Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Ting Guo, Lu-Guang Jiang, Bo Li, Huan Jiang, Tong-Xin Zheng, Jin-Hong Luo, Yan He
Summary: Variations in pollen number in maize are mainly regulated by the expression level of the ZmRPN1 gene, which interacts with ZmMSP1 and affects pollen number and seed production. Dysfunction of ZmRPN1 significantly increases pollen number and improves the female-male planting ratio. Therefore, modulation of ZmRPN1 expression could be used to develop elite pollinators for hybrid maize breeding.
PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Xudong Ye, Ashok Shrawat, Edward Williams, Anatoly Rivlin, Zarir Vaghchhipawala, Lorena Moeller, Jennifer Kumpf, Shubha Subbarao, Brian Martinell, Charles Armstrong, M. Annie Saltarikos, David Somers, Yurong Chen
Summary: A novel and efficient maize genetic transformation system using Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of embryo explants from mature seeds has been successfully developed. This system has significant advantages in terms of scalability and flexibility, as it starts with mature seeds and the explants are storable.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Food Science & Technology
Jason Donovan, Pieter Rutsaert, Ciro Dominguez, Meliza Pena
Summary: This study assesses the capacities of 22 maize SMEs in Mexico that engaged with MasAgro, a development program that provided improved genetic material and technical assistance. The study found that while the SMEs showed high levels of absorptive capacity for seed production, they lacked learning and innovation in terms of business organization and strategic seed marketing. The study also highlighted the critical role of MasAgro in reinvigorating the seed portfolios of maize SMEs, but pointed out the challenges of scaling new technologies in a competitive market dominated by multinational seed enterprises.
Article
Biology
Darun Cai, Zhaogui Zhang, Li Zhao, Juan Liu, Huabang Chen
Summary: This study reports a novel hybrid seed production technology based on the maize unilateral cross-incompatibility gene ZmGa1F, which has promising potential. The technique achieves an extremely low transgene transmission rate through pollen tube inhibition, and seeds can be easily separated using fluorescence-based sorting.
SCIENCE CHINA-LIFE SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Christina Fischer, Friederike Riesch, Teja Tscharntke, Peter Batary
Summary: Study focused on the importance of large carabids in removing weed seeds in organic fields within large-scale agricultural landscapes, considering both local and landscape-scale effects. Results showed that local intensity of management, crop characteristics, edge effects, and landscape composition and configuration all influenced the activity density of large carabids and consequently weed seed removal.
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
O. Napasintuwong
Summary: Thailand aims to become a Seed Hub in the region and develop and export high quality Thai brand-name seeds. However, the maize seed industry is currently dominated by a few multinational companies, raising questions about whether national and local companies can provide farmers with the same benefits. The study finds that despite higher production costs, multinational companies offer farmers the highest net income due to higher productivity and better prices, followed by national companies, while local companies provide the least benefits.
JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Matthias Knoedler, Paul Winman Reunious, Johannes Felix Buyel
Summary: Large-scale transient expression of recombinant proteins in plants requires the cultivation of transformed Agrobacterium tumefaciens, which is cloned in Escherichia coli first. Unintentional activity can occur in both bacteria, but the risk associated with transient expression and bacterial handling procedure is found to be negligible. The accumulation of recombinant proteins in bacteria remains low and the unintentional uptake of toxic quantities is unlikely.
Article
Agronomy
Yuanyuan Wang, Xiaoli Liu, Xinfang Hou, Dechang Sheng, Xin Dong, Yingbo Gao, Pu Wang, Shoubing Huang
Summary: With a warming climate, heat events have a significant impact on maize, highlighting the importance of studying the maximum temperature thresholds for flowering and kernel formation to improve simulation accuracy. Attention should be paid to female flower sensitivity when breeding and selecting heat-tolerant maize hybrids.
JOURNAL OF AGRONOMY AND CROP SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Agronomy
Yun-Syuan Jhong, Wen-Shin Lin, Tien-Joung Yiu, Yuan-Chih Su, Bo-Jein Kuo
Summary: The study evaluated different sampling schemes for determining adventitious GM content in small maize fields in Taiwan. The findings showed that the six-transect method, V-shaped transect method, and JM method performed comparably to simple random sampling in predicting cross-pollination rates. These results can be used as a reference for monitoring pollen dispersal tendencies in maize in countries with smallholder farming systems.
