America at 250: The Legacy We Choose to Preserve
As America approaches its 250th anniversary, a family genealogy project led by my Aunt Peggy uncovered Revolutionary War patriot William Miller Bledsoe and sparked an unexpected reflection on legacy, agriculture and the role the seed industry has played in building the nation.
A Stronger Start: Debut Corteva Premix Protects Against Soybean’s Biggest Early-Season Threats
Corteva Agriscience is introducing Lumisena Prime, a soybean fungicide and insecticide seed treatment premix designed to protect seedlings from early-season disease and insect pressure while helping retailers simplify treatment operations.
Debut Corteva Premix Protects Against Soybean’s Biggest Early-Season Threats
Corteva Agriscience is introducing Lumisena Prime, its first soybean broad-spectrum fungicide and insecticide seed treatment premix. The treatment is designed to help protect soybean seedlings from early-season disease and insect pressure.
After the NGT Regulation, Time to Rationalise the GMO Directive
GMO Directive reform is needed to align Europe’s seed approval system with the new NGT regulation, according to David Zaruk, who argues that the EU should move from process-based regulation to a product-focused framework.
A Fresh Deck of Cards for Soybean Breeders
Built over nearly four decades, the KenAvis soybean germplasm collection is opening new opportunities for breeders and seed companies to explore genetic diversity, unconventional plant architecture and future yield gains.
Young Plant Breeder Wins CPBI Scholarship for AI-Powered Hemp Research
Vincent Fetterley is developing genomic and computer vision tools to help breeders improve hemp faster
El cambio climático podría reducir la calidad de la soja
Un nuevo estudio con apoyo de IA sugiere que el cambio climático podría aumentar la producción, pero reducir la calidad de la soja. Los investigadores encontraron que el CO₂ elevado, el calor y la sequía pueden disminuir el contenido de almidón y proteína.
Argentine Barley Reinforces Malt Quality Potential
Argentine barley is strengthening its position in malt production, with 90% of grains reaching first-size caliber over the last three campaigns. INTA Bordenave and the Argentine Brewers Chamber say the crop is exceeding key quality standards for brewing markets.
EU NGT Regulation: Why the 20-Nucleotide Threshold Could Limit Plant Breeding Innovation
EU NGT regulation creates a faster route for some gene-edited plants, but strict Category 1 limits, including the 20-nucleotide threshold, may leave valuable plant breeding innovation outside the gate.
Innovation is at the End of the Handoff Era
Innovation no longer happens in silos. Amanda McClerren explains how integrating breeding, biotechnology, AI and crop protection is accelerating the next generation of seed innovation.
Climate Change Could Lower Soybean Seed Quality
A new AI-supported study suggests climate change could increase soybean production while reducing soybean seed quality. Researchers found that higher CO₂, heat and drought may lower starch and protein content, raising questions for feed value, crop breeding and food security.
Cebada Argentina refuerza su potencial maltero
La cebada argentina consolida su potencial para la producción de malta, con 90 % de los granos alcanzando el tamaño ideal en las últimas tres campañas. INTA Bordenave y la Cámara de Cerveceros destacan avances en rendimiento, calidad y sanidad del cultivo.
From Crop Genetics to World Cup Turf, Why Plant Breeding Needs a Bigger Stage
This week’s stories show how seed science shapes food, sports, cities and the future of our society
The Scholarship Winner Helping Rewrite the Future of Crop Genetics
When Anirup Sengupta talks about plant breeding on this week’s episode of the podcast, he reaches for an analogy almost anyone can understand
From Seed to Stadium: In Pursuit of the Perfect World Cup Pitch
Behind every FIFA World Cup match is a seed story. Stacy Bonos of Rutgers and Matthew Duncan of DLF explain the breeding, research and turf science behind World Cup pitches.
Embrapa Sends Brazilian Seeds to Svalbard Vault
Embrapa delivered a new shipment of Brazilian seeds to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway. The deposit adds 24 accessions of cashew, fava beans, peanuts, castor and sesame to Brazil’s collection in the global agricultural safety reserve.
Seed Sector 2045: Future of Plant Breeding in Europe
Seed Sector 2045 is a new editorial series exploring the trends shaping plant breeding and the seed sector over the next two decades, from climate adaptation and gene editing to AI, regulation, public trust and new business models.
