Utilizing genetic variation in perennial sorghum to improve host plant resistance to aphids
The Land Institute’s Pheonah Nabukalu, Ebony Murrell, and Stan Cox collaborated with researchers at the University of Nebraska Lincoln on a paper looking the susceptibility of sorghum plants to aphids…
The first chromosome-scale genome assembly of a microcyclic rust, Puccinia silphii
Kathryn Turner, Lead Scientist in Crop Protection Genetics, co-authored a paper with research partners from the University of Colorado Boulder analyzing the genome sequence of Puccinia silphii, a rust that infects…
Breeding Potential for Increasing Carbon Sequestration via Rhizomatous Grain Sorghum
Building on existing knowledge of perennial sorghum development through The Land Institute’s breeding program and considerations around the benefits of perennial grain agriculture through research from The Land Institute and…
Genetic variation and heritability of agronomic traits in a native perennial forage species from drylands: breeding potential of Festuca pallescens
A research cohort with scientists from the University of Wisconsin Madison and CONICET in Argentina assessed the potential of Festuca pallescens, a native, perennial forage grass species of Patagonia, for…
Metabolome fingerprinting reveals the presence of multiple nitrification inhibitors in biomass and root exudates of Thinopyrum intermedium
Nitrogen is an essential plant nutrient and is also linked to socioecological issues resulting from nitrogen-based fertilizer runoff from agricultural land to natural bodies of water and drinking water sources….
Exploring the rhizosphere of perennial wheat: potential for plant growth promotion and biocontrol applications
Perennial grain researchers from the University of Parma in Italy published a paper exploring the potential of perennial wheat to host a rich community of beneficial bacteria in soil, promoting…
Assessing genetic gain in an intermediate wheatgrass improvement program: A retrospective analysis
Research collaborators at the University of Minnesota conducted an analysis of intermediate wheatgrass, the perennial crop that produces Kernza® grain, to gather insights for breeding programs looking to improve the…
Disease resistance gene count increases with rainfall in Silphium integrifolium
Researchers at the University of Minnesota, including The Land Institute’s Kelsey Peterson (Whiting), sequenced R genes (a category of plant disease resistance genes) in several wild populations of silphium integrifolium,…
Improving complex agronomic and domestication traits in the perennial grain crop intermediate wheatgrass with genetic mapping and genomic prediction
Intermediate wheatgrass, the grass that produces Kernza® perennial grain, is being domesticated for its potential as a human food that also delivers notable ecological benefits. Research partners at the University…
Genetic Constitution and Variability in Synthetic Populations of Intermediate Wheatgrass, an Out-crossing Perennial Grain Crop
Long-time collaborators at the University of Minnesota released a paper evaluating trait differences among four synthetic populations of MN-Clearwater, the first commercially available variety of intermediate wheatgrass (the plant that…
Determining the footprint of breeding in the seed microbiome of a perennial cereal
Like humans, plants possess a microbiome that can be inherited and passed on to the next generation of plant seeds, which provides opportunities for plant breeders to harness knowledge surrounding…
Origin of current intermediate wheatgrass germplasm being developed for Kernza grain production
Lee DeHaan, Lead Scientist of the Kernza® Domestication Program, and key Kernza collaborators Peggy Wagoner (the scientist who first selected Intermediate Wheatgrass as a viable perennial grain candidate for domestication),…