Limits on improving yield and other critical traits in maize likely are due to rare harmful mutations genetically linked to a beneficial gene combination that were selected for during domestication and breeding, according to a study published in the journal Nature. These so-called deleterious genetic mutations result from errors in the DNA that occur randomly every generation and accumulate from ancient mutations right …
ARS Geneticist Edward Buckler Receives First National Academy of Sciences Prize in Food and Agriculture Sciences
Agricultural Research Service (ARS) geneticist Edward Buckler is the first person to receive the National Academy of Science’s (NAS) Prize in Food and Agriculture Sciences. Buckler will be recognized for pioneering the use of large-scale genomic approaches linking genes with the crop’s physical traits. This work is giving plant breeders’ better access to key genes and reducing the time needed …
Geneticist Edward Buckler Awarded First NAS Prize in Food and Agriculture Sciences
By Kim Kaplan, USDA Agriculture Research Service Agricultural Research Service (ARS) geneticist Edward Buckler will receive the National Academy of Science‘s first ever Prize in Food and Agriculture Sciences for pioneering the use of large scale genomic approaches to associate genes with crop traits. This work gives plant breeders’ faster access to key genes and reduces the time needed to …