Scientists seek useful traits in wild cottons
...on breeder. "Many of today's successful commercial varieties share common parents and grandparents. "Many scientists believe today's varieties are flexible enough genetically to handle minor changes but lack enough diversity for really spectac...Researchers attach genes to minichromosomes in maize
...technique to create minichromosomes in other plant varieties and produce more resistant plant strains, develop more medically useful proteins and metabolites, and study how chromosomes function. ...UCLA AIDS Institute researchers find a peptide that encourages HIV infection
...nfection five-fold. There are three structural varieties of peptides, also known as defensins ?alpha, beta and theta, Lehrer said. Humans have only alpha and beta; monkeys have all three. "Here's a peptide whose normal structure allows it to protect against viruses, yet if you make the same peptide and ......ng rice researchers to develop better quality rice varieties that could fetch a higher price from consumers, es... is to help rice breeders around the world develop varieties with improved quality traits such as better taste, aroma, and cooking characteristics as well as hig......darker leaves, a different way of branching - wild varieties of the plant Arabidopsis thaliana are often substa... other species we hope to help breeders to produce varieties that are optimally adapted to rapidly changing environmental conditions," explains Weigel. He is alr...