Genetics

NSF Award for Monroe will push knowledge of DNA repair in plants

Grey Monroe has received a CAREER Award for the Faculty Early Career Development Program from the National Science Foundation. Monroe is an assistant professor in the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences. Monroe’s award expands on his recent work making breakthroughs in our understanding of genetic mutation in plants (published in Nature). This grant provides more than $1 million over the next five years.

UC Davis Genome Center Appoints New Director

Blake Meyers, a professor of plant sciences from the University of Missouri - Columbia and a principal investigator at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, has been named the new director and Novozymes Chair in Genomics at the UC Davis Genome Center. Meyers, who studies plant RNA biology, bioinformatics and functional genomics, will step into the role on March 1, 2024.

Beans, peppers and alfalfa win grants from NIFA

Scientists in the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences have landed $2.1 million in federal grants to develop varieties of green beans, chile peppers and alfalfa that can offer farmers greater quality, lower production costs and better yield amid the growing heat and drought already happening with climate change.

The grants from the United States Department of Agriculture come through the National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative.

DOE grant extends poplar tree project for Taylor Lab

The Taylor Lab will receive continued funding as part of a ground-breaking project to wean the United States’ aviation industry off petroleum-based fuel and help put the brakes on climate change. The U.S. Department of Energy announced the UC Davis project as part of a $590 million package over the next five years. The Taylor Lab’s goal: grow poplar trees that can be turned into sustainable, cost-effective jet fuel.

Scientists Unlock Key to Drought-Resistant Wheat Plants with Longer Roots

Growing wheat in drought conditions may be easier in the future, thanks to new genetic research out of the University of California, Davis.

An international team of scientists found that the right number of copies of a specific group of genes can stimulate longer root growth, enabling wheat plants to pull water from deeper supplies. The resulting plants have more biomass and produce higher grain yield, according to a paper published in the journal Nature Communications.

Taylor Lab looking for genetic secrets to fresher lettuce

Gail Taylor and her team at the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences are looking for the genetic keys to making America’s favorite leafy green stay fresher, longer, in the fridge.

Taylor and members of the Taylor Lab have found regions on the lettuce genome related to the tiny details of how lettuce leaves are built – structure that can make a leaf more or less hospitable to bacteria. They’ve also found genetic regions related to the plant’s ability to resist bacteria from getting in at all.

Better hemp on the horizon

The University of California’s first Industrial Hemp Field Day presented work by the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences to help farmers manage common problems and improve their yields. Researchers discussed their latest findings to better manage hemp production, touching on diseases, weeds, insects, pesticide resistance, biological controls and regulatory processes. Field demonstrations included ongoing trials on nitrogen and water use.

An estimated 80 to 100 growers turned out for the Sept. 22 event, showing the demand for scientific guidance for legal hemp cultivation.

Knapp team awarded grant to advance strawberry breeding

The Strawberry Breeding Center in the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences has landed $6.2 million to study how to use breeding and genetic information to protect strawberry crops from future diseases and pests.

The four-year grant from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture will address expanding and emerging threats to strawberries, a popular fruit packed with vitamin C and key to the diets of many Americans.