Latest Community News

Building a Transdisciplinary Agricultural Single-Cell Genomics Community: Highlights from the AG2PI-AgBioData Workshop

On March 29–30, 2025, the AG2PI Single Cell Workshop Organizing Committee and AgBioData Single Cell Biocuration Working Group co-hosted an in-person workshop dedicated to advancing agricultural single-cell genomics. The event brought together a dynamic group of researchers, bioinformaticians, and data curators at the forefront of plant and animal single-cell biology.

AGBT Agricultural Meeting 2025: Elevating Genomic Innovation in Agriculture

The Advances in Genome Biology and Technology (AGBT) Agricultural Meeting 2025 took place from March 31 to April 2 in Orlando, Florida. This annual event convened leading genome researchers, data scientists, breeders, policy influencers, funders, and technology innovators from around the world to discuss the integration of genomics in agriculture.

CSI Seminar Aaron Kusmec, Apr 8 at 11 AM CT

The Center for Sorghum Improvement (CSI) is hosting a virtual seminar given by Aaron Kusmec, an Assistant Professor in Crop Quantitative Genetics at Kansas State University’s Department of Agronomy, on Tuesday, April 8 at 11 AM CT.  The title of the talk is, “The past is not the future: Lessons from 80 years of maize breeding for adaptation to future climates.”

Recent Research

Distinct Roles of Brassinosteroid Receptors BRI1 and BRL3 in Sorghum Drought Tolerance

This study reveals that while brassinosteroid receptors BRI1 and BRL3 both impact drought response, BRL3 promotes drought tolerance in sorghum through osmotic protection, whereas BRI1 signaling is associated with drought susceptibility due to growth-related sensitivities.

BM41 Kinase: A Key Regulator of Cuticular Wax Biosynthesis and Stress Response in Sorghum

A bloomless mutant gene in sorghum was implicated in regulating cuticular wax biosynthesis, linking environmental stress signals to wax production pathways that enhance drought resistance.

Genetic Insights into Non-photochemical Quenching: Enhancing Photoprotection and Crop Productivity

Plants use non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) to protect themselves from light-induced damage by dissipating excess energy as heat, and genetic studies in crops like maize and sorghum have identified key genes regulating NPQ, offering potential for improving photosynthetic efficiency and yield.

Tools

Gene Search

Search for genes by id, name, pathway, domain, or ontology term

Genome Browser

Genome browser powered by Ensembl

BLAST

Search by sequence