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268 papers
This paper focuses on the heterologous expression of functional genes via transgenic technology and explores the potential of gene editing technologies for heavy metal remediation, thereby offering a reference for future environmental remediation efforts and the development of related processes.
Millets are a diverse group of underutilized C4 cereals with high photosynthetic efficiency and resilience to marginal environments; however, the functional and nutritional potential of their starches remains largely untapped. This review provided a systematic summary of current research in millet starches, covering extraction methods, multiscale structural features, physicochemical properties, modification strategies, and the genetic basis of starch biosynthesis. The main findings revealed that millet starches exhibited pronounced inter‑ and intraspecies diversity in structure and physicochemical properties, with amylose content ranging from 0.9% to 39% and relative crystallinity from 14.5% to 69%, thereby offering a broad spectrum of textural and nutritional functions. Chemical, physical, and enzymatic modifications each offered distinct advantages for tailoring starch structure, pasting behavior, thermal stability, and digestibility, and combined approaches enabled synergistic functional enhancement. Meanwhile, genetic and breeding strategies provided complementary routes for structural and functional improvement. Despite progress, significant gaps persisted regarding the specific genes, allelic variants, and regulatory networks controlling starch biosynthesis and functional diversity in millets. Future efforts should integrate standardized analytical methodologies, predictive structure-function modeling, green modification technologies, and genome‑editing platforms to unlock the full potential of millet starches as versatile, eco‑friendly, and health‑promoting ingredients.
Rice is one of the most significant crops consumed daily by individuals. Enhancing and biofortifying rice to augment its nutritional value is a promising strategy for improving public health and tackling the widespread issue of micronutrient deficiencies. This study primarily attempted to evaluate the developed Cas9-free edited lines grown hydroponically with a triple knockout of the negative metal sensor regulator uptake (OsHRZ1, OsHRZ2, and OsLCT1). This result shows that the Cas9-free edited lines’ performance was excellent, with no significant effect on the plant's agronomic performance or yield penalty due to multiplex knockout of genes, in addition to growing under cadmium stress conditions. The protein content of seeds was higher in the Cas9-free edited lines than the protein concentrations observed in the wild type (control/treated), where the protein concentration ranged from 17 to18 mg g−1 FW protein compared to the wild type (normal/treated) (7.24, 7.08) mg g−1 FW, respectively. The concentration varies based on the growth condition under deficient or sufficient Fe/Zn. Photosynthetic rates were increased in Cas9-free edited plants in comparison to wild rice plants, correlating with enhanced agronomic yield parameters and tolerance of cadmium conditions. Rice pollen grain viability and fertility were examined to check the effect of excess iron/zinc on pollen grain viability, fertility, and germination. The expression of genes closely linked to iron, zinc, and cadmium uptake and translocation in rice endosperm was studied. Developed rice lines hold a huge promise to overcome micronutrient malnutrition worldwide.
A novel embryonic axis-based regeneration system enables rapid shoot recovery, rooting, and biolistic gene delivery in cacao, substantially shortening the timeline for plant transformation.
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The identification and characterization of an activating point mutation of SHP2 (encoded by the PTPN11 gene), SHP2-F71L, in UKE1 cells is reported, suggesting activating PTPN11 mutations have the potential to desensitize the effects of JAK2 inhibition therapy in patients undergoing therapy and may be dependent on unknown cell and molecular profile contexts.
It is confirmed that multi-targeting sgRNAs disproportionately impair cell fitness and that sgRNAs aligning to more than one location with a single mismatch can also reduce fitness, although to a lesser extent.
A scarless conditional sgRNA platform that combines Cre-loxP recombination with endogenous RNA processing to restore the native sgRNA architecture following induction is developed that preserves guide integrity and should be readily adaptable to time-resolved functional genomics and pooled screening applications.
The combination knockout of CCR5, MOGS, and viral sequences profoundly reduces HIV-1 replication in an ex vivo cellular model, that is, HIV-1-infected peripheral blood mononuclear human cells, thus offering a pathway to launch further preclinical studies.
