November LabNotes: Inside is a cornucopia of news on corn, tomatoes, potatoes, and more! 🍅🌽

November 10, 2015
View this email in your browser

Dear Friends,

The colors of fall have been spectacular this year, with beautiful foliage and bountiful harvests. One type of produce may become more colorful, thanks to research by Dr. Joyce Van Eck, who has received a patent on a method to increase vitamin A in potatoes. Dr. Van Eck is collaborating with researchers at the Danforth Plant Science Center to adapt this method to fortification of cassava, a staple crop in parts of Africa, South America and Southeast Asia.

We are looking forward to our Board of Directors meeting on November 12, where one of our newest members, April Burke, will join us. As the founder of Lewis-Burke Associates LLC, Burke brings 30 years of experience in legislative and regulatory analysis of science and engineering research, technology transfer, higher education and intellectual property. Please join me in welcoming her to the board.

This fall BTI Education and Outreach welcomed 15 science teachers for a STEM teacher workshop—don't miss our great story about them.

Upstairs in my own laboratory, we are pleased to have been awarded a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant for research into cold-tolerant corn. We will build on previous research generating a type of corn that produces high levels of Rubisco, a key enzyme in photosynthesis. We hope to gain a better understanding of how these plants tolerate the cold, and whether there are other notable improvements, such as higher crop yield.

In closing, I hope that you all become more cold-tolerant as the temperatures drop and the days get shorter!

Regards,

David Stern
BTI President and CEO

A-plus potatoes may lead to more nutritious cassava crops

Assistant Professor Joyce Van Eck has received a new patent on a method to bulk up beta-carotene—a precursor of vitamin A—in potatoes. Read more

Burke brings political perspective to BTI Board

“Plant science is a great topic because people are much more aware of the effects of climate change and the challenges of food and energy production right now,” says Burke. Read more

BTI receives grant to support development of cold-tolerant corn

Researchers in the Stern laboratory will investigate potential benefits of "high-Rubisco" corn plants, under a new USDA-funded project. Read more

Why teachers want to spend their vacation days at BTI

The Education and Outreach Fall STEM Teacher workshop hosted teachers from around the state to share new ideas for teaching plant science. Read more

Wild tomato species may hold keys to disease-resistance for domesticated tomato crops

This year’s cool, rainy summer brought on an outbreak of bacterial speck disease in many commercial farms in New York. Dr. Greg Martin's lab is looking for plants with natural resistance to the bacteria to find better ways to control this disease. Read more

Donor Spotlight: Why I Give

Mission: To advance and communicate scientific knowledge in plant biology to improve agriculture, protect the environment, and enhance human health