phd topics in plant biotechnology

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Revealing fundamental principles of plant biology and evolution.

Graduate study in Cornell's Integrative School of Plant Science is organized into five Graduate Fields providing unparalleled opportunities to connect disciplines, creatively solve problems, and integrate complex systems, preparing graduates for diverse careers and futures as leaders in science and society.

Programs in the Field of Plant Biology range from the molecular/genetic investigation of fundamental plant processes and mathematical modeling of plant development to study of plant diversity and evolution. Most of the faculty advisors in the Field of Plant Biology are affiliated with the Section of Plant Biology in the School of Integrative Plant Science. The Graduate Field of Plant Biology encompasses a broad range of topics.

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Plant biotechnology articles from across Nature Portfolio

Plant biotechnology can be defined as the introduction of desirable traits into plants through genetic modification.

Related Subjects

• Agricultural genetics
• Field trials
• Molecular engineering in plants

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Haploids fast-track hybrid plant breeding

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• Genet Mol Biol
• v.43(1 Suppl 2); 2020

The future of plant biotechnology in a globalized and environmentally endangered world

Marc van montagu.

1 VIB-International Plant Biotechnology Outreach, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

This paper draws on the importance of science-based agriculture in order to throw light on the way scientific achievements are at the basis of modern civilization. An overview of literature on plant biotechnology innovations and the need to steer agriculture towards sustainability introduces a series of perspectives on how plant biotech can contribute to the major challenge of feeding our super population with enough nutritious food without further compromise of the environment. The paper argues that science alone will not solve problems. Three major forces - science, the economy and society - shape our modern world. There is a need for a new social contract to harmonize these forces. The deployment of the technologies must be done on the basis of ethical and moral values.

Introduction

Agriculture is probably the biggest early success of human ingenuity. It initiated the development of environmental changes without which we would not exist as a present-day society, for the best and worst. Humans have continuously improved agriculture since the dawn of civilization, wheat being the first domestication recorded by historians some 9,000 years ago. Human civilizations have spread agriculture far and wide, and, as some call it, “manipulation of species” by early agriculturalists is the foundation of modern agriculture. The application in our lifetime of the genetic knowledge for crop improvement has led to unprecedented growth in agricultural productivity. It is largely recognized that without these advances in plant breeding, global food shortages would be a much more critical issue today. But it is not enough.

Although it is true that per capita agricultural production of current intensive agriculture has outpaced population growth, the rich of the world reap most of the benefits. Moreover, externalities such as climate change are expected to offset the positive effect of economic growth on food security. Climate change will not only compromise food security but also food safety, by increasing food-borne pathogens or inducing chemical changes that can increase the prevalence of toxic compounds in food ( FAO, 2018 ). At the same time, as we learn about the value of soil microorganisms to agriculture, we understand the collateral damage of crop protection chemicals.

The issue of food security and safety is a global issue that affects the whole food system. Questions arise on how to change food habits and ways to reduce waste in the food chain, from harvest to the moment of consumption. Although it is important to tackle these issues, it does not change the fact that we will need to change our dominant agricultural model in order to feed a growing global population in a way compatible with the sustainable use of global resources. Innovative agriculture and food systems must be tailored to a diverse global population whilst preserving the variety of its cultures i.e., fitting the characteristics and needs of various individuals, cultures, and social groups.

Our societies have managed to keep war, pandemics, and famine at manageable levels thanks to the technological, economic and political developments we brought about in the past decades. Today, biotechnology developments are delivering an array of powerful tools to medicine and agriculture. Physics and chemistry, associated with information technology are providing us with a power unimaginable before.

Take a moment to observe how the world is changing: fueled by information and communication technology we have generated a global flow of networks of activity and interaction that has integrated the global economy, media, legal practices, and scientific research. Globalization is promoting a steady integration of different societies and customs. At the same time, the global society is about to change radically. Routine skills used by the industrial revolution are no longer sufficient as we are approaching the post-digital transformation. Disruptive technologies such as AI (artificial intelligence), robotics, IoT (internet of things), and blockchain have the potential of transforming business models, companies and jobs. Although these technologies have great potential to change the world for the better, an uneasy dystopian climate of opinion is growing. Many among us worry: Is it really going to be for the best? Aren’t the negative outcomes outpacing the benefits? Are we ready for these changes? How well do we understand life science?

As well observed by Juma (2016) , technology, economy and society coevolve as a whole. Technological transformation must be followed by adequate institutional adjustments to avoid rupture of the social tissue. It will require a new social contract to harmonize the interest of all parties. The deployment of technologies must be done according to society’s ethical and moral values. In humans, the process of decision making uses both rational arguments and emotions. Emotional thinking can help us to make judgments in an uncertain environment. Till very recently, non-verifiable arguments as well as emotional thinking were the only tools we had to recognize a problem and try to solve it. Starting from the Enlightenment, Western society slowly moved to scientific, fact-based arguments as the main support for decision making. Emotional thinking is nonetheless a powerful force for decision making as well. The problem has ethical roots. If emotions are manipulated by unethical pressure groups or problematic scientific dissidents, they can block a worthy innovative technology.

Plant biotechnology is a mature technology

Modern biotechnology was a scientifically obvious outcome of the striking advances in molecular biology that followed the discovery of the bacterial DNA restriction-modification system ( Luria and Human, 1952 ; Luria, 1953 ; Dussoix and Arber, 1962 ; Nathans and Smith, 1975 ). Microorganisms and plants were the first organisms to be manipulated to serve humankind. In the field of plant sciences, biotechnology was possible thanks to the discovery of Agrobacterium tumefaciens’ Ti plasmid and its role in the natural bacteria-plant transgenesis (for historical review see Van Montagu, 2011 ; Chilton, 2018 ; Heimann, 2018 ).

Plant biotechnology with focus on seed-varietal improvement, such as GM technology and molecular-assisted breeding, has generated products that help agriculture to achieve enhanced yields in a more sustainable manner. Since the proof-of-concept in tobacco plants, the number of plant species with GM varieties approved worldwide increased sharply. As of January 2019, a total of 44 countries granted regulatory approvals to 40 GM crops and 509 GM events, covering 41 GM commercial traits for use in food, feed and/or for cultivation ( ISAAA’s GM Approval Database, 2019 ). Approved GM varieties include food/feed crops (maize, rice, soybean, colza, wheat, bean, chicory, eggplant, tomato, sweet pepper, flax, potato, squash, apple, melon, papaya, plum), cash crops (cotton, sugar beet, sugar cane, creeping bent grass, safflower, tobacco), ornamental plants (petunia, carnation, rose), and forestry trees (eucalyptus, poplar). The GM traits are numerous and diverse. A non-exhaustive list spans from input traits (herbicide tolerance, insect resistance, drought stress tolerance, bacterial and virus disease resistance), to output traits to improve yield (enhanced photosynthesis, increased ear biomass), product quality (anti-allergy, delayed fruit softening, delayed ripening/senescence, enhanced provitamin A, lowered reducing sugars, mannose metabolism, modified starch/carbohydrate, modified amino acid, modified oil/fatty acid, nicotine reduction, non-browning phenotype, altered lignin production, volumetric wood increase, modified flower colour), and pollination control (male sterility, fertility restoration).

GM-technology is largely considered the technology that most affected agriculture in recent times. Indeed, by 2017, the global adoption of GM crops reached 189.8 million hectares ( ISAAA, 2017 ). The striking amount of approved GM varieties and hybrids shows that GM technology does not narrow the genetic diversity of the crop plant.

