Plant biotechnology articles within Nature

Featured

  • Article |

    Complementary single-cell and single-nucleus transcriptomic analyses of Zea mays, Sorghum bicolor and Setaria viridis root cells provide insights into the evolution of cell types and gene modules that control key traits in these important crop species.

    • Bruno Guillotin
    • , Ramin Rahni
    •  & Kenneth D. Birnbaum

  • Article |

    Arabidopsis thaliana UMAMIT uniporters facilitate glucosinolate efflux from biosynthetic cells along the electrochemical gradient into the apoplast, in which the high-affinity H+-coupled glucosinolate importers GLUCOSINOLATE TRANSPORTERS (GTRs) load them into the phloem for translocation to the seeds.

    • Deyang Xu
    • , Niels Christian Holm Sanden
    •  & Barbara Ann Halkier

  • Article |

    Tamlo-R32, an engineered wheat mutant allele of the Mildew resistance locus O (MLO) gene, confers resistance to powdery mildew, retains robust wheat growth, and can be transferred to other agriculturally important wheat varieties.

    • Shengnan Li
    • , Dexing Lin
    •  & Caixia Gao

  • Letter
    | Open Access

    Whole-genome sequencing of the seagrass Zostera, representing the first marine angiosperm genome to be fully sequenced, provides insight into the evolutionary changes associated with a transition to a marine environment in this angiosperm lineage.

    • Jeanine L. Olsen
    • , Pierre Rouzé
    •  & Yves Van de Peer

  • Letter |

    The plant enzyme Rubisco is the main enzyme converting atmospheric carbon dioxide into biological compounds, however, this enzymatic process is inefficient in vascular plants; this study demonstrates that tobacco plants can be engineered to fix carbon with a faster cyanobacterial Rubisco, thus potentially improving plant photosynthesis.

    • Myat T. Lin
    • , Alessandro Occhialini
    •  & Maureen R. Hanson

  • Outlook |

    Improved crops have helped farmers maintain yields in times of drought. But as climate change looms, will the gains keep coming?

    • Michael Eisenstein

  • Outlook |

    Farmers would benefit from better long-range weather forecasts. What else can science provide to help them decide what to plant?

    • Neil Savage

  • Comment |

    The latest furore over GM food highlights the need for good-quality research on highly sensitive topics, says François Houllier.

    • François Houllier

  • Editorial |

    Researchers working on controversial topics must take care how they promote their results.

  • News |

    Cancer claims put herbicide-resistant transgenic maize in the spotlight.

    • Declan Butler

  • Letter |

    A gene that is present in phosphate-deficiency-tolerant rice but absent from modern rice varieties is characterized and named phosphorus-starvation tolerance 1 (PSTOL1); overexpression of PSTOL1 in rice species that naturally lack this gene confers tolerance to low phosphorus conditions, a finding that may have implications for agricultural productivity in rice-growing countries.

    • Rico Gamuyao
    • , Joong Hyoun Chin
    •  & Sigrid Heuer

  • Editorial |

    Genome studies of food crops offer a powerful way for plant breeders to create products with the most advantageous attributes.

  • News |

    The rise of herbicide-resistant varieties drives a search for fresh methods of control.

    • Helen Thompson

  • Editorial |

    Rothamsted's genetically engineered wheat should be allowed to grow.

  • News |

    Approval of a ‘biologic’ manufactured in plant cells may pave the way for similar products.

    • Amy Maxmen

  • Letter |

    A meta-analysis assessing the relative yields of organic and conventional agriculture shows that organic yields are on average lower, but that the magnitude of the difference is dependent on context.

    • Verena Seufert
    • , Navin Ramankutty
    •  & Jonathan A. Foley

  • Comment |

    If African countries can't plant genetically modified crops to produce more and healthier food, vulnerable populations will be at risk, argues Calestous Juma.

    • Calestous Juma

  • Books & Arts |

    Calestous Juma's vision for African farming is refreshingly optimistic, finds Camilla Toulmin.

    • Camilla Toulmin

  • News |

    Science partnership aims to jump-start growth rate in rice yields.

    • Natasha Gilbert

  • News Q&A |

    A former US science adviser says people can often achieve more than governments.

    • Nicola Jones

  • Editorial |

    Producing enough food for the world's population in 2050 will be easy. But doing it at an acceptable cost to the planet will depend on research into everything from high-tech seeds to low-tech farming practices.

  • Opinion |

    Unjustified and impractical legal requirements are stopping genetically engineered crops from saving millions from starvation and malnutrition, says Ingo Potrykus.

    • Ingo Potrykus

  • News Feature |

    Plant breeders are turning their attention to roots to increase yields without causing environmental damage. Virginia Gewin unearths some promising subterranean strategies.

    • Virginia Gewin

  • News Feature |

    Feeding the world is going to require the scientific and financial muscle of agricultural biotechnology companies. Natasha Gilbert asks whether they're up to the task.

    • Natasha Gilbert

  • News Feature |

    With its plentiful sun, water and land, Brazil is quickly surpassing other countries in food production and exports. But can it continue to make agricultural gains without destroying the Amazon? Jeff Tollefson reports from Brazil.

    • Jeff Tollefson

  • Letter |

    A survey of organic and conventional potato fields shows that species evenness is greater under organic management. Replicating these levels of evenness in a field trial shows that the evenness of natural enemies found in organic fields promotes pest control and increases crop biomass. This is independent of the identity of the dominant enemy species, so is a result of evenness itself.

    • David W. Crowder
    • , Tobin D. Northfield
    •  & William E. Snyder

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