GM CROPS & FOOD-BIOTECHNOLOGY IN AGRICULTURE AND THE FOOD CHAIN
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Bo-Jein Kuo, Yun-Syuan Jhong, Tien-Joung Yiu, Yuan-Chih Su, Wen-Shin Lin
Summary: The study found that a model incorporating both the distance from the source and the field border can have optimal fitting and predictive abilities for pollen-mediated gene flow of GM maize.
Article
Plant Sciences
Huajin Sheng, Yulin Jiang, Maryam Rahmati Ishka, Ju-Chen Chia, Tatyana Dokuchayeva, Yana Kavulych, Tetiana-Olena Zavodna, Patrick N. Mendoza, Rong Huang, Louisa M. Smieshka, Julia Miller, Arthur R. Woll, Olga Terek, Nataliya D. Romanyuk, Miguel Pineros, Yonghong Zhou, Olena K. Vatamaniuk
Summary: Addressing the global food security crisis requires the development of high-yielding crops. Research shows that copper deficiency affects grain development in wheat and Brachypodium distachyon. The YSL3 transporter plays a crucial role in copper distribution to reproductive organs and grains, impacting their development.
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Zenghui Jia, Songyuan Zhao, Qianyue Zhang, Chenzhen Xia, Xingyu Zhang, Yue Zhang, Qiang Gao
Summary: This study presents a method for developing multi-stage fertilizer recommendations in a spring maize cropping system using unmanned aerial vehicle-based hyperspectral images and topdressing recommendation method. By analyzing the narrowband vegetation indices derived from the hyperspectral imagery, optimal NPK fertilizer amounts and thresholds for topdressing N fertilizer were determined. The results are important for improving nutrient management, fertilizer use efficiency, and grain yield.
COMPUTERS AND ELECTRONICS IN AGRICULTURE
(2023)
Article
Food Science & Technology
William Ignacio Mora-Adames, Carlos Alberto Fuenmayor, Maria Angelica Benavides-Martin, Nestor Ariel Algecira-Enciso, Martha Cecilia Quicazan
Summary: Different process conditions were evaluated to induce lactic acid fermentation of bee pollen at the pilot scale using three different commercial starter cultures. Clean and dry Colombian high Andean bee pollen was used as the sole source of nutrients (substrate). The fermentation process time was 30 h, after which a significant decline in bacterial populations was observed. Among the starter cultures tested, one constituted exclusively by probiotic Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM presented the best performance in terms of lactic acid production, with a concentration of 1.65% wt, after 30 h. The results highlight the feasibility of producing fermented bee pollen at a commercial scale as a functional food product with probiotic features.
LWT-FOOD SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Chukwuma Ume
Summary: Better access to markets enables small producers to sell more produce at higher prices and better quality. This study investigates the role of efficient markets for small-scale organic farming and the implications of farmers' market orientation on food security. The findings suggest that market orientation positively influences food security for both organic farming adopters and non-adopters, and market orientation moderates the effect of organic farming on food security, especially for market-oriented farmers.
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Le Liu, M. Arif Ashraf, Taylor Morrow, Michelle Facette
Summary: Stomata in grasses have fast movements due to their unique guard cell and subsidiary cell structures. Subsidiary cells are essential for stomatal function and their defects can lead to improper closure. Maize PAN2 gene, orthologous to Arabidopsis GHR1 gene, acts downstream of Ca2+ to promote stomatal closure, suggesting potential pathway differences.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Klara Fischer, Suvi Kokko, Jennifer McConville
Summary: This paper examines the conditions necessary for the private sector to establish itself successfully as a key player in delivering sustainable sanitation in the Global South through a case study of Peepoople AB. The company failed to successfully combine sustainable sanitation development with financial gain for investors, primarily due to a lack of legitimacy in the development sector.