For over 20 years humans and animals have been eating GM food of different types without ill effects.Whereas nobody can ever say that anything, including any food, is safe, the evidence of GM consumption and use in massive quantities validate the premise that GM crops are at least as safe as any non-GM crop. A number of meta-analyses of peer-reviewed scientific publications across two decades of commercialization confirm that the GM crops pose no risk to human and livestock health (e.g., Swiatkiewicz et al. , 2014 ; de Vos and Swanenburg, 2018 ; Pellegrino et al. , 2018 ).

The scientific consensus is that there is no evidence of hazards in the movement of genes between unrelated organisms, or in the use of recombinant DNA techniques. Respected scientific organizations such as World Health Organization, the American Medical Association, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the British Royal Society have come to the same conclusion after a careful scrutinization of the evidence: “ consuming foods containing ingredients derived from GM crops is no riskier than consuming the same foods containing ingredients from crop plants modified by conventional plant improvement techniques ”. The analysis of Pellegrino et al. (2018) on two decades of GM maize consumption not only confirmed that GM maize pose no risk to human or livestock health, but also showed that GM insect resistant varieties could have a substantive positive impact on human and livestock health. This is because insects weaken the plant’s immune system. Transgenic maize with decreased insect damage is less susceptible to fungal infection. Hence, biotech maize contains substantially fewer mycotoxins. Mycotoxins are both toxic and carcinogenic to humans and animals.

Scientists have also scrutinized the environmental safety of GM crops. The EU has invested more than 300m EUR in more than 130 research projects involving 500 independent groups, covering a period of more than 25 years of research to arrive at the conclusion that “ biotechnology, and in particular GMOs, are not per se more risky than e.g. conventional plant breeding technologies .” ( European Commission, 2010 ). In fact, GM crops with input traits for insect resistance and herbicide tolerance have contributed to reduce agriculture’s environmental footprint by facilitating environmentally friendly farming practices ( Brookes and Barfoot, 2015 ). Klumper and Qaim (2014) conducted a meta-analysis based on primary data from farm surveys or field trials in different regions worldwide. This comprehensive study demonstrates that GM insect resistant (IR) traits have reduced pesticide usage by 36.9% on average.

GM herbicide tolerance (HT) traits also bring substantial contribution to sustainable agriculture. GM HT allows the application of more environmentally friendly herbicide (e.g., glyphosate) in a more rational way and enables the adoption of conservation tillage. Sowing seeds directedly into the fields without previous ploughing preserves beneficial soil insects and earth worms, retains soil moisture - which is good for water conservation - and keeps carbon in the soil. Abdalla et al. (2016) carried out a meta-analysis of peer-reviewed publications comparing CO 2 emissions over entire seasons or years from tilled and untilled soils, across different climates, crop types, and soil conditions. The authors concluded that, on average, tilled soils emitted 21% more CO 2 than untilled soils. Moreover, less pesticide and no/less ploughing have also reduced the use of powered agricultural machines. Less tractor traffic causes indirect benefits to soil quality, conserves fossil fuel, and decreases CO 2 emissions to the atmosphere.

Habitat destruction is the biggest single threat to biodiversity. The higher productivity of the currently commercialized GM crops alleviates the pressure to convert additional land for agriculture. For example, if the world were no longer to use GM crops, an additional 22.4 Mha would be required to maintain the global production at 2016 levels ( Brookes and Barfoot, 2018 ). For GM HT crops alone, the land use impact would be more 762 Mha of cropping area, of which 53% would be new land brought into agriculture, including 167 Mha of deforestation. Besides a major impact on wildlife habitats, the increase in cropping area would generate 234 billion kg more of CO 2 emissions ( Brookes et al. , 2017 )

Farmers’ acceptance is impressive; when given the opportunity, they quickly adopted GM crops. Since the introduction of the technology in the mid 1990s till 2016, 18 million farmers planted biotech crops ( ISAAA, 2017 ). Biotech crops have a historical track record of economic benefits, logistical advantages, and risk reductions. Twenty-one years of GM crop agriculture produced a net economic benefit at farm level of $ 186.1 billion, of which 52% were reaped by farmers in developing countries. These gains are mostly yield and productivity gains (65%); the remaining 35% are from cost savings ( Brookes and Barfoot, 2018 ).

Although impressive, the outcome of GM crops is far below what it could be. Only a dozen genetically modified crops are available today, of which four (soybean, maize, cotton, and canola), carrying only two traits (herbicide tolerance and insect resistance) out of 41 that have been approved, occupy 99.2% of the global GM planted area. The vast majority of approved GM varieties are kept on the laboratory shelf.

Nonetheless, sound R&D projects continue to be carried out, thanks to the advances in plant molecular biology and genome sequencing at low costs. Many of these projects are being developed in and for low income countries, particularly in Africa, often through collaborative consortiums between public institutions, philanthropic organizations, and agrobusiness corporations. A wide variety of plants is being made to be resilient to biotic and abiotic stresses, to have increased water or nitrogen use efficiency (NUE), and nutritional improvements ( Ricroch and Hénard-Damave, 2016 ). Other relevant innovations for non-food purposes, such as biopharmaceuticals, biofuel, starch, paper, and textile industries are progressing in developed countries ( De Buck et al. , 2016 ).

Traditionally, breeding strategies have been focused on increasing crop productivity through yield increase and disease and pest resistance. Breeders have often neglected the nutritional value of food crops. The outcome of this tactic was the rise of micronutrient malnutrition or “hidden hunger”, particularly in food-insecure regions, where diets are dominated by staple food crops. Food biofortification is of particular interest for low income countries. Microminerals and vitamins regulate important metabolic processes that play crucial roles in human physical and mental development. Childhood stunting is associated with micronutrient malnutrition in children, starting from fetal development to four years of age ( FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP and WHO, 2018 ).

Plant biotechnology is the only alternative for engineering metabolic pathways to improve micronutrients in a crop where they do not occur naturally. Furthermore, a given GM biofortification can be replicated to multiple target crops ( Garg et al. , 2018 ). There have been significant advances in the development of GM biofortified plants. Numerous crops have been engineered to enhance the contend in vitamins, minerals, essential amino acids, and essential fatty acids; Golden Rice being the best known-example. The same or similar strategies used in Golden Rice have been used with success to engineer pro-VitA in different crops such as banana, cassava, potato, sorghum, soybean, and sweet potato. Reports are available for biofortified cereals, legumes, vegetables, oilseeds, fruits, and fodder crops. Successful examples include high lysine maize, high unsaturated fatty acid soybean, and iron and zinc rich cassava, folate rich rice ( Garg et al. , 2018 ). None have entered the commercialization phase in low income countries, where they are mostly needed.

Biotechnology tools are constantly evolving. New powerful technologies for gene editing ( Doudna and Charpentier, 2014 ) are now made available for plant amelioration and are expected to revolutionize the breeding programs in the near future. These so-called new breeding techniques are likely to be applied in the amelioration of a wider variety of plants, boosting the germplasm resource for agriculture worldwide. Genome editing will greatly facilitate the engineering of complex traits, such as stacked disease tolerance and insect resistance mechanisms, resilience to abiotic stress, as well as nutritional and organoleptic properties ( Halewood, 2018 ). Besides disrupting gene function, or editing existing sequences to reproduce ancient alleles, the technology allows the introduction of novel alleles or any other novel genetic material. Some recent remarkable examples of the potential of precision genome engineering for crop improvement are the de novo domestication of wild tomato, a showcase on how to exploit the genetic diversity of wild plants ( Zsögön et al. , 2018 ), and the engineering of apomix in rice to produce hybrids ( Khanday et al. , 2018 ).

A very interesting genome editing target are epigenetic markers, such as histone modification and DNA methylation. Epigenetics has emerged as a new way of regulating cellular functions in plants, as epigenetic changes are essential to adaptation to the environment. Modification of plant epigenomic patterns can be very useful to develop crops tolerant to environmental stresses such as drought and salinity. Although such research is still in its infancy, the first bricks have been laid, paving the way for the next generation of breeding. Lowder et al. (2015) successfully targeted a methylated promoter to activate an imprinted gene in A. thaliana , showing that it is possible to modify epigenetic markers to modulate gene expression.

