DNA of banana fungus unravelled for more sustainable banana crops
An international consortium led by scientists from Wageningen UR (University & Research centre) has unravelled the DNA of Pseudocercospora fijiensis, the fungus that causes the much-feared black Sigatoka disease in bananas. The findings provide leads for increasing the sustainability of banana cultivation, for instance through the development of a resistant banana plant. The results […]
Earlham Institute – Decoding Living Systems for a better world
The Genome Analysis Centre (TGAC) will be changing its name to the “Earlham Institute” on June 27 2016. The Earlham Institute (EI) will build upon the research foundation developed as TGAC and continue to help answer the most fundamental questions in biological sciences today, from its home on Norwich Research Park. The institute’s genomics and […]
TGAC trains the next generation of rice breeders in Vietnam
Scientists from The Genome Analysis Centre (TGAC) in partnership with Agricultural Genetics Institute (AGI) begin their bioinformatics training programme in Vietnam to identify 600 rice varieties to accelerate crop breeding. The team, led by Dr Jose De Vega, aim to sequence and analyse the genetic diversity in Vietnamese native rice lines to help Vietnam’s crop […]
New analysis of the H9N2 strain of bird flu could help prevent veterinary and human pandemics
A new study from a team at The Pirbright Institute, has enabled scientists there to better understand H9N2; a form of avian flu which poses risks to both poultry and human health. The mapping and analysis of the antigenicity of H9N2 avian influenza virus, will guide surveillance and ensure vaccines are more effective; helping prevent […]
Weatherbys and Eurofins join forces to genotype one million cattle
The Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) has appointed Weatherbys Ireland DNA Laboratory working in conjunction with Eurofins Genomics to test one million cattle samples over the next 2 years. The ambitious project is the first anywhere in the world to genotype one million cattle. The test itself uses a microarray technology to measure 55,000 variable […]
NRGene inks co-marketing agreement with Illumina
NRGene has signed a co-marketing agreement with Illumina to promote NRGene’s proprietary de novo assembly informatics solution exclusively using Illumina sequencing technology. Under this agreement, Illumina’s global sales channel will promote NRGene’s DeNovoMAGICTM assembly technology. Together, Illumina’s sequencing technology and NRGene’s DeNovoMAGIC deliver the most practical, rapid, and cost-effective solution for assembly of complex genomes, […]
Wheat genome sequencing gets major boost
The International Wheat Genome Sequencing Consortium (IWGSC) announced today the production of a whole genome assembly of bread wheat, the most widely grown cereal in the world, significantly accelerating global research into crop improvement. The project consisted of producing a whole genome assembly of the bread wheat variety Chinese Spring based on Illumina short sequence […]
Faster, better, cheaper: a new method to generate extended data for genome assemblies
Scientists at The Genome Analysis Centre (TGAC) have developed a new library construction method for genome sequencing that can simultaneously construct up to 12 size-selected long mate pair (LMP) or ‘jump’ libraries ranging in sizes from 1.7kb to 18kb with reduced DNA input, time and cost. Long range genetic data is an invaluable source for […]
Treasure hunt in the rye
Scientists from the Julius Kühn-Institut in Quedlinburg are protecting the future of rye bread. Behind this simple mission statement lies some highly complex plant research. The team under breeding research scientist Dr. Bernd Hackauf has set itself a difficult task: they are working on mapping the rye genome. “We want to understand which parts of […]