This review synthesises the fundamental principles and limitations of multiple gene-editing technologies, with a particular emphasis on CRISPR systems (Cas9, Cas12, and Cas13), in the specific context of woody perennial biology, and highlights how synergising CRISPR technologies with multi-omics, genomic selection, and high-throughput phenomics can accelerate the development and application of climate-resilient woody perennials.
Findings reveal that FA9 interacts with VAP to promote lipid droplet biogenesis and lipid transport, thereby driving fatty acid accumulation in soybean seeds.
The present study addresses optimization of in-vitro regeneration via direct organogenesis and Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation, enabling efficient multiplex CRISPR/Cas9-based genome editing of the phytoene desaturase (PsPDS) gene in pea. Pea (Pisum sativum L.) is an important legume crop valued for food, plant-based protein, vegetable, and green manure. Although genome editing offers a precise and rapid strategy for crop improvement, its application in pea remains challenging due to inherent recalcitrance to in-vitro regeneration and genotype-dependent transformation. The regeneration and Agrobacterium-mediated transformation systems were optimized, and the dicotyledonary node (DCN) was identified as the preferred explant for multiplex CRISPR/Cas9-based genome editing in pea. Among three explant types (embryonic axis, DCN and nodal segment), DCN showed the highest regeneration efficiency, producing 100% shoot bud induction and 39.70 shoots per explant on MS medium augmented with 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP; 6.00 mg/L) and kinetin (1.00 mg/L). Shoot elongation and rooting efficiencies were improved using GA3 (1.00 mg/L), BAP (1.00 mg/L), IAA (0.10 mg/L), and NAA (0.5 mg/L), respectively. Manipulating explant type, Agrobacterium optical density, vacuum infiltration, acetosyringone concentration, infection time, and co-cultivation duration improved the transient transformation efficiency. We noted efficiency from 23.33% to 90.00% in DCN and from 6.66% to 93.33% in embryonic axis explants across 10 pea cultivars. Stable transformed lines generated from the DCN of cultivar Kashi Samridhi were confirmed by GUS staining and PCR. The optimized regeneration and transformation system facilitated targeted editing of phytoene desaturase (PsPDS) in pea, achieving ICE-estimated mutation frequencies of upto 97% in independent lines. The study provides a robust platform for functional genomics and accelerates the deployment of genome-editing technologies for pea improvement.
Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is highly vulnerable to drought during the reproductive phase, with yield losses exceeding 50% due to spikelet sterility, pollen abortion, and impaired grain filling. Progress through conventional breeding has been constrained by the polygenic nature of drought tolerance and by strong genotype × environment (G × E) interactions. This review proposes a systems breeding strategy integrating five complementary approaches rice pangenomics, genome-wide association studies (GWAS), genomic selection (GS), high-throughput phenomics, and precision genome editing to strengthen drought resilience at the reproductive stage. Structural variants identified through pangenome analyses across diverse Oryza accessions have been implicated in abscisic acid (ABA) signalling, osmolyte biosynthesis, antioxidant defence, and root system architecture pathways central to reproductive-stage drought adaptation. Multi-omics-informed GWAS, combined with co-localisation of eQTLs and protein QTLs in drought-stressed reproductive tissues, highlights high-confidence candidate genes including OsNAC14, OsbZIP23, and DRO1 that help explain the physiological basis of water-deficit adaptation. Incorporating envirotyping data into GS models has been shown to improve predictive accuracy across diverse rainfed environments. Alongside marker-assisted selection, base editing and prime editing enable targeted allelic refinement with minimal off-target effects. We present a proposed tiered candidate prioritisation pipeline that advances loci supported by convergent genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, and field-level evidence toward practical breeding deployment. Translating these discoveries into climate-resilient varieties will require FAIR data sharing, coordinated phenotyping networks, and multi-environment validation platforms linking genomic discovery to scalable breeding pipelines for drought-resistant, high-yielding rice in rainfed systems.
Human-Computer Interaction and Visualization
A new algorithm learns to anticipate the unprecedented scenarios that critical infrastructure and global supply chains are least prepared for.
Generative AI
A new method for surgically removing training examples from a model reveals that as datasets grow, the link between what a model learns and what it produces dissolves.
In his latest book, Professor Eugene Fitzgerald examines the forces that turn breakthroughs into value — and why innovation resists simple formulas.
General Science
