New approach to improve nitrogen use, enhance yield, and promote flowering in rice

Expression of the nitrate transporter gene OsNRT1.1A improves yield and accelerates maturation. Using nitrogen fertilizer increases crop yields, but excess runoff causes environmental pollution. Moreover, in grains such as rice, large amounts of nitrogen fertilizer can delay flowering, leaving the crop vulnerable to late-season cold weather. A recent study in The Plant Cell identified a … Read more

ARPA-E Announces Workshop on Energy-Smart Farming

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) will host a workshop on the integration of 21st Century technologies into farming practices to maximize crop yields and meet the rising global demands for food, fuel, and fiber.  The workshop, entitled The Energy-Smart Farm: Distributed Networks for Highly Variable and Resource Constrained Crop … Read more

Announcing the 2018 Travel Grant Winners

The Travel Grant Program aims to increase attendance of early career scientists at the annual meeting by providing travel funds for those in financial need. Increasing diversity among the annual meeting attendees is another primary goal. Undergraduate students, graduate students, postdocs, faculty, and professionals beginning their careers in plant science are strongly encouraged to apply. … Read more

Fanconi Anemia: Insight From a Green Plant

Model plant studies show key protein functions in the exchange of genetic material Fanconi anemia is a human genetic disorder with severe effects, including an increased risk of cancer and infertility. Work in animal systems has identified many factors involved in Fanconi anemia and showed that these factors function in the repair of DNA. However, … Read more