Other News

Genomes Assembled from Five Cotton Species Could Lead to Better Varieties

Cotton producers in Texas, elsewhere in the US and around the world are looking for new varieties that can better withstand droughts, pests and pathogens, yet yield higher-quality fibers for the textile industry. To help accelerate the breeding and improvement of cotton varieties, researchers from The University of Texas at Austin, HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, Texas A&M University and elsewhere teamed up to produce the reference-grade genomes of all five species including two cultivated cottons. Their results were published today in the journal Nature Genetics.

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A University of Texas at Austin scientist, working with an international research team, has developed the most precise sequence map yet of U.S. cotton and will soon create an even more detailed map for navigating the complex cotton genome. Full Story. The research in the USA team is supported by NSF and Cotton Incorporated.

Better Corn the Goal of $2.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation

In 2008, Jeff Chen caused a stir in the world of plant biology when he identified a key mechanism of “hybrid vigor” in the common experimental plant, Arabidopsis.

Now, thanks to a $2.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation, he and his colleagues are expanding their investigation of hybrid vigor to corn, which is the biggest crop in the United States. Advances in understanding hybrid vigor in corn could lead to big increases in yield.… read more 

Seed size is controlled by small RNA molecules inherited from a plant’s mother, a discovery from scientists at the University of Texas at Austin that has implications for agriculture and understanding plant evolution. NSF News from the Field and Full Story

Jeff Chen is elected as a Fellow of American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). In November 2011, the AAAS Council elected 539 members as AAAS Fellows. These individuals will be recognized for their contributions to science and technology at the Fellows Forum to be held on 18 February 2012 during the AAAS Annual Meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia. The new Fellows will receive a certificate and a blue and gold rosette as a symbol of their distinguished accomplishments.

Fulbright Scholar at Cambridge – Plant geneticist Z. Jeff Chen has been awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to work at the University of Cambridge beginning January 2011. Dr. Chen will spend a semester at the University of Cambridge as a Fulbright Scholar.

Cotton Fiber Genomics – Dr. Z. Jeffrey Chen and his colleagues will use next-generation DNA sequencing technologies to study the genomics of fiber production in cotton, the largest source of natural and renewable fiber in the world, with a $3.8 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Misook Ha doctoral convocation was held on May 23, proceeded by Vikram Agarwal undergraduate convocation on May 22. Misook will work on computational and statistical analysis of gene expression and chromatin data in polyploids. Vikram graduated with several prestigious awards, including a predoctoral fellowship award from the NSF. He will attend the graduate school at MIT in Fall 2009. Congratulations!

Dr. Zhongfu Ni, a former postdoctoral fellow and visiting scientist from China Agricultural University, Beijing, and Eun-Deok Kim, a current Ph.D. student in Plant Biology, were co-first authors of a recent discovery in the Chen Laboratory that reveals how plants grow bigger and more vigorously through changes in their internal clocks. The work, entitled “Altered circadian rhythms regulate growth vigour in hybrids and allopolyploids”, was published in 15 January 2009 issue of Nature. Nature highlighted the work in the subtitle of the cover (Hybrid Vigour – Plants seize the day) and featured the research in the Authors page Abstractions and in the Podcast (Big Plants). Nature Review Genetics featured the Research Highlight “Plant Development: Growing with Time”. BBC World Service aired a segment on 5-7 December 2008.

The third-floor lunch party attracted over 40 students, postdocs, and staff members from the Chen lab, Pierce-Shimomura lab, Sullivan lab, Trent lab, and Whiteley lab, all housed in the third floor of the Neural and Molecular Sciences (NMS) Building.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!