News by Subject Agriculture

To identify genes involved in photosynthesis, researchers built a library containing thousands of single-celled algae, each with a different gene mutation. The library, which took nine years to construct, has already helped researchers identify 303 genes associated with photosynthesis including 21 newly discovered genes with high potential to provide new insights into this life-sustaining process.

A research group led by Professor GUO Yalong from the Institute of Botany of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, together with SONG Ge, and Sureshkumar Balasubramanian from the School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Australia, has revealed that transposable element insertions could potentially help species with limited genetic variation adapt to novel environments.

A USDA Forest Service scientist and 29 co-authors completed one of the largest and longest examinations to trace unprocessed nitrate movement in forests. The team found that some nitrate occasionally moves too fast for biological uptake, resulting in 'unprocessed' nitrate bypassing the otherwise effective filter of forest biology.

The back-and-forth relationship between insects and their food plants may drive tropical biodiversity evolution according to work on Barro Colorado Island's 50 hectare plot in Panama.

Scientists have asked, 'What is the primary driver in tropical forest diversity-competition for resources, or herbivore pests?' For the first time, University of Utah biologists compared the two mechanisms in a single study. The team analyzed how neighboring trees influence the growth and survival of nine coexisting species of the tree genus Inga in the Panama rainforest. They found that pests and the plant defenses against them drive diversity in tropical rainforests.

Researchers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego and UC Riverside found that inland river dams can have highly destructive effects on the stability and productivity of coastline and estuarine habitats, which provide protection from storms, commercial fishery habitats, and belowground carbon storage.

New University of Montana research suggests climate change makes it increasingly difficult for tree seedlings to regenerate following wildfires in low-elevation forests, which could contribute to abrupt forest loss.

First study to quantify economic trade-offs of shifting from conventional to shade-grown coffee production. Model suggests farmers can optimize coffee profits by converting one to two-thirds of their acreage to shade-grown.

A new study shows that growing grasses alongside blueberry plants corrects signs of iron deficiency, with associated improvements in berry quantity and quality. The effects are comparable to those seen following standard chemical treatment -- providing a simpler, safer, cheaper and more sustainable strategy for blueberry farming on sub-optimal soils.