Genome editing is quicker and cheaper than other techniques for crop improvement, such as induced mutagenesis and even transgenesis. Therefore, it can be a major game changer for agriculture in environmentally fragile regions, where many crops of local interest are niche-specific and well adapted to local environment and farming system. These crops have not yet received much attention by the scientific community for amelioration, because they represent only a small fraction of the international commodity trade ( Varshney et al. , 2012 ).

The above overview allows us to assert that plant technology is a mature technology, safe, and with an extraordinary record of benefits, both economic and humanitarian. Genetic engineering and genome editing are ready to be deployed to improve crop breeding and build a more sustainable global agriculture.

Why should we use plant biotechnology?

Future farming system.

Homo sapiens has altered Earth environments since its emergence as a species – probably as other species did, since life and environment are one. Environmental perturbations caused by humankind have evolved continuously since the beginning of civilization some 12,000 years ago. But, in the past century or two, we have changed ecosystems with such intensity, on such a scale, and such speed that a new geological era, the Anthropocene, has been proposed. The impact of mankind in Earth ecosystems is destabilizing the warm period of the past 10-12 millennia (Holocene), which is the only state of the planet that we know for sure can support contemporary human societies ( Crutzen, 2002 ). As the global population expands to 10billion people, the pace of change is faster than ever before. There is an urgent need of a paradigm shift to maintain Earth in a safely operating space for humanity and for the millions of species with which we share this home. The dramatic negative impact that the massive scale of deforestation has caused not only to the habitat for millions of species, but also in overshooting key Earth system parameters ( Steffen et al. , 2015 ). Undeniably, deforestation and intensive agriculture with `traditional’ crops are major human risk factors pushing the Earth system beyond the bounds of safety.

Although our inventiveness is the driver of the global problems we face, it is also the source of innovative solutions. The United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development represents an important framework for tackling challenges. The UN 2030 agenda acknowledges that sustainable development goals (SDGs) cannot progress without strong engagement by science. Indeed, the robust knowledge-creation of the recent decades shows that science is accelerating its pace to bring the solutions that society is asking for. The transformative steps which are needed to shift the world onto a sustainable and resilient path need not leave anyone behind. The engagement by science - including the economic and social sciences - in the SDGs must involve all countries, developed and developing alike (UN Sustainable Developmental Goals).

Agriculture plays a crucial role in the SDGs because it is a main human activity that permeates most of the SDGs, from hunger and malnutrition to poverty alleviation, education, gender equality, water use, energy use, sustainable consumption and production, climate change, and ecosystem management. Agriculture acts as an engine of overall economic growth and development in many economies, notably in Least Developed Countries, where the majority of the poor are rural people. Global agriculture has been successful in providing sufficient food for expanding populations and their changing consumption patterns over recent decades. Per capita agricultural productivity has outpaced population growth. The steady long-term decline in real commodity prices attests to the success of the current dominant agricultural model. Intensification, rather than the spread of agricultural land, has been the prime driver of global agriculture productivity since the mid twentieth century ( Pretty and Bharucha, 2014 ). Agriculture intensification was the only way forward, with the scientific knowledge then available, to cope with the dramatical rise in population in recent centuries. Between 1900 and 2000, the increase in world population was three times greater than during the entire previous history of humanity — an increase from 1.5 to 6.1 billion in just 100 years ( Our World in Data ). But this agriculture intensification has been accomplished at great expense to the environment, causing water scarcity, soil degradation, ecosystem stress, biodiversity loss, high levels of greenhouse gas emissions, and a significant decrease in forest cover.

Livestock is the world’s largest user of land resources. Grazing land and cropland dedicated to the production of animal feed represents almost 80% of all agricultural land ( FAO-a ). Agriculture and food production currently account for about 30% of energy consumption and about one-third of greenhouse gases ( FAO-b ). Agriculture also accounts for 40% of the Earth’s land surface, 70% of the world’s fresh water, with predictions that irrigation demands will increase by up to 100% by 2050 ( UN Sustainable Developmental Goals ). During the 20th century, the area under irrigation and the number of agricultural machines grew about two-fold, fertilizer consumption by four-fold, and nitrogen fertilizers by seven-fold ( Pretty and Bharucha, 2014 ). The world consumed 186.67 million tons of fertilizers in 2016 ( FAO-c ), and about 6.8 million tons of pesticides in 2017 ( IndexBox ). Global fertilizers and agricultural chemicals manufacturing industry reached a revenue of $ 377 billion in 2018 ( IbisWorld ). Meanwhile, programs to control exposures to pesticides are limited or non-existent in several developing countries and as many as 25 million agricultural workers worldwide experience unintentional pesticide poisonings each year ( Alavanja, 2009 ).

Allow me here a few words about glyphosate, the world’s most widely used active ingredient in herbicides and possibly the most heavily debated plant protection product. Recently, both EU and US biosafety agencies, concluded that human health risk levels associated with glyphosate exposure from food, drinking water, and residential sources are below levels of concern. Notwithstanding, both in Europe and the United States, these decisions were met by expressed public concerns about the possible risks of chemical exposures and the role of large multinational companies ( van Straalen and Legler, 2018 ). Glyphosate illustrates a fundamental societal issue. Concerns about the control of food system by big agrobusiness companies influence people’s acceptance of scientific facts that attest to the safety of the product, and blinds some to the benefits of glyphosate for the environment. Anyway, the intensive agriculture concept of “getting more for more” – i.e., to produce as much biomass as possible with vast monocultures dependent on irrigation systems, fertilizers, and pesticides – is not acceptable any more. Yet transformation of agriculture is likely to be the greatest challenge of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Debates over the future of agriculture are being framed in two different ways: organic agriculture and sustainable intensification of agriculture. Organic farming relies on the use of natural inputs and ecological processes to make farms more sustainable, and deliberately excludes the use of external chemical inputs, such as fertilizers and synthetic pesticides, as well as GM crops. Organic agriculture practices are followed by 2.4 million farmers in about 87 countries that observe some sort of regulation or certification. It accounts to only 1.1% of the global agricultural land ( Willer and Lernoud, 2017 ). Sustainable intensification (SI) takes the best idea of both conventional agriculture and organic farming. SI emphasizes the use of locally adapted management systems and gives preference to in-farm inputs ( Timsina, 2018 ).

The potential for organic agriculture to feed the world is very debatable. Comparisons of yield data between organic and conventional agriculture report a lower yield for organic agriculture from 8% to 50% (reviewed by Timsina, 2018 ). Some studies suggest that adoption of organic agriculture under conditions of optimal performance might close the yield gap between organic and conventional crops. But these findings have been fiercely refuted by numerous scientists who claim faulty methodology. According to Connor (2018) , “ one limitation alone, however, is sufficient to disqualify the notion of feeding the world organically, and that is the supply of nitrogen (N). ” The replacement of soil N removed by the product cannot be postponed without yield penalty. In organic fields, N must be supplied by in situ biological N fixation (BNF) of intercropped/rotated legumes and by ex situ BNF through use of organic material (manures, crops residues, green manures, bio fertilizers, etc.). Advocates of organic fertilizer often claim that there is enough organic material to supply the amounts as per the crop demand for high yield. The facts, though, are a bit different. First, organic materials are not universally available in large quantities. Second, when estimating organic productivity, organic farming supporters do not properly acknowledge the land that must be allocated – to both in situ and ex situ BNF - to supply nitrogen for the growth of non-legume crops. Alas, Lavoisier’s law also applies here. The data available clearly suggest that extra land and water would be needed if such sources of N were to be promoted ( Timsina, 2018 ). By using more land to produce the same yield, current organic practices may ultimately accrue larger environmental costs.

