News
Aug 25, 2020
Bull elected fellow of American Phytopathological Society
Carolee Bull, professor of systematic bacteriology and plant pathology in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, has been elected as a fellow of the American Phytopathological Society, an honor given to members in recognition of distinguished contributions to the discipline of plant pathology.
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Aug 21, 2020
Flavonoids' presence in sorghum roots may lead to frost-resistant crop
Flavonoid compounds — produced by the roots of some sorghum plants — positively affect soil microorganisms, according to Penn State researchers, who suggest the discovery is an early step in developing a frost-resistant line of the valuable crop for North American farmers.
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Jun 09, 2020
Research team to study food resilience in the face of catastrophic global events
An interdisciplinary team of Penn State professors has received $3 million from Open Philanthropy to study food resilience in the face of potentially catastrophic global events.
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May 06, 2020
Plants pass on 'memory' of stress to some progeny, making them more resilient
By manipulating the expression of one gene, geneticists can induce a form of “stress memory” in plants that is inherited by some progeny, giving them the potential for more vigorous, hardy and productive growth, according to Penn State researchers, who suggest the discovery has significant implications for plant breeding.
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Apr 13, 2020
Bryant honored with Kettering Award for excellence in photosynthesis research
Donald A. Bryant, Ernest C. Pollard Professor of Biotechnology and professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at Penn State, has been awarded the Charles F. Kettering Award from the American Society of Plant Biologists. The award was established by an endowment from the Kettering Foundation in 1962 and recognizes meritorious work in photosynthesis.
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Mar 18, 2020
Pesticide seed coatings are widespread but underreported
Pesticide-coated seeds — such as neonicotinoids, many of which are highly toxic to both pest and beneficial insects — are increasingly used in the major field crops, but are underreported, in part, because farmers often do not know what pesticides are on their seeds, according to an international team of researchers.
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Feb 11, 2020
Local genetic adaption helps sorghum crop hide from witchweed
Sorghum crops in areas where the agricultural parasite striga, also known as witchweed, is common are more likely to have genetic adaptations to help them resist the parasite, according to new research led by Penn State scientists.
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Feb 05, 2020
Herringbone pattern in plant cell walls critical to cell growth
Plant cells tend to grow longer instead of wider due to the alignment of the many layers of cellulose that make up their cell walls, according to a new study that may have implications for biofuels research.
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Jan 08, 2020
Water lily genome expands picture of the early evolution of flowering plants
The newly reported genome sequence of a water lily sheds light on the early evolution of angiosperms, the group of all flowering plants. An international team of researchers, including scientists at Penn State, used high-throughput next-generation sequencing technology to read out the water lily’s (Nymphaea colorata) genome and transcriptome — the set of all genes expressed as RNAs.
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Dec 18, 2019
Agricultural parasite avoids evolutionary arms race, shuts down genes of host
A parasitic plant has found a way to circumvent an evolutionary arms race with the host plants from which it steals nutrients, allowing the parasite to thrive on a variety of agriculturally important plants. The parasite dodder, an agricultural pest found on every continent, sends genetic material into its host to shut down host defense genes.
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