Researchers at the University of Arizona, working with international scientists, fully mapped and sequenced the genetic code of the rice plant in 2005. The goal of the project, which used two $350,000 DNA analyzers, was to help with the development of new rice varieties that may produce increased yields and be resistant to diseases and pests.
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Plant pathologist Stephen Alderman (left) and Bill Pfender compare a rust-resistant tall fescue (in top of magnifying lens) with a variety that is susceptible to the disease.
Image Credit: U.S. Department of Agriculture Research Service
As the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in London, England, celebrated its 250th anniversary in March 2009, student Ivey Geoghegan examined a plant extract solution in the Jodrell Laboratory at the Gardens.
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Republic of Moldovia scientist Sergiu Cealic works to map the genetics of eastern gamagrass. If scientists can determine the specific location of the genes that control aerenchyma (the air channels in the roots that allow the exchange of gases between the shoot and the root), those genes may eventually be transferred into corn.
Image Credit: U.S. Department of Agriculture Research Service
Laszlo Csiba, a manager at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, checks on some plant DNA samples that are stored in the Jodrell Laboratory freezer. Kew is an international leader in plant science research and conservation.
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These ice-crystal-covered plant DNA samples are stored in freezers at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. The facility uses these samples in innovative research to discover new potential for plants in communities around the world.
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David Spooner and Alberto Salas gather potato germplasm from rocks in Peru to deposit in gene banks both in Peru and around the world. Spooner is a botanist, and Salas is a plant genetic resources specialist with the International Potato Center in Lima.
Image Credit: Alejandro Balaguer/USDA Agricultural Research Service
Michigan State University has developed a procedure in which rutabaga plants are engineered to convert carbohydrates into oil.
Image Credit: U.S. Department of Energy
Lettuce breeders at the Agricultural Research Center (ARS) rely on their gene banks, which contain the seeds of more than 2,000 varieties of lettuce, for experimentation. Most of the iceberg lettuce in the U.S. began with the work of ARS breeders.
Image Credit: Scott Bauer/USDA Agricultural Research Service
This X-ray shows an engineered gene called yeast SAMDC that was introduced into a tomato plant. The film proves that the gene is expressed where it should be -- in the fruit, as opposed to the stem, leaf or flower.
Image Credit: Scott Bauer/USDA Agricultural Research Service
Entomologist Robert Mangan and technician Jaya Cummaragunta examine mangos that have been given precise CA gas mixtures to help lengthen storage times.
Image Credit: U.S. Department of Agriculture Research Service
Michigan State University's Ming W. Lau works with a genetically modified yeast strain capable of producing ethanol from glucose and xylose.
Image Credit: U.S. Department of Energy
Marcelo Giovanini, a Purdue University graduate student, and Christie Williams, a molecular biologist, examine gene expression levels. In this case, they're measuring which genes and defense mechanisms this particular plant uses to fight off a certain species of fly.
Image Credit: Peggy Greb/USDA Agricultural Research Service
Scientists perform all kinds of experiments in plant genomics. In this case, they altered a gene in an Arabidopsis thaliana plant to give the bloom seven petals instead of the normal four.
Image Credit: Peggy Greb/USDA Agricultural Research Service
This genetically engineered barley carries a gene that may assist plants in resisting attack by the barley yellow dwarf virus. Scientists at the ARS/University of California Plant Gene Expression Center were the first to report success in engineering this variety.
Image Credit: Jack Dykinga/USDA Agricultural Research Service
Joyce Foster, an ARS chemist, extracts chemicals from plants to discover which ones are the safest, most nutritious and tastiest for various livestock.
Image Credit: Scott Bauer/USDA Agricultural Research Service
These nuna beans, which come in an attractive array of colors, pop open like popcorn after several minutes of cooking. Researchers hope to see them in stores eventually as a healthy snack for families.
Image Credit: USDA Agricultural Research Service
Soybeans are one of the most important crops worldwide; they are used for food, oil and more. Recently, researchers discovered that wild soybeans are much more genetically diverse than cultivated ones, so studying the wild beans may help scientists develop even better varieties.
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Jerry Miller, plant geneticist, and Dale Rehder, technician, are pollinating sunflowers to create a new breed. They hope to form inbred lines that produce a new kind of sunflower oil.
Image Credit: Russ Hanson/USDA Agricultural Research Service
Corn is a major player in the plant genomics field. The Germplasm Enhancement for Maize project hopes to increase the diversity of U.S. corn by combining it with exotic germplasm, such as that from this unusual-looking Latin American variety.
Image Credit: Keith Weller/USDA Agricultural Research Service
Education is very important to the future study of plant genomics. Here, Delaware State University students meet with professor Edward Jones to discuss an experiment on alfalfa nutrition.
Image Credit: Scott Bauer/USDA Agricultural Research Service
Cellulosic biomass, such as woodchips, grasses and cornstalks, may be highly abundant, but they are more difficult to break down into sugars than corn grain, which is currently the main source of U.S. fuel ethanol production. Biological research is vital in converting cellulosic biomass to biofuel.
Image Credit: U.S. Department of Energy Genome Programs
Matt Kedziora, a plant research technician, gathers seeds from a coast barrel cactus for the Zoological Society of San Diego Conservation and Research for Endangered Species. The seeds, which are being collected from a burned area, will be included in a native seed gene bank on the Otay Mountain Ecological Reserve in California.
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Volunteer Ryan Ryder helps collect coast barrel cactus seeds for the native seed gene bank in California. Because this plant has a very limited range, and much of it was burned by wildfire, scientists are concerned with preserving the species before more fires blow through.
Image Credit: David McNew/Getty Images
Plant pathologist Scott Abney (left) and research assistant Tom Richards study the growth of soybeans inoculated with field isolates of Phytophthora sojae, a soil-borne plant pathogen that causes stem and root rot.
Now that you've learned about plant genomics, see how we manipulate plant genes and take a stab at our Agricultural Biotechnology Puzzle.
Image Credit: U.S. Department of Agriculture Research Service
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