The SI strategy is “to get more from less”. It seeks to produce the biomass needed by the growing human population on less land, with less adverse impact on the environment. SI does not specify particular technologies or practices. In particular, it focuses on increasing yields of farmland as a way to spare forest and other uncultivated land. A recent comprehensive study of the effect of land sparing that includes 17 organizations around the world concluded that more intensive agriculture that uses less land can be one way forward. The study found that inorganic nitrogen improved yields without increasing greenhouse gas. Intensification also produces fewer pollutants, causes less soil loss, and consumes less water ( Balmford et al. , 2018 ). A global assessment for SI estimates that 163 million farms (29% of all worldwide) is practicing some form of SI on 453 Mha of agricultural land (9% of worldwide total) ( Pretty et al. , 2018 ). Yet, SI acknowledges that there is no perfect solution due to the multi-objective nature of sustainability. The process is dynamic, and the technologies and practices will not fit everywhere and forever. For example, population growth is shifting to Africa that is projected to equal the Asian population in 2100 ( United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, 2017 ). Africa needs new sustainable intensification approaches to deal with the challenge of feeding an exponentially growing population. The solution will not come only from new management strategies. It is clear that the use of proper crop variety is the ultimate solution. Improved crop varieties suited to local conditions and weather extremes, as well as pest and disease resistant cultivars, increase yields and reduce pesticide use. As such, they are indispensable for SI ambition.Plant biotechnology has the tools to tailor crop varieties to the environment and help to meet the goal of producing more food without degrading ecosystems.

Under the umbrella of SI, management systems are developed to build on-farm soil fertility and in situ nutrient application. Sharing crop/pasture land with complementary species that do not compete for resources has been praised as a “win-win” management approach. Trees are ideal partners for crops, because they do not compete for the same source of nutrients. Tree roots go deeper into the soil and get nutrients and water from sources that are unavailable to crop species ( Smith et al. , 2013 ). Well-designed agroforestry systems for sustainable intensification represent indeed an interesting sustainable strategy, particularly in those areas where the need for landscape restoration is associated with the need for increased food and biomass production. A rich scientific literature demonstrates the multiple benefits of this approach (reviewed by Timsina, 2018 ). Agroforestry does not require extra land because trees are planted around and among crops and pastures. Depending upon which woody species are used and how they are managed, agroforestry can build-up on-farm soil fertility, increasing resource-use efficiency, whilst reducing nutrient runoff. Research in Africa has demonstrated that the integration of fertilizer trees and shrubs into conventional agriculture can dramatically enhance soil fertility and food production ( Garrity et al. , 2010 ). Other benefits of agroforestry include more favorable microclimates with enhanced biodiversity and reduced wind velocity, enhanced suppression of insect pests and weeds, decreased levels of soil erosion, increased water infiltration, improved production potential by increasing crop yield, and diversification of production by generating products from the intercropped trees.

Typically, agroforestry is associated with farming in tropical and subtropical arid regions. However, there are also opportunities for agroforestry in temperate regions ( Smith et al. , 2013 ). The challenge lies in the political will to promote the research required to the adoption of agroforestry as a mainstream agricultural management approach. A number of plant biotechnology innovations are ready to boost agroforestry systems, including trees with a variety of GM traits ( ISAAA, 2017 ).

Future food system

Our food system is highly dependent of agriculture. Crop production and livestock provide the vast majority of the diverse, safe, and nutritious foods we need. But the challenge of delivering food and nutrition security for one and all in a sustainable way goes beyond agriculture. It requires wider transformation of the entire food system, from production to consumption. Starting by consumption behaviors: reducing the over-consumption of calorie-dense food will improve the overall sustainability of agriculture and food systems, whilst addressing a major threat to health. Globally, more than 1.9 billion adults, over 340 million children and adolescents aged 5-19, and 41 million children under the age of 5 were overweight or obese in 2016 ( WHO ). Obesity is often associated with low income. A healthy diet has become more expensive and, for poor people, food rich in sugar, fat, and salt is often more accessible than nutritious food. For these people, overconsumption of calories coexists with malnutrition in terms of micronutrients. Obesity is a risk factor for several diseases such as non-communicable diseases (NCDs), diabetes, heart disease, and cancer, with significant consequences for both individual health and public health.

Another issue that needs to be addressed is where the food is produced. Although there is a consensus that per capita agricultural production has outpaced population growth, food is not produced where it is mostly consumed or needed. In 2017, one in nine persons in the world suffered from some form of hunger. The number of stunted children is still “unacceptably high”, in view of the target to reduce stunting by 40% by 2025 ( FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP and WHO, 2018 ). Amelioration of crops that are essential parts of the diet of those who live in poor arid regions can have a major impact on food security. Crops indigenous to these regions have the potential to mitigate the impact of climate change on food production, because they tolerate fluctuations in growing conditions and are resistant to local diseases and pests. Compared to the world’s major crops, indigenous crops are better adapted to their niche environments. However, many of these local varieties are being abandoned by farmers in favor of major crops that are sometimes promoted even in less suitable areas ( Chivenge et al. , 2015 ). Now, triggered by concerns about climate change and the sustainability of food production, these “neglected and underutilized species” or “orphan crops” are receiving the attention they deserve from the research community. Public sector and public-private partnerships, particularly in Africa, are advancing research on orphan crops for nutrition and resilience ( Pretty et al. , 2014 ; Ricroch and Hénard-Damave, 2016 ; De Buck et al. , 2016 ).

Another major hurdle of the current food system is food wastage. According to FAO “ Roughly one third of the food in the world produced for human consumption every year —approximately 1.3 billion tons — gets lost or wasted .” Global loss or waste estimates are: 30% of cereals production, 20% of dairy products, 35% of fish and seafood, 20% of meat, 20% of all oilseeds and pulses, and 45% of roots, tubers, fruits and vegetables ( FAO, 2013 ). These values are important. Minimization of food losses could indeed be of great help in achieving global food security. A number of GM traits have been developed that improve food storage stability in crops, e.g., oxidative browning was reduced in potatoes and apples by downregulation of the polyphenol oxidase gene ( Bachem et al. , 1994 ; Maxmen, 2017 ); GM tomato with high-level polyphenol accumulation presented extended shelf life and decreased susceptibility to grey mould, Botrytis cinerea ( Zhang et al. , 2013 ); actually the first commercialized transgenic product, tomato FLAVR SAVR was designed to delay fruit softening by silencing of the polygalacturonase gene.

Food loss or waste arises at all phases of the food supply chains, from harvest, post-harvest, and processing, to marketing, retail, and consumption stages. The uneaten food accounts for about 8% of the greenhouse gas emissions. The pattern of food waste is different between high- and low-income regions. While in high income countries food waste is higher at the processing, distribution, and consumption stage, in low income countries, food losses occur primarily at production and post-harvest phases, i.e., from harvesting to marketing ( FAO, 2013 ).

Developed regions, such as the European Union (EU), are more concerned in reducing food waste at an extended post-harvest stage, i.e., losses between harvest and the time of consumption. These are substantial losses, ranging from 5-10% to more than 50%, depending on output and geographical area. The causes of the loss vary from improper or inadequate handling, threshing, drying, cleaning, or processing, or because of faulty or deficient storage, transporting, or packaging of the food ( Global Knowledge Initiative, 2017 ). Strategies to solve these problems are relatively simple and require no or few innovative inputs. They are considered “low hanging fruit” and are being prioritized in EU countries. This approach can also be useful for low income countries. Public and private sectors are cooperating to bring practices, protocols, and cold-chain equipment to less developed countries. However, we cannot forget that low-income regions suffer more from losses at stages of harvest and strict post-harvest, i.e., between the harvesting and marketing. Plant biotechnology innovations that could bring solutions to reduce losses during harvest and post-harvest are being overlooked because “ it is still a sensitive subject with no political clarity ” ( Global Knowledge Initiative, 2017 ). This is a regrettable mistake.

