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),…
Identification and Molecular Characterization of Dahlia common mosaic virus from Silphium spp, a new natural host of the virus
Abstract: Dahlia common mosaic virus (DCMV) was previously reported to infect only dahlias (Dahlia variabilis). However, DCMV was identified for the first time in association with Silphium spp. The complete…
Genomic insights into the NPGS intermediate wheatgrass germplasm collection
The Land Institute’s Lee DeHaan (Lead Scientist, Kernza) and Sajal Sthapit (Postdoctoral Researcher, Kernza) worked with research collaborators to release this publication detailing the value of the USDA’s National Plant…
Breeding Intermediate Wheatgrass for Grain Production
This research paper details the improvement of breeding efforts with intermediate wheatgrass resulting from advances in molecular technologies, allowing scientists to focus on producing desirable agronomic traits to create an…
Unraveling the genetic components of perenniality: Toward breeding for perennial grains
Although tremendously successful at feeding humanity, row crop agriculture based on annuals contributes to numerous ecosystem dis-services, ranging from soil degradation and aquatic eutrophication to greenhouse gas production. In contrast,…