ENVIRONMENTAL INNOVATION AND SOCIETAL TRANSITIONS
(2021)
Article
Geography
Klara Fischer
Summary: The South African government has invested significant resources in introducing genetically modified maize to smallholders in order to alleviate poverty through agriculture. However, smallholder farming continues to decline and poverty rates are increasing in the country. This paper aims to explain the government's failure to support smallholders by examining the interplay between maize production, politics, and technological development in South African history. The study highlights the impact of maize as an agent, with its material properties influencing farming practices and wider political economies. It explores how maize has evolved as both a commodity serving settler farmers and a subsistence crop for marginalized smallholders due to interactions between maize biology and the choices made by farmers, politicians, and breeders during the colonial era and apartheid. The paper argues that despite South Africa's democratic system and significant investment in improving smallholder livelihoods, recent technological developments and market concentration have widened the gap between commodity and subsistence maize, hindering the success of a crop-led New Green Revolution.
Article
Communication
Klara Fischer, Sebastian Hess
Summary: The study found that media coverage of GMO in food and agriculture in Sweden decreased overall from the mid-1990s to 2018, with a shift towards more neutral attitudes. Farmer perspectives were given more attention than expected in the media discourse, while discussions on smallholder farming and food security in the Global South did not significantly impact media narratives in Sweden.
ENVIRONMENTAL COMMUNICATION-A JOURNAL OF NATURE AND CULTURE
(2022)
Article
Parasitology
Sara Lysholm, Klara Fischer, Johanna F. Lindahl, Musso Munyeme, Jonas Johansson Wensman
Summary: The study identified seropositivity rates for zoonotic pathogens in Zambia's informal small ruminant markets, including Brucella spp., Coxiella burnetii, and Rift Valley fever virus. It also revealed unsanitary procedures at slaughterhouses and various occupational hazards for slaughterhouse workers.
Editorial Material
Geography
Klara Fischer, Jostein Jakobsen, Ola T. Westengen
Article
Environmental Sciences
Sara Holmgren, Alexandru Giurca, Johanna Johansson, Christoffer Soderlund Kanarp, Tove Stenius, Klara Fischer
Summary: This study examines the development of the Swedish bioeconomy and the influential parties involved. It reveals that the Swedish bioeconomy is framed as an issue of innovation governance, blurring the boundaries between public and private interests in the forest sector.
ENVIRONMENTAL INNOVATION AND SOCIETAL TRANSITIONS
(2022)
Article
Veterinary Sciences
Anna Arvidsson, Klara Fischer, Kjell Hansen, Susanna Sternberg-Lewerin, Erika Chenais
Summary: This paper examines the structure of veterinary support and its dominant development narratives in Uganda, focusing on the role of paraprofessionals. It suggests that while the public veterinary sector is under-resourced, paraprofessionals play a crucial role in providing animal health services to smallholders. However, they are often marginalized and their importance downplayed in current discourse.
FRONTIERS IN VETERINARY SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Erika Chenais, Klaus Depner, Ayako Ebata, Mary-Louise Penrith, Dirk U. Pfeiffer, Cortney Price, Karl Stahl, Klara Fischer
Summary: This article summarizes a webinar on African swine fever (ASF) research, discussing the history of ASF, the current global disease situation, and suggesting measures for control. The study finds that ASF is now primarily associated with domestic pigs and pork, with human-driven virus spread. Smallholders face challenges in implementing biosecurity measures due to poverty and other factors. Therefore, improving biosecurity in the smallholder sector is an important tool for preventing and controlling ASF.
TRANSBOUNDARY AND EMERGING DISEASES
(2022)
Article
Geography
Anna Arvidsson, Klara Fischer, Kjell Hansen, Juliet Kiguli
Summary: This article explores how pig production as a pathway out of poverty fails in post-conflict communities in northern Uganda due to tensions created by the focus on individual wealth creation. The study suggests that poverty reduction measures should focus on raising the general level of welfare in communities and supporting the collective rather than the individual.