The role of science in a global and intercultural world

In my view there are three major forces that shape our modern world: science, economy, and society. These forces are intertwined and interdependent. Science is the driver of innovation, which in turn is the central force of a society’s economic transformation. Society defines science priorities and pushes innovation forward (or backward). Our modern multicultural society is fashioned by individuals whose attitudes are shaped by core values of what is considered good or bad, acceptable or unacceptable, desirable or undesirable. Values are learned ideas that are molded by different forces, including family, history, education system, religion, media, and economics. Core values of a culture do not change quickly or easily, they are passed on from generation to generation. Paraphrasing Haidt (2012) core values `bind and blind’. Beyond behaviors and practices that are apparent to the casual observer (e.g., language, food, flags, festivals, and aesthetics), core values shape the concept of self, morality, beliefs, and the decision-making capacity of an individual. I wonder if educational systems have been efficient in drawing attention to the value of scientific reasoning in shaping core values.

In debates about the proper place of science in society, we often hear arguments that the scientific method has its limits and that methods employed in the humanities or in philosophy are the best tools to understand society ( Boudry and Pigliucci, 2017 ). I sustain the controversial view that scientific reasoning is the only worthwhile mode of inquiry and, by its very essence, it cannot overstep its proper limits. Scientific reasoning is built upon principles of re-evaluation and questioning of authority. Scientific progress hinges on continual discovery and the extension of previous discoveries. When a new and better methodology is established, a prevailing hypothesis is questioned again in the light of new tools. Scientific theories change with adequate reasoning and verifiable evidence, and previous discoveries serve as the basis for subsequent breakthroughs. So, if a given problem cannot be approached by verifiable evidence, science does not have a word to say. But it is never definitive. If a new method is suitable to revisit a given empirical hypothesis, science is up to tackle the subject. In that way, as science progresses and new techniques are developed, science, without overstepping its limits, can study disciplines that before were approached only through empirical knowledge.

Indeed, I argue that scientific methods used in the life science can bring great contribution to the social sciences, as the latter deal ultimately with human beings. The enormous progress that we are witnessing in neurobiology and cognitive sciences is unravelling the mystery of consciousness and is starting to reveal how nature and nurture shape our feelings and the making of cultures. This realization had already begun by the end of the nineteenth century. Several scientists, among them, Darwin, James, Freud, and Durkheim have acknowledged the role of biology in the shaping of cultural events. The field of evolutionary psychology is now shedding new light on the biological transmission of culture-related traits. ( Damasio, 2018 ).

Compelling scientific evidence in neuroscience and psychology indicate that emotions play a major role in decision-making. Patients suffering injuries in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, which is involved in the interaction of emotion and cognition, have both reduced abilities to feel emotions and difficulty in making optimal decisions ( Damasio, 1994 ; Bechara et al. , 1999 ). The psychological field of affective science have provided strong evidence that emotions influence the processes of decision making in a manner that is neither random nor epiphenomenal, and that emotions constitute powerful and predictable drivers of decision making. Current opinion among psychologists suggests that emotions influence decision-making via changes in both the content and depth of thought, as well as in the content of implicit goals (reviewed by Lerner et al. , 2015 ). Emotions per se are probably not detrimental to decision-making; sometimes they are helpful. Whether a specific emotion ultimately improves or degrades a specific judgment or decision depends on how it interacts with the processes of thinking. One current theory proposes that human decision-making operates in two parallel but linked thinking processes – System 1 and System 2. System 1 operates very quickly with little conscious awareness. Generally, this method consists of systematic simplifications and deviations that are largely on the basis of pattern-matching, associative memory, assumptions, and emotion. Most of the time we use System 1, as it helps us to gather information quickly, being very useful for managing the sheer number of decisions we take daily. The System 2 cognitive process is slower, more logical and deliberative. It recalls previous information and weighs the strength of variables before coming to a decision ( Kahneman, 2012 ). Emotions are elicited rapidly and can trigger swift action, consistent with System 1. But some emotions (e.g., sadness) can trigger System 2.

I like to call the mental shortcuts that help us gather information and make decisions quickly as our ‘innate intelligence’ by analogy to ‘innate immunity’. Innate intelligence is experienced but not well studied. Innate intelligence is based on ancient knowledge, which is not acquired through experience. Ancient knowledge is our innate ability of combining pattern-matching and associative memories with feelings generated by negative. as well as positive emotions. Innate intelligence was crucial to the survival of early humans because it assisted our species in finding food and recognizing predators in savannas and jungles. Today, our innate intelligence can be a handicap when we have to make decisions on how to keep our society nourished, healthy, and at peace whilst maintaining the Earth System within its boundaries.

The human thinking system is part of human biology and cannot be updated as easily as computers operating system, at least not with today’s scientific knowledge. We cannot have a healthy life without emotions. But we can try to keep our thinking processes out of the control of emotions, so that our decisions are less prone to biases. This is indeed critical in our `post-truth society’ where emotion and personal beliefs are more influential in shaping public opinion than are objective facts. Peoples’ fears are being manipulated by dishonest people who are using digital tools to spread superficial and fake news at a scale and speed never seen before. One dramatic example is the reckless spread of false claims and half-truths of today’s populists, which is damaging the democratic system in Europe and in the Americas ( Wodak, 2015 ). People’s attitudes towards plant biotechnology is another example on how dishonest activists and problematic scientific dissidents are tapping into people’s emotion and intuitive preferences to spread unsubstantiated negative representations of GMOs ( Blancke et al. , 2015 ). This is not only a challenge for scientists, but also for policy makers and society as a whole.

Irrational feelings are nourished by ignorance, which is an easy prey to intellectual dishonesty. When ideological views are contradicted by the consensus of scientific opinion regarding the evidence, it is all too common for ill-informed people to reject the science, particularly if they have been under the pressure of a massive marketing campaign ( Van Montagu, 2016 ). Decisions on the use of technologies must be taken on the basis of serious scientific peer-reviewed analysis of risks and benefits. If society cannot make factual decisions, monetary greed, ideological dogmas, and myths will take over.

Concluding remarks

It is acknowledged that the degraded state of nature is the outcome of the dramatic population increase. There we are, and there is no way back. Human ingenuity is the cause, human ingenuity will have to find the remedies. Science has provided many tools to help humanity to reduce global environmental risks and promote global sustainability. But science alone will not solve problems and shape the future. The three pillars that sustain human civilization – society, science and the economy - must be in correct symmetry and based upon solid ethical and moral grounds; there is no place for nationalistic, xenophobic, racist, and anti-science rhetoric.

We have witnessed, in the case of plant biotech in Europe, situations that illustrate the imbalance of the three pillars and the poor quality of the soil of values on which our societies rests: Society, through governments, financed knowledge creation in public research institutions, which allowed industry to deliver GM crops to the market. But while industry favored products that were the most profitable for the commercial producer, numerous innovations with clear benefits to the public in general where kept on the shelf at public institutions due to lack of industrial partners. In a number of cases, industry acquired start-ups, frequently spin-offs of public sector research, with the purpose of phasing out innovations that could compete with industry’s own products. The lack of products that bring clear benefit to the consumer generated uneasiness among the public, which was susceptible to campaigns, claiming that GM products were not safe, and asking for strict regulations for planting and marketing GM foods. This severely limited others from entering the market because of expensive or impossible hurdles to the entry of new GM products. Only the holders of the patents to the few early GM products were able to continue to sell their few products. The consequent monopoly of GM seeds by transnational agrobusiness companies accrued the campaign of ideology groups, which in turn lobbied with politics to ban the cultivation of GM crops in EU. The political decision triggered the shrinking of public funds for research on plant biotechnology, severely delaying the development of innovations that are badly needed to promote agricultural sustainability.

