News - Boyce Thompson Institute

Mar 2021 9

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,...

A tree covered in purple flowers is nestled at the base of two mountains, with a glacier just behind the tree.

Feb 2021 10

Reflections on Dick Staples

Dick Staples was an essential member of BTI and the broader plant science community for more than 70 years, from his early days as a graduate student, decades as a faculty member, to his most recent role as an Emeritus Professor. With his passing on January 15, two...

Close up picture of Dick Staples in a dark blue sweater over a light blue collared shirt.

Dec 2020 1

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...

A closeup photo of a branch of Solanum pimpinellifolium fruits in a hand. The fruits are still on the plant, and are all in a row, about 14 of them. The fruit closest to the plant are bright red, and they gradually turn green as you get farther from the plant towards the end of the branch. The fruits look like tiny tomatoes.

Nov 2020 2

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)....

Medium close-up shot of Zhangjun Fei standing under an apple tree, facing the camera

Oct 2020 28

Summer Intern Blog Week 7: How a Bee is like a Moose

As I’m writing this, tomorrow is the first day of my final year of college. Even as a senior, I can feel a little bit of nervous anticipation creeping in. There’s so much potential in a beginning. Anything can happen. So much left to learn and so little time to...

A close-up selfie of Emily Humphreys wearing a gray mask and over-the-ear headphones in a field of yellow goldenrod.

Sep 2020 18

Michelle Heck Receives Grant to Study Devastating Crop Viruses

Plant viruses in the Luteoviridae family devastate many crop varieties, including potatoes, small grains and cotton. The viruses are spread by sap-sucking aphids, which transmit the pathogen into a plant’s vasculature as they feed. Unfortunately, no adequate...

A medium shot of Michelle Heck in a field of crops, smiling and wearing a sun hat.

Sep 2020 4

Plant Science Research Network Releases Decadal Vision 2020-2030

Plant science research has tremendous potential to address pressing global issues including climate change, food insecurity and sustainability. However, without sustained investment in plant science, the necessary research to generate innovative discoveries that...

An image of the cover of the Decadal Vision 2020-2030 report. The cover has a blue background with the title in the middle, and the eight goals in blubbles around the perimeter.

Aug 2020 31

Newly Identified Gene Grants Tomatoes Resistance to Bacterial Speck Disease

Bacterial speck disease, which reduces both fruit yield and quality, has been a growing problem in tomatoes over the last five years. Because the culpable bacterium, Pseudomonas syringae, prefers a cool and wet climate, crops in places such as New York State have...

Two small tomato plants in green, four-inch pots. The plant on the left is healthy, and the plant on the right is withered and nearly dead.

Aug 2020 7

Summer Intern Blog Weeks 5 & 6: Digging Beneath the Surface

By the fourth week of BTI’s Professional Development Series, I was beginning to fall into a bit of a routine. Every Wednesday, I made myself a cup of tea, grabbed a blanket, and settled down to watch one of BTI’s scientists present their research. Over the weeks, I...

A rocky hillside with trees and grasses. In the distance is BTI summer intern Emily Humphreys sitting on a giant rock.

Aug 2020 4

NSF Backs Bioinformatics Approach to Understanding Plant RNA Modifications

RNA perform a variety of functions in cells, helping with everything from regulating genes to building proteins. In recent years, it has become clear that chemical modifications to RNA help guide these functions, but only a handful of these modifications have been...

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