JOURNAL OF RURAL STUDIES
(2022)
Article
Social Issues
Adrian Ely, Beate Friedrich, Dominic Glover, Klara Fischer, Glenn Davis Stone, Ann Kingiri, Matthew A. Schnurr
Summary: Comparative studies on agricultural biotechnology regulation have identified the different roles of science and politics in decision-making. This research draws on evidence from the US, UK, and Germany to understand how regulatory cultures have evolved in response to previous generations of agricultural biotechnology and genome editing. The study finds that the US largely maintains a product-based regulatory approach, while the UK and Germany combine process-based and programmatic elements to varying degrees. By exploring the opportunity structures in each jurisdiction, this research sheds light on the long-term governance dynamics of genome editing and agricultural biotechnology.
SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY & HUMAN VALUES
(2023)
Article
Development Studies
Joeva Sean Rock, Matthew A. Schnurr, Ann Kingiri, Dominic Glover, Glenn Davis Stone, Adrian Ely, Klara Fischer
Summary: Genome editing technology has gained attention in Africa's agricultural development, as it is seen as a potential revolution in breeding. This article identifies the connection between genome editing and genetic modification, and offers recommendations on integrating lessons from previous GM crops into future genome editing breeding programs. The authors argue for a focus on co-development with farmers, access to non-restricted plant material, and recognition of the complexity of agroecological systems when it comes to genome editing projects.
DEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Kirstine Lund Christiansen, Flora Hajdu, Emil Planting Mollaoglu, Alice Andrews, Wim Carton, Klara Fischer
Summary: Corporate net-zero emission pledges have increased in recent years, but critics argue that these pledges might be greenwashing if they rely on excessive offsetting and justify business-as-usual practices. In this study, we analyze the discursive aspects of net-zero logics by examining the case of MAX Burgers AB in Sweden. Our findings reveal that MAX's net-zero claim serves to justify its existing business practices and shift responsibility for climate action onto others. We conclude that even seemingly progressive corporate net-zero pledges become problematic if they distract from real emissions reductions and support carbon-intensive lifestyles.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & POLICY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Anna Arvidsson, Klara Fischer, Erika Chenais, Juliet Kiguli, Susanna Sternberg-Lewerin, Karl Stahl
Summary: Pig production is a potential pathway out of poverty for smallholder farmers in rural Uganda, but the lack of access to veterinary services and the threat of African swine fever (ASF) pose major challenges. This study aims to understand smallholders' perceptions and responses to pig health issues, particularly ASF, and examines the potential and limitations of smallholders' practice-based knowledge. The results show that while pigs are appreciated for providing income, smallholders struggle to effectively deal with pig diseases and express a need for veterinary advice. Enhancing veterinary services and improving general conditions for smallholder pig keeping are important for the success of pig production as a poverty mitigation strategy in Uganda.
Article
Veterinary Sciences
Erika Chenais, Klara Fischer, Tonny Aliro, Karl Stahl, Susanna Sternberg Lewerin
Summary: Smallholder subsistence pig production is common in Uganda, however, the endemic spread of African swine fever (ASF) is driven by human activities along the smallholder value chain. Despite stakeholders' awareness and positive attitude towards biosecurity, basic biosecurity is lacking due to costs and a lack of adaptation. Engaging the community and involving stakeholders are important for improving disease prevention and control. Participatory action at the community level was investigated in Northern Uganda to improve biosecurity in the smallholder pig value chain. The methodology facilitated implementation of initially controversial measures and was positively received for strengthening community identity and cooperation.
PREVENTIVE VETERINARY MEDICINE
(2023)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Lauren Crossland-Marr, Alexandru Giurca, Maya Tsingos, Matthew A. Schnurr, Adrian Ely, Dominic Glover, Glenn Davis Stone, Klara Fischer
Summary: Gene editing technologies are viewed with both hope and concern in society. Analysis of English-speaking Twitter networks reveals active scientists promoting a positive image of CRISPR gene editing, while a smaller group of civil society actors voice skepticism without eliciting response. Discourse coalitions on Twitter surrounding CRISPR in food and agriculture are siloed with limited interaction between contrasting perspectives.
NEW GENETICS AND SOCIETY
(2023)