The above example shows that the same technology that fosters development can also become the source inertia. Avoiding this trap will demand a more enlightened society, able to make its choices on the basis of facts strongly supported by scientific reasoning, not fiction. Our world will continue to evolve. Human progress is inevitable. Today, the whole social arena, be it legal, economy, food system, healthcare, energy, education, etc., is wide open to revolutionary developments. The so-called disruptive technologies, in particular infotech and biotech, have a huge transformative potential. But advances must be accompanied by adaptations in the social, political, and cultural arenas in order to attain the paradigm shift our society calls for. There is a need to reconsider the relationship between market, state, and society. As observed by Mazzucato (2018) , it is critical to acknowledge that it is society through government, not private business, that finances fundamental research and education. The state has often been a tremendous force for technological innovation and radical risk taking. With the financial sector outpacing the growth of industry, and industry maximizing shareholder values at the expense of society, we misidentify who really creates value. Scientific knowledge must be deployed to help in the construction of a better and inclusive future, with healthy and stable economies, fair and well-governed societies, respect for human rights, respect for the environment, and consequently world peace.

Associate Editor: Rogério Margis

Conflict of Interest

The author declares no conflict of interest for the views expressed in this article.

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PhD in Plant Biotechnology: Projects, Fellowships, Positions, Programmes, Scholarships

Find a PhD in plant biotechnology and its related areas in the UK, USA, Europe, Canada, and Australia, New Zealand. Plant biotechnology PhD programs, scholarships, research projects, fellowships, courses, and positions are available in European countries, Germany, Finland, Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Italy, etc. Here you can also find studentships, jobs, courses, offers, and fully funded opportunities for international students abroad.

Fellowships for PhD in Plant Biotechnology

Phd fellowship in environmental biotechnology, university of stavanger, norway, europe, february 5, 2024, ph.d , scholarships.

Last Date: 4th March 2024. Job description The University of Stavanger invites applicants for a PhD Fellowship in Environmental Biotechnology at the Faculty of Science and Technology, Department of Chemistry, Bioscience and Environmental Engineering. The position is vacant from 01.08.2024 and the starting date is no later than 01.11.2024. This is a …

Research Assistant/Associate (Fixed Term), Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Cambridge, Trinity Lane, UK

February 2, 2024, the uni jobs.

Last Date: March 10, 2024. The BioNano Engineering group, headed by Dr. Ljiljana Fruk (fruk-lab.com), is looking for an outstanding postdoctoral research associate for a project focused on development of strategies to enable improved binding of natural plant-based pigments to cellulosic fibres. This position is funded by BBSRC Prosperity Partnership …

Research Assistant in Biochemistry, Durham University, England, UK

December 15, 2023.

Last Date: 09-Jan-2024. The University At Durham University we are proud of our people.  A globally outstanding centre of educational excellence, a collegiate community of extraordinary people, a unique and historic setting – Durham is a university like no other. We believe that inspiring our people to do outstanding things …

Trainee / Research Assistant, part-time (Photo-e-Microbes project), 1-2 persons, University of Turku, Finland, Europe

November 9, 2023.

Last Date: 20 November 2023. The Photo-e-Microbes project (funder: Novo Nordisk Foundation, principal investigator: Dr Laura Wey, project duration: October 2023 – September 2026) at the Molecular Plant Biology unit, Department of Life Technologies, University of Turku is looking for a Trainee or a Research Assistant to study exoelectrogenesis of …

PhD Ecotoxicology Investigation of the bioavailability and effects of legacy and emerging PFAS on terrestrial organisms under laboratory and field conditions, University of Antwerp, Belgium, Europe

June 29, 2023.

Last Date: July 31 2023. Department: Department of BiologyRegime Full-time The University of Antwerp is a dynamic, forward-thinking, European university. We offer an innovative academic education to more than 20000 students, conduct pioneering scientific research, and play an important service-providing role in society. We are one of the largest, most international, and …

PhD Plant development and Ecotoxicology Investigation of the bioavailability and effects of legacy and emerging PFAS on terrestrial plants, University of Antwerp, Belgium, Europe

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Plant Biotechnology

Plant biotechnology: why plants represent ‘untapped potential’ for innovative drug discovery.

The field of medicine has come a long way from using heroin as a cough remedy or magnet therapy to improve blood flow. These outdated methods were put to bed decades ago. But there are plenty of ancient medicinal practices that have stood the test of time. In fact, many of the life-saving pharmaceuticals we rely on today are derived from plants first discovered by indigenous communities.

Ethnobotany is the scientific study of traditional plant knowledge. It’s what gave us morphine, aspirin, and ephedrine, to name a few. And there is still untapped potential.

In a paper published on Tuesday in Trends in Biotechnology , Northeastern University doctoral candidate John de la Parra described a new field called ethnophytotechnology. It’s the use of plant biotechnology to improve the plant-based drug discovery pipeline.

“New production, engineering, and analysis methods have made it easier to meet scientific challenges that have confronted traditionally used plant-derived medicines,” said de la Parra, PhD’18, who is earning his doctorate in chemistry. “It is our hope that as the field expands, rich troves of indigenous knowledge can find prominence within innovative drug discovery and production platforms.”

In collaboration with Cassandra Leah Quave, a medical ethnobotanist at Emory University, de la Parra examines the vast opportunities for ethnobotany and ethnophytotechnology to promote new drug discovery and solve health challenges. Here, he and Quave take a deeper dive into their recent paper.

You mentioned that traditional plant knowledge has been the foundation of some important medicines. Could you share some examples?

de la Parra: Plants have given us some of our oldest and most important medicines and there are countless examples, from aspirin to the chemotherapy drug Paclitaxel, crossing cultures across the world. Historically, to practice medicine or pharmacy has usually meant, in some regard, to be a botanist.

An interesting place to start is by looking at diseases that we know existed in the ancient world and still persist today. Take malaria for example. An extract from the bark of the cinchona tree was traditionally used to treat victims of this parasitic disease. Chemists then isolated quinine from this plant and until fairly recently, quinine derivatives were our most important anti-malarial drugs. However, the isolation of this type of single molecule treatment led to the rise of quinine-resistant malaria. Luckily, traditional plant knowledge came to the rescue with artemisinin. This compound was discovered by 2015 Nobel laureate Tu Youyou when she consulted a nearly 2,000-year-old Chinese medicinal text that described methods to extract the plant  Artemisia annua.

The paper suggests that using indigenous knowledge for drug development is more important now than ever. Why is that?

de la Parra: There are many reasons why plant medicine is so important right now. Cassandra’s work has focused on the alarming rise of drug-resistant infections—infections for which we have no effective treatments. Plant-derived drugs present the potential for novel drug scaffolds that often have a history of safe and effective usage.

I tend to think about my work from a broad perspective. A rapidly expanding global population with ever-growing economic disparity has led to shocking inequalities in medical treatment. In the West, pharmaceutical companies have focused more on diseases of the affluent—chronic diseases—and less on improving treatments for acute infections that tend to affect the developing world. Many of these areas of the world also rely on traditional plant treatments. Ethnophytotechnology is a chance for combined expertise—the West’s mechanization and biotechnology strengths combined with the developing world’s thousands of years of rich ethnobotanical knowledge—to find and develop effective drugs for otherwise neglected diseases. This is all at a time when we see those same diseases spreading around the world despite our artificial borders—think of Zika, Ebola, and Chagas disease for instance.

