Tomatoes, corn, insect resistance in poplar trees, and switchgrass durability through climate change are just some of the focus areas of the $101.6 million that the National Science Foundation has granted this week for plant genome sequencing projects.
Ranging broadly from $500,000 to $10.4 million, the 32 new NSF Plant Genome Research Program (PGRP) grants will support projects using sequencing and functional genomics to study gene function and interactions between genomes and the environment in a number of important crop plants, including cotton, corn, rice, soybean, tomato, and wheat.
"The knowledge gained in these projects will serve as the basic foundation that will ultimately enable plant biologists and breeders to develop crop plants that are higher yielding and better able to adapt to a changing environment," NSF's former Assistant Director for Biological Sciences, James Collins, said in a statement.
Ranging broadly from $500,000 to $10.4 million, the 32 new NSF Plant Genome Research Program (PGRP) grants will support projects using sequencing and functional genomics to study gene function and interactions between genomes and the environment in a number of important crop plants, including cotton, corn, rice, soybean, tomato, and wheat.
"The knowledge gained in these projects will serve as the basic foundation that will ultimately enable plant biologists and breeders to develop crop plants that are higher yielding and better able to adapt to a changing environment," NSF's former Assistant Director for Biological Sciences, James Collins, said in a statement.
