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A cell protein previously believed only to provide a scaffolding for DNA has also been shown to directly influence DNA transcription into RNA – the first step of the process by which an organism’s genetic code expresses itself.

Researchers from Boyce Thompson Institute and Cornell have identified genes that could help plant breeders develop drought-resistant fruit, through a study that provided the first-ever comprehensive picture of how a fruit’s gene expression...

A team of researchers has assembled a reference genome for Solanum lycopersicoides, a wild relative of the cultivated tomato, and developed web-based tools to help plant researchers and breeders improve the crop.

A team of researchers from Boyce Thompson Institute and six Chinese universities has identified genes in spinach that regulate its concentration of oxalate, which is responsible for “spinach teeth,” as well as genes that help the plant combat downy mildew, a major disease of commercial crops.

The study, co-led by Boyce Thompson Institute faculty member Zhangjun Fei, examined the genomes of peach’s wild relatives and landraces – varieties that have adapted over a long time to specific local conditions – from seven regions in China...

Although today’s tomatoes are larger and easier to farm than their wild ancestor, they also are less resistant to disease and environmental stresses like drought and salty soil. Researchers from Boyce Thompson Institute have created a high...

Snack-packing travelers would pick apples at one spot, eat them and toss their cores many miles away. The seeds grew into trees in their new locations, cross-bred with the wild species and created the more than 7,000 varieties of apples that...