Quave: We’re entering into a new era of medicine—one in which previously useful antibiotic compounds are losing their ability to effectively treat microbial infections. Although we’ve recently come to rely more and more on synthetic chemistry for the generation of medically important drugs, humankind shares a long and extensive history in which nature was the major source of cures for various maladies. The advantages of ethnophytotechnological innovation, represented by the merger of traditional knowledge with technological advancement, will be an increased ability to tap into nature’s resources to sustainably produce large quantities of novel chemical entities to fill the drug discovery pipeline in the future and better address emerging medical needs.

How can it be assured that indigenous populations and practices are not damaged by the biomedical field?

de la Parra: As an ethnobotanist, someone whose concern is the honoring and preservation of human plant knowledge, this is a huge and primary concern. First it must be acknowledged that the historical record is full of accounts of how many indigenous communities have been preyed upon, destroyed, and systematically dismantled by greedy interests. Then, the international community must agree upon and enforce regulations to protect indigenous people, knowledge, and culture. The Nagoya Protocol is an important first step for individual researchers and corporations to follow, even if one’s home country is not a signatory. It sets forth important standards for researchers and protections for indigenous communities.

Why did you get into this type of research? What is your inspiration for pursuing ethnobotany and ethnophytotechnology?

de la Parra: I grew up on a farm in Alabama where we lived closely with plants and relied on them for many things. I remember being fascinated by my grandmother’s use of plants as medicine. As I began my academic pursuits I often felt that the scientific community was skeptical of the idea of plant-derived medicine. And truthfully, there has been a lot of misinformation disseminated about plant remedies. Biotechnology provides the rigor, accuracy, and reproducibility to help dispel scientific apprehension about plant-derived treatments and that’s why I work at the interface of ethnobotany and biotechnology.

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The Department of Plant Sciences is an outstanding University Centre for research in plant and microbial sciences. It offers unrivalled research and training opportunities in the following areas of plant and microbial science:

• Cell function & responses to the environment
• Developmental biology & signalling
• Genetics and epigenetics
• Ecosystem function and conservation
• Evolution and diversity
• Microbiology & biotic interactions
• Plant pathology and epidemiology
• Systems and mathematical biology
• Enhancing photosynthesis
• Biotechnology and engineering

The Crop Science Centre is an alliance between the University of Cambridge’s Department of Plant Sciences and the crop research organisation NIAB. The Centre will serve as a global hub for crop science research and a base for collaborations with research partners around the world. 

The degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) is the University's principal research degree. A PhD in Plant Sciences takes three to four years of full-time study to complete and consists of research and courses as required under academic supervision. Applicants should contact a potential supervisor before proceeding with their PhD application. You can browse the personal/group pages of the  Research Group Leaders  to check details of their research.

The aim of PhD training is to develop both a deep theoretical and practical understanding through research into aspects of Plant Sciences, augmented by appropriate lecture courses delivered within the Department, or more generally across the Postgraduate School of Life Sciences.

The course provides training in a wide range of disciplines, which can include plant genetic engineering, plant development, plant molecular biology, plant biophysics, plant biochemistry, plant-microbe interactions, algal microbiology, plant ecology, crop biology, plant virology, plant epigenetics, epidemiology, plant taxonomy, plant physiology, eco-physiology and bioinformatics.

Having identified a research area of interest and contacted the appropriate supervisor, the first stage in developing an application should be to draft an appropriate research summary of the training to be undertaken.

Full-time PhD students must submit a thesis for examination by the end of their fourth year of study, although we encourage students and their supervisors to complete the thesis and submit within the period of funding support which, depending on the programme, may range from three to four years.

All postgraduate students attend induction and safety training courses in the Department.  

As well as undertaking their research, students will attend courses and lectures on some of the following: instrumentation, sequencing and database use, statistics, experimental design, analysing data, writing reports and a thesis, and how to give effective scientific presentations. Students are expected to take part in the Postgraduate School of Life Sciences' Researcher Development Programme . 

Students receive termly reports on their work.

Learning Outcomes

The primary outcomes from successfully completing a PhD include expertise in:

• specialist training in experimental or theoretical methods;
• an ability to analyse relevant literature and apply to the development of innovative research;
• capacity to develop and apply data abstraction and analytical procedures with an appropriate level of statistical validation;
• independence in designing and conducting original research, and preparing that data in a format suitable for publication in peer-reviewed journals;
• enhanced organisational skills, in terms of time management, good laboratory practices, safety and planning a specific programme of research.

The overall outcome should ensure that a PhD candidate is well-prepared to undertake additional independent research, whether as a continuation in their existing research field or applying their expertise and understanding in a new field. PhD candidates will also have a good grounding in the collation and organisation of research for reports or peer-reviewed papers, and so should be prepared either for a career in academia or more applied fields.

To assist in the delivery of these learning outcomes, assessment of an individual PhD candidate's progress is made via a standard series of review protocols including the drafting of a project proposal after four weeks, delivery of a seminar, and preparation of a thesis plan and outline four months in advance of the due submission date.

As a PhD student, you must keep a separate training log, in which you will record all seminars and lectures attended and given, training undertaken, the highlights of your research work, and your notes of discussions with your supervisor(s). This log will be quite distinct from your laboratory notebook(s) which should contain all the details of your research work.

The PhD thesis has a word limit set at 60,000 words (80,000 by special permission), exclusive of tables, footnotes, bibliography, and appendices. 

The PhD provides specialist training in scientific methodology relevant to the project subject area and based on the expertise of the supervisor and research group. This training also enables students from other scientific areas to proceed in a career in plant sciences and other allied areas. General training is also available and includes courses and lectures in instrumentation, sequencing and database use, statistics, experimental design, analysing data, writing reports and a thesis, and how to give effective scientific presentations. 

The Postgraduate Virtual Open Day usually takes place at the end of October. It’s a great opportunity to ask questions to admissions staff and academics, explore the Colleges virtually, and to find out more about courses, the application process and funding opportunities. Visit the  Postgraduate Open Day  page for more details.

See further the  Postgraduate Admissions Events  pages for other events relating to Postgraduate study, including study fairs, visits and international events.

Key Information

3-4 years full-time, 4-7 years part-time, study mode : research, doctor of philosophy, department of plant sciences, course - related enquiries, application - related enquiries, course on department website, dates and deadlines:, lent 2024 (closed).

Some courses can close early. See the Deadlines page for guidance on when to apply.

Easter 2024 (Closed)

Michaelmas 2024, easter 2025, funding deadlines.

These deadlines apply to applications for courses starting in Michaelmas 2024, Lent 2025 and Easter 2025.

Similar Courses

• Biological Science (Plant Sciences) by thesis MPhil

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Contribution of Modern Plant Biotechnology in Promoting Human Health, Nutrition, and Biopharmaceutical Development

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About this Research Topic

Plants offer a vast source of natural bioactive compounds with the potential to improve human health through the prevention and/or treatment of disease. Further, many secondary metabolites have bioactivities that are exploited in a wide variety of applications ranging from medicinal, cosmeceutical, and ...

Keywords : heterologous production, high valued secondary metabolites, metabolic engineering, molecular farming, synthetic biology, engineering biosynthetic pathways, CRISPR/Cas9.

Important Note : All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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200+ Biotechnology Research Topics: Let’s Shape the Future

In the dynamic landscape of scientific exploration, biotechnology stands at the forefront, revolutionizing the way we approach healthcare, agriculture, and environmental sustainability. This interdisciplinary field encompasses a vast array of research topics that hold the potential to reshape our world. 

In this blog post, we will delve into the realm of biotechnology research topics, understanding their significance and exploring the diverse avenues that researchers are actively investigating.

Overview of Biotechnology Research

Table of Contents

Biotechnology, at its core, involves the application of biological systems, organisms, or derivatives to develop technologies and products for the benefit of humanity. 