At 25, Anirup Sengupta is Already Thinking Decades Ahead for Agriculture
From rural West Bengal to Saskatchewan’s leading agricultural research programs, he’s helping build the genomic foundations that could shape the future of crop improvement. At 25, Anirup Sengupta is already […]
Super El Niño Potential in 2026-2027 Could Rival Historic 1877-1878 Event
A rare alignment of climate indicators could point to a historic super El Niño with major implications for global crops, seed production and agricultural markets.
Breeding Canada’s Future | On The Brink: Season 2 – Episode 7
In Episode 8 of On The Brink, grower Mark Keating of Keating Seed argues the financial risk on Canadian farms has never been higher, and that continued Canadian plant breeding investment is what keeps growers competitive in a global market.
James Hutton Institute Joins PhenomUK Crop Programme
The James Hutton Institute has joined PhenomUK, a £35 million UKRI-backed programme designed to strengthen national crop phenotyping capacity. The six-year initiative will support resilient crop development through advanced imaging, automation, controlled environments and field-based evaluation.
The System Behind the Seed: Honoring IPSA Lifetime Achievement Recipient Jon Popp
For nearly 50 years, Jon Popp has designed seed facilities that quietly influence everything from seed quality to final yield. The CEO of Popp Engineering explains why successful operations depend less on equipment and more on designing systems that create uniformity, reduce variability and improve performance.
BSPB Celebrates 60 Years of Plant Breeding Progress
The British Society of Plant Breeders is marking 60 years of supporting plant breeding in the UK, celebrating advances in crop improvement, industry collaboration and the role of innovation in strengthening agriculture and food security.
Plant Viruses Advance Virus-Induced Gene Editing
New research shows that virus-induced gene editing using potyviruses could help scientists deliver CRISPR guide molecules into plants. The approach may expand crop genome editing tools for tomato, tobacco and other species that are difficult to modify.
Embrapa deposita semillas Brasileñas en Svalbard
Embrapa entregó un nuevo cargamento de semillas brasileñas a la Bóveda Global de Semillas de Svalbard, en Noruega. El depósito incluye 24 accesiones de anacardo, habas, cacahuetes, ricino y sésamo para respaldar la conservación de la biodiversidad agrícola.
Sorghum Wax Gene Could Aid Drought-Tolerant Crops
A sorghum wax gene discovery is helping researchers understand how the BM-SZ gene controls the crop’s protective wax layer. The findings may support future breeding for drought-tolerant sorghum and other resilient crops.
La Brecha Cultural Entre Latinoamérica Y Occidente
La perspectiva cultural puede influir profundamente en cómo los profesionales agrícolas planifican sus carreras. Esta reflexión compara experiencias en Latinoamérica y países desarrollados, destacando diferencias en ambición, competencia, redes profesionales y caminos académicos.
Why the Seed Industry Has a Stake in the Future of Global Trade
WTO agriculture leader Edwini Kessie discusses trade fragmentation, food security and why international collaboration remains essential for seed innovation.
EU Seed Legislation Modernised Under New PRM Rules
A new EU seed legislation framework aims to modernise plant reproductive material rules while maintaining core quality, variety registration and market access principles. Euroseeds says the agreement balances flexibility for specific operators and markets with oversight in the Common Market.
Crop Disease Resistance Gene Targets Two Pathogens
New research shows how plant immune receptors can evolve through molecular mimicry, opening a potential path to more durable disease resistance in cereal crops.
Scientists have found new evidence showing how plant immune receptors can evolve to recognize disease threats by mimicking the targets that pathogens attack.
Using this insight, researchers engineered a disease-resistance gene capable of recognizing two major crop pathogens. The discovery could help guide future efforts to develop crops with stronger and more durable resistance to disease.
International Research Effort
The study was led by scientists from The Sainsbury Laboratory and the John Innes Centre in Norwich, U.K., in collaboration with USDA–University of Minnesota laboratories in the U.S.
“This breakthrough discovery led by Diana Gómez de la Cruz and Matt Moscou has revealed how molecular mimicry can be used by plants to defend themselves against pathogen attack,” said Prof. Nick Talbot FRS, co-author and TSL’s Executive Director. “Using the new tools of computational structural modelling, we have an opportunity to harness this discovery to develop completely new durable resistant crops in future. It is very exciting.”
A Major Threat to Cereal Crops
A major focus of the study is the blast fungus, Magnaporthe oryzae, one of the world’s most damaging plant pathogens. It infects several important cereal crops, including rice, wheat and barley. In rice alone, blast disease is estimated to destroy enough grain each year to feed about 60 million people, making it a serious and ongoing threat to global food security, according to a press release.
Building on Barley Resistance Research
The study builds on years of research in Matthew Moscou’s group at The Sainsbury Laboratory, now based at the USDA-ARS Cereal Disease Laboratory. First author Diana Gómez de la Cruz began the work during her PhD in the Moscou group and continued it as a postdoctoral researcher in Nick Talbot’s group at TSL.
An important starting point came from earlier TSL research on how barley recognizes the blast fungus. While working together in the Moscou group, Helen Brabham and Gómez de la Cruz showed that the barley immune receptor MLA3 helps provide resistance to M. oryzae by detecting Pwl2, a fungal effector protein secreted during infection. Read the paper here.
Understanding the Pathogen’s Strategy
At the same time, research led by Vincent Were in Nick Talbot’s group, together with Rafał Zdrzałek in Mark Banfield’s group at the John Innes Centre, showed that Pwl2 targets a specific plant protein during infection. By manipulating this protein, the fungus can weaken the plant’s defenses and support invasion.
Together, these findings gave researchers a starting point to study how the MLA3 immune receptor recognizes Pwl2 at the molecular level.
AlphaFold Reveals a Key Similarity
A major breakthrough came with AlphaFold, the artificial intelligence tool that transformed how scientists predict protein structures.
Gómez de la Cruz used AlphaFold to model how MLA3 and Pwl2 interact, helping the team better understand how the receptor recognizes the fungal effector. At the same time, Zdrzałek experimentally solved the structure of Pwl2 bound to its plant protein target.
When the predicted and experimental structures were compared, the similarity was striking. This led researchers to propose that MLA3 may recognize the pathogen by mimicking the same plant protein that the fungus is trying to attack.
Competing for the Same Target
During a seminar at The Sainsbury Laboratory, postdoctoral researcher Jack Rhodes asked whether the plant protein targeted by Pwl2 might affect how MLA3 recognizes the fungal effector. Follow-up experiments showed that it does: when the plant target protein was present, MLA3 was less able to recognize Pwl2. This suggested that the plant protein and MLA3 compete for the same binding site on the pathogen protein.
The results pointed to a new mechanism for crop disease resistance. MLA3 appears to have evolved to mimic the plant protein that Pwl2 targets during infection. By doing so, the immune receptor can intercept the fungal effector and trigger the plant’s defense response.
In effect, the receptor turns the pathogen’s own infection strategy against it. The finding provides direct evidence that plant immune receptors can evolve by mimicking pathogen targets, creating new ways to recognize disease threats.
A New Route for Engineering Resistance
This insight also opened the door to engineering broader crop disease resistance. After identifying the molecular surface that allows MLA3 to recognize Pwl2, researchers transferred that binding region into SR50, a related immune receptor found in rye.
SR50 naturally provides resistance to wheat stem rust, another major cereal disease. By adding the mimicry interface from the barley receptor, the team created a chimeric receptor capable of recognizing both stem rust and blast pathogens.
The work suggests that understanding how crop immune receptors recognize pathogens could help researchers design new resistance genes for cereals and other important crops.
Young Professionals and Influence in the Seed Sector
Young professionals are entering the seed sector at a time of rapid change. Mario González Azcárate of NGIN discusses how the next generation can help shape leadership, innovation and the future of agriculture.
Nutrition Emerged as a Big Theme at NAPB 2026
From human health to consumer expectations, NAPB 2026 showed how plant breeding priorities are expanding beyond traditional measures of success.
Plant DNA Repair Discovery Could Help Future Crops
Salk Institute researchers have identified a plant-specific DNA repair protein called YAF9B that helps protect growth tissues after DNA damage. The discovery may support future advances in crop resilience, stress tolerance and more precise genome editing.
Wild Maize Gene Could Help Boost Maize Protein
Chinese researchers have identified a teosinte gene that could help breeders raise maize protein levels in modern corn. The discovery may support development of higher-protein maize varieties without reducing grain yield.
Chile Grows as Biotechnology Seed Industry Hub
Chile is strengthening its role in the biotechnology seed industry as climate pressure, shrinking farmland and rising food demand push agriculture toward faster innovation. ChileBio’s Miguel Ángel Sánchez says the country’s climate diversity and technical expertise make it a strategic hub for global seed research.
Brian Rossnagel Inducted Into Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame for Transforming Barley and Oat Breeding
The longtime Crop Development Centre breeder developed more than 100 barley and oat varieties, including CDC Austenson