Varieties Traces History, Points to Possible Improvements
This study pinpoints regions of the tomato genome where extra DNA has hitchhiked along with desirable DNA; regions breeders can now target for crop improvement.
Precision Gene Editing
BTI Scientist Successfully Applied Precision Genome Editing in Tomato. In the new system, called CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing, targeted changes are made in the desired region of the genome.
BTI Professors Present to Bill Gates
BTI professors David Stern, Zhangjun Fei, and Lukas Mueller were able to brief Bill Gates and his team on their Gates funded projects and issues of biotechnology and plant science while he was at Cornell on October 1, 2014.
New Bioinformatics Alliance between CGIAR and BTI
Graham Thiele, RTB Program Director at CGIAR Research Program on roots, tubers, and bananas recently met with Boyce Thompson Institute’s Lukas Mueller to plan expansion of bioinformatics platforms and databases.
$4.7 Million to SIPS and BTI for More Tomato Research
Jocelyn Rose, professor of plant biology and director of Cornell’s Institute of Biotechnology, with BTI co-PI’s Carmen Catala, Zhangjun Fei, James Giovannoni, and Lukas Mueller will research ripening mechanisms & drought tolerance.
Schroeder Lab: Answering Life’s Biggest Questions with Small Molecules
Schroeder’s lab works to discover new small molecules and identify their structure and function in the context of aging. “We know everything we see will be unknown, pure discovery…It’s pretty intense. We get to the bottom of things.”
Architecture within Plant Cells—Keeping the Genome’s House in Order
CRWN proteins alter nuclear organization, which affects plant viability.
Wild Tomato Sequenced
Fei and Giovannoni Labs contribute to sequencing of wild tomato species Solanum pennellii.
Harrison and Fei Awarded USDA/DOE Grant
Research to improve feedstock that produces bioenergy.
High Five Cell Line Improves Human Health
The “High Five” insect cell line made the Cervarix HPV vaccine possible, contributing to better human health.
BTI Cassavabase Project in Africa
Mueller Lab at BTI coordinates Cassavabase web site to pool data from cassava field trials in Africa to improve plant breeding.
New Website Is Portal for Nicotiana benthamiana Experimental Resources
This Nicotiana benthamiana web site shares papers, results, tools, protocols, and other materials from researchers using NB as a study plant.
BTI Researcher on a Mission to Save Citrus
The entire California citrus industry is counting on Cornell vector biologist Michelle Cilia to quickly come up with a solution to stop the spread of a deadly disease that could decimate domestic citrus production.
New Website Is Portal for Nicotiana benthamiana Experimental Resources
This Nicotiana benthamiana web site shares papers, results, tools, protocols, and other materials from researchers using Nb as a study plant.
DELLAs Bolster Symbiosis in Green Revolution Crops
(From Cornell Chronicle) Boyce Thompson Institute and Cornell researchers have identified a plant protein called DELLA that may lead to reducing phosphorus-fertilizer applications on farms and better plant growth in poor soil.
Gene to Bean to Global Scene
BTI invited public to learn more about BTI’s role in recent sequencing of coffee genome, plus presentations by other Cornell researchers from diverse fields who study coffee.
A Wild Relative of Tobacco Offers Insight into Molecular Plant Biology at BTI
The genome of an experimentally important relative of tobacco has been sequenced by US and Canadian researchers.
Worms Hijack RNA Building Blocks, Create Unique Sugar in the Process
Conventional wisdom holds that genes determine the morphology of animals, but something else iwormmay be at play. Frank Schroeder from the Boyce Thompson Institute at Cornell University and Ralf Sommer from the Max-Planck Institute in Germany now rep.
Cornell Receives $25.2M in Funding for Next Generation Cassava Breeding
Cassava, a rough and ready root crop that has long been the foundation of food security in Africa is finally getting the respect it deserves.
Scientists Find Clues into More Disease-Resistant Watermelons, Genome Decoded
Are juicier, sweeter, more disease-resistant watermelons on the way?
A Twisted Tale: Plant Roots Form Helices as They Encounter Barriers
The science of how and why plant roots get their shape, it turns out, is a twisted tale.
A Wild Relative of Tobacco Offers Insight into Molecular Plant Biology at BTI
The genome of an experimentally important relative of tobacco has been sequenced by US and Canadian researchers.
Powerful Screening Exposes the Roles of Salicylic Acid
By identifying the proteins which bind the plant hormone salicylic acid and potentially mediate its myriad physiological effects, Dr Daniel Klessig is unravelling the complex roles these hormones play in abiotic and biotic plant stresses.
Researchers Discover Link between Tomato Ripening, Color, and Taste
According to an old country song, the only two things money can’t buy are true love and homegrown tomatoes. How true – those perfect, red tomatoes from the store just can’t match ones plucked from the garden. Now, researchers have identified the gene that controls the...
Tomato Genome Becomes Fully Sequenced – Paving the Way for Healthier Plants
For the first time, the genome of the tomato, Solanum lycopersicum, has been decoded.
Compounds in Worms May Lead to Parasite Treatment
All of these nematodes speak the same chemical language,” through the use of compounds called ascarosides, said study co-author Frank Schroeder.
Sugar Could Be a Sweet Way to Control Insect Pests
BTI Scientist Georg Jander to work with Cornell University’s Angela Douglas to study the effects of sugar on insects, to control pests on plants.
Polar Localization of a Symbiosis-Specific Phosphate Transporter Mediator Found
Most flowering plants form symbiotic associations with soil fungi to gain additional access to phosphate from the soil.
Draft Genome Sequence for Nicotiana benthamiana Released in 2012
Scientists at the Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research (BTI) released a draft sequence of the Nicotiana benthamiana genome which is accessible through the SGN BLAST tool and can be downloaded from an ftp site (see: http://solgenomics.net/). The project was...
Draft Genome Sequence for Nicotiana benthamiana Released in 2012
Scientists at the Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research (BTI) released a draft sequence of the Nicotiana benthamiana genome which is accessible through the SGN BLAST tool and can be downloaded from an ftp site.
Release of a Draft Genome Sequence for Nicotiana benthamiana
BTI scientists have released a draft sequence of the Nicotiana benthamiana genome.
Release of a Draft Genome Sequence for Nicotiana benthamiana
BTI scientists have released a draft sequence of the Nicotiana benthamiana genome.
Worms Communicate Using a Complex Chemical Language
Scientists have discovered that a species of small, transparent roundworms called Caenorhabditis elegans possess a highly-evolved language in which they combine chemical fragments to create precise molecular messages.
Comparative Metabolomics Reveals Biogenesis of Ascarosides
Frank Schroeder’s group recently published manuscript describes the use of an MS/MS-based screen to investigate a class of signaling molecules recently identified in the model organism C. elegans.
At the Frontline of a Plant-Pathogen Molecular Arms Race
Research published by Greg Martin in the journal Cell Host & Microbe presents clear evidence of a molecular arms race or coevolution between a host plant and a pathogen.
Georg Jander Receives Award to Reduce Pesticide Pollution
Up to 30 percent of agricultural productivity is lost to insects and disease.
Georg Jander Featured in The Plant Cell
Dr. Jander’s work identifies the nonprotein amino acid N?-acetylornithine and an acetyltransferase that synthesizes it in Arabidopsis thaliana, thus revealing a new methyl jasmonate-inducible defense response.
Sorina Popescu Featured in The Plant Cell
Dr. Popescu’s study finds that two reticulon proteins modulate the transport of an immune receptor to the cell membrane.
Plants under Attack: Discoveries That May Lead to Plants Better Able to Withstand Pathog
Receptors in the plasma membrane of plant cells are critical for recognizing pathogens, but how they get there is poorly understood. Dr.Sorina Popescu’s research could help.
Dr. Lisa Meihls Awarded USDA/NIFA Grant
Dr. Lisa Meihls of Georg Jander’s lab was awarded a $130,000 USDA/NIFA grant to study molecular mechanisms of resistance to Bacillus thuringiensis Cry3Bb1 toxin in Diabrotica virgifera (western corn root worm).