The scope of biotechnology research is broad, covering areas such as genetic engineering, biomedical engineering, environmental biotechnology, and industrial biotechnology. Its interdisciplinary nature makes it a melting pot of ideas and innovations, pushing the boundaries of what is possible.

How to Select The Best Biotechnology Research Topics?

• Identify Your Interests

Start by reflecting on your own interests within the broad field of biotechnology. What aspects of biotechnology excite you the most? Identifying your passion will make the research process more engaging.

• Stay Informed About Current Trends

Keep up with the latest developments and trends in biotechnology. Subscribe to scientific journals, attend conferences, and follow reputable websites to stay informed about cutting-edge research. This will help you identify gaps in knowledge or areas where advancements are needed.

• Consider Societal Impact

Evaluate the potential societal impact of your chosen research topic. How does it contribute to solving real-world problems? Biotechnology has applications in healthcare, agriculture, environmental conservation, and more. Choose a topic that aligns with the broader goal of improving quality of life or addressing global challenges.

• Assess Feasibility and Resources

Evaluate the feasibility of your research topic. Consider the availability of resources, including laboratory equipment, funding, and expertise. A well-defined and achievable research plan will increase the likelihood of successful outcomes.

• Explore Innovation Opportunities

Look for opportunities to contribute to innovation within the field. Consider topics that push the boundaries of current knowledge, introduce novel methodologies, or explore interdisciplinary approaches. Innovation often leads to groundbreaking discoveries.

• Consult with Mentors and Peers

Seek guidance from mentors, professors, or colleagues who have expertise in biotechnology. Discuss your research interests with them and gather insights. They can provide valuable advice on the feasibility and significance of your chosen topic.

• Balance Specificity and Breadth

Strike a balance between biotechnology research topics that are specific enough to address a particular aspect of biotechnology and broad enough to allow for meaningful research. A topic that is too narrow may limit your research scope, while one that is too broad may lack focus.

• Consider Ethical Implications

Be mindful of the ethical implications of your research. Biotechnology, especially areas like genetic engineering, can raise ethical concerns. Ensure that your chosen topic aligns with ethical standards and consider how your research may impact society.

• Evaluate Industry Relevance

Consider the relevance of your research topic to the biotechnology industry. Industry-relevant research has the potential for practical applications and may attract funding and collaboration opportunities.

• Stay Flexible and Open-Minded

Be open to refining or adjusting your research topic as you delve deeper into the literature and gather more information. Flexibility is key to adapting to new insights and developments in the field.

200+ Biotechnology Research Topics: Category-Wise

Genetic engineering.

• CRISPR-Cas9: Recent Advances and Applications
• Gene Editing for Therapeutic Purposes: Opportunities and Challenges
• Precision Medicine and Personalized Genomic Therapies
• Genome Sequencing Technologies: Current State and Future Prospects
• Synthetic Biology: Engineering New Life Forms
• Genetic Modification of Crops for Improved Yield and Resistance
• Ethical Considerations in Human Genetic Engineering
• Gene Therapy for Neurological Disorders
• Epigenetics: Understanding the Role of Gene Regulation
• CRISPR in Agriculture: Enhancing Crop Traits

Biomedical Engineering

• Tissue Engineering: Creating Organs in the Lab
• 3D Printing in Biomedical Applications
• Advances in Drug Delivery Systems
• Nanotechnology in Medicine: Theranostic Approaches
• Bioinformatics and Computational Biology in Biomedicine
• Wearable Biomedical Devices for Health Monitoring
• Stem Cell Research and Regenerative Medicine
• Precision Oncology: Tailoring Cancer Treatments
• Biomaterials for Biomedical Applications
• Biomechanics in Biomedical Engineering

Environmental Biotechnology

• Bioremediation of Polluted Environments
• Waste-to-Energy Technologies: Turning Trash into Power
• Sustainable Agriculture Practices Using Biotechnology
• Bioaugmentation in Wastewater Treatment
• Microbial Fuel Cells: Harnessing Microorganisms for Energy
• Biotechnology in Conservation Biology
• Phytoremediation: Plants as Environmental Cleanup Agents
• Aquaponics: Integration of Aquaculture and Hydroponics
• Biodiversity Monitoring Using DNA Barcoding
• Algal Biofuels: A Sustainable Energy Source

Industrial Biotechnology

• Enzyme Engineering for Industrial Applications
• Bioprocessing and Bio-manufacturing Innovations
• Industrial Applications of Microbial Biotechnology
• Bio-based Materials: Eco-friendly Alternatives
• Synthetic Biology for Industrial Processes
• Metabolic Engineering for Chemical Production
• Industrial Fermentation: Optimization and Scale-up
• Biocatalysis in Pharmaceutical Industry
• Advanced Bioprocess Monitoring and Control
• Green Chemistry: Sustainable Practices in Industry

Emerging Trends in Biotechnology

• CRISPR-Based Diagnostics: A New Era in Disease Detection
• Neurobiotechnology: Advancements in Brain-Computer Interfaces
• Advances in Nanotechnology for Healthcare
• Computational Biology: Modeling Biological Systems
• Organoids: Miniature Organs for Drug Testing
• Genome Editing in Non-Human Organisms
• Biotechnology and the Internet of Things (IoT)
• Exosome-based Therapeutics: Potential Applications
• Biohybrid Systems: Integrating Living and Artificial Components
• Metagenomics: Exploring Microbial Communities

Ethical and Social Implications

• Ethical Considerations in CRISPR-Based Gene Editing
• Privacy Concerns in Personal Genomic Data Sharing
• Biotechnology and Social Equity: Bridging the Gap
• Dual-Use Dilemmas in Biotechnological Research
• Informed Consent in Genetic Testing and Research
• Accessibility of Biotechnological Therapies: Global Perspectives
• Human Enhancement Technologies: Ethical Perspectives
• Biotechnology and Cultural Perspectives on Genetic Modification
• Social Impact Assessment of Biotechnological Interventions
• Intellectual Property Rights in Biotechnology

Computational Biology and Bioinformatics

• Machine Learning in Biomedical Data Analysis
• Network Biology: Understanding Biological Systems
• Structural Bioinformatics: Predicting Protein Structures
• Data Mining in Genomics and Proteomics
• Systems Biology Approaches in Biotechnology
• Comparative Genomics: Evolutionary Insights
• Bioinformatics Tools for Drug Discovery
• Cloud Computing in Biomedical Research
• Artificial Intelligence in Diagnostics and Treatment
• Computational Approaches to Vaccine Design

Health and Medicine

• Vaccines and Immunotherapy: Advancements in Disease Prevention
• CRISPR-Based Therapies for Genetic Disorders
• Infectious Disease Diagnostics Using Biotechnology
• Telemedicine and Biotechnology Integration
• Biotechnology in Rare Disease Research
• Gut Microbiome and Human Health
• Precision Nutrition: Personalized Diets Using Biotechnology
• Biotechnology Approaches to Combat Antibiotic Resistance
• Point-of-Care Diagnostics for Global Health
• Biotechnology in Aging Research and Longevity

Agricultural Biotechnology

• CRISPR and Gene Editing in Crop Improvement
• Precision Agriculture: Integrating Technology for Crop Management
• Biotechnology Solutions for Food Security
• RNA Interference in Pest Control
• Vertical Farming and Biotechnology
• Plant-Microbe Interactions for Sustainable Agriculture
• Biofortification: Enhancing Nutritional Content in Crops
• Smart Farming Technologies and Biotechnology
• Precision Livestock Farming Using Biotechnological Tools
• Drought-Tolerant Crops: Biotechnological Approaches

Biotechnology and Education

• Integrating Biotechnology into STEM Education
• Virtual Labs in Biotechnology Teaching
• Biotechnology Outreach Programs