News

A recent discovery from the Crop Science Centre has revealed unprecedented genetic variation in plant-parasitic nematodes. This research, published in the journal Cell Genomics, helps us better understand how these tiny but destructive parasitic worms evolved.The team behind this research, led by Dr Sonawala, discovered variation in the proteins es…

Two Department of Plant Sciences academics awarded prestigious European Research Council Advanced GrantsThe funding provides leading senior researchers with the opportunity to pursue ambitious, curiosity-driven projects that could lead to major scientific breakthroughs.‘Many congratulations to Beverley and Ian... It is fantastic that their ambitiou…

Cambridge partnership set to prepare and protect Central and West African countries against epidemics of virus diseases in banana and cassava through new investmentResearchers in the Epidemiology and Modelling Group join a new international programme aimed at increasing the resilience of 10 Central and West African countries against incursions of v…

A “bright” new map of the bryophyte developmentAll plants on land undergo a unique reproductive cycle, alternating between generations. Unlike vascular plants, bryophytes—a group encompassing liverworts, mosses, and hornworts—feature a dominant haploid phase, with only one copy of each chromosome. This fundamental difference influences how these mu…

Celebrating the 300th anniversary of the first Professor of Botany at Cambridge2024 marks the three-hundredth anniversary of the appointment of the first Professor of Botany at Cambridge, and will be a year of celebration for the department.Three hundred years ago the study of botany, or plant sciences as it has since become known, at Cambridge foc…

New BBSRC grant to grow our understanding of petal diffraction gratings developmentA new grant from BBSRC will enable Professor Beverley Glover’s Evolution and Development group to deepen our understanding of the development of petal diffraction gratings and their role in attracting pollinators. Diffraction gratings are regular arrangements of surf…

CRISPR: The Cutting-Edge Solution to Tackle Parasitic Plant ThreatsScientists from the Crop Science Centre, Dr Min-Yao Jhu and Dr Evan Ellison, have released a research review article shedding light on the pivotal role of CRISPR gene-editing technology in combatting the destructive impact of parasitic plants on crops.Read here: https://www.cropscie…

Vitamin B12-containing algae boosts fertiliser digestate potentialAnaerobic digestion is a process widely used to convert organic waste into biogas (methane), and is a key facilitator of the circular economy. After gas production, the residue that remains is full of nutrients including degraded organic substances, plus ammonia, phosphate and other …

Predicting hidden toxins in vital food supply chainsThe implications of aflatoxin, a highly toxic compound, entering food systems are far reaching for human and animal health. Produced by fungal species of the genus Aspergillus, aflatoxin contamination of staple crops such as maize is monitored and highly regulated throughout the supply chain to pr…

Fire consumes timber forests at unprecedented rate, threatens supplyNew research by Chris Bousfield and David Edwards in the Department of Plant Sciences, with David Lindenmayer in the Fenner School of Enviornment and Society at Australian National University, quantifies for the first time the severe destruction that fire causes to timber-producing…

New Cambridge-Africa Alborada grants to help boost pathogen responses in African nationsThe department is delighted by the award of two new grants that will enable our researchers to contribute to sustainable crop and food system development in East and West Africa. Funded by the Cambridge – Africa Alborada research fund, the two grants will facili…

Cambridge Zero and the Centre for Landscape Regeneration (CLR) welcomed the next generation of climate leaders in summer 2023 to support projects across the University from agricultural research to education. Redirect

The A to B of pigmentation evolution in CaryophyllalesceaeMajor steps taken towards solving a classic mystery of plant evolutionA new study by Boas Pucker, Nat Walker-Hale and Jasmina Dzurlic in Samuel Brockington’s Evolution and Diversity group, working in partnership with colleagues at the Technical University of Braunsweig, Germany, and the Univ…

New Cambridge MPhil nurtures future leaders in crop science Students from seven nations form the inaugural cohort of the new MPhil in Biological Sciences (Crop Science) in the Department of Plant Sciences. This new and exciting MPhil course is a joint initiative between the Department of Plant Sciences, the Crop Science Centre and NIAB, enabling st…

A new way to price carbon credits could encourage desperately needed investment in forest preservation and boost vital progress towards net-zero.Our new approach has the potential to address market concerns around nature-based solutions to carbon offsetting.Srinivasan KeshavA new approach to valuing the carbon storage potential of natural habitats …