Genetics Content / Genetics Content for ºÙºÙÊÓƵ en Plant Biologist Venkatesan Sundaresan Wins 2024 Wolf Prize in Agriculture /news/plant-biologist-venkatesan-sundaresan-wins-2024-wolf-prize-agriculture <p><a href="https://biology.ucdavis.edu/people/venkatesan-sundaresan">Venkatesan Sundaresan</a>, Distinguished Professor in the Departments of <a href="https://www-plb.ucdavis.edu/">Plant Biology</a> and <a href="https://www.plantsciences.ucdavis.edu/">Plant Sciences</a> at the University of California, Davis, has been awarded a <a href="https://wolffund.org.il/venkatesan-sundaresan/">2024 Wolf Prize in Agriculture</a> for key discoveries on plant developmental biology of relevance to crop improvement.</p> July 17, 2024 - 9:36am Andy Fell /news/plant-biologist-venkatesan-sundaresan-wins-2024-wolf-prize-agriculture Discovery Hints at Genetic Basis for the Most Challenging Symptoms of Schizophrenia /blog/discovery-hints-genetic-basis-most-challenging-symptoms-schizophrenia <p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Our understanding of schizophrenia has increased greatly in recent years, as studies of large groups of people have identified a multitude of genetic variants that increase a person</span></span><span><span>’s risk of the disease.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p> March 19, 2024 - 10:25am Andy Fell /blog/discovery-hints-genetic-basis-most-challenging-symptoms-schizophrenia A Mixed Origin Made Maize Successful /news/mixed-origin-made-maize-successful <p><span><span><span>Maize is one of the world’s most widely grown crops. It is used for both human and animal foods and holds great cultural significance, especially for Indigenous peoples in the Americas. Yet despite its importance, the origins of the grain have been hotly debated for more than a century. Now new research, published Dec. 1 in Science, shows that all modern maize descends from a hybrid created just over 5,000 years ago in central Mexico, thousands of years after the plant was first domesticated. </span></span></span></p> November 30, 2023 - 11:00am Andy Fell /news/mixed-origin-made-maize-successful More Genes, Fewer Toes: Were Gene Copies the Key to an Evolutionary Leap for Horses? /blog/more-genes-fewer-toes-were-gene-copies-key-evolutionary-leap-horses <p>Eighteen million years ago, a genetic duplication event coincided with the evolutionary split between horses and their four-toed, forest-browsing ancestors.&nbsp;<a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0286861">A recent study</a>, led by Professor Danika Bannasch, Department of Population Health and Reproduction in the ºÙºÙÊÓƵ School of Veterinary Medicine, and graduate student Kevin Batcher investigated specific genetic duplications in horses, finding evidence of important roles for these elements and countering historical conventions that they have no f</p> June 12, 2023 - 10:25am Andy Fell /blog/more-genes-fewer-toes-were-gene-copies-key-evolutionary-leap-horses Researchers Identify Genes Making Strawberries Resistant to Fusarium Wilt /food/news/researchers-identify-genes-making-strawberries-resistant-fusarium-wilt ºÙºÙÊÓƵ researchers discover genes that make strawberries resistant to the deadly disease Fusarium wilt. July 19, 2022 - 9:00am Amy M Quinton /food/news/researchers-identify-genes-making-strawberries-resistant-fusarium-wilt Veterinary Genetics Lab Identifies Novel Mutation in Standardbred Horse /blog/veterinary-genetics-lab-identifies-novel-mutation-standardbred-horse <p>The field of genetics has enabled us to predict susceptibility to heritable diseases and map the genome of many species. Now, modern genetics and the birth of a unique foal in New Zealand has provided a successful example of tracking a&nbsp;mutation&nbsp;at its origin.</p> June 08, 2022 - 2:16pm Andy Fell /blog/veterinary-genetics-lab-identifies-novel-mutation-standardbred-horse The Conversation: How To Balance Community Needs With Research? /curiosity/blog/how-balance-community-needs-research A ºÙºÙÊÓƵ team of genetic researchers from the Henn Lab have worked among the Khoe-San in South Africa. April 22, 2022 - 3:34pm Karen Michele Nikos /curiosity/blog/how-balance-community-needs-research Study Challenges Evolutionary Theory That DNA Mutations Are Random /food/news/study-challenges-evolutionary-theory-dna-mutations-are-random ºÙºÙÊÓƵ researchers have found that DNA mutations are not random. This changes our understanding of evolution and could one day help researchers breed better crops or even help humans fight cancer. January 12, 2022 - 8:00am Amy M Quinton /food/news/study-challenges-evolutionary-theory-dna-mutations-are-random Most Dog Breeds Highly Inbred /health/news/most-dogs-highly-inbred ºÙºÙÊÓƵ study shows most dogs are highly inbred, which affects health. December 02, 2021 - 11:15am Amy M Quinton /health/news/most-dogs-highly-inbred Breeding Plants With Genes From 1 Parent /food/news/breeding-plants-genes-1-parent <p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>Scientists are a step closer to breeding plants with genes from only one parent. New research led by plant biologists at the University of California, Davis, published Nov. 19 in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abk1151">Science Advances</a>, shows the underlying mechanism behind eliminating half the genome and could make for easier and more rapid breeding of crop plants with desirable traits such as disease resistance. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p> November 19, 2021 - 11:00am Andy Fell /food/news/breeding-plants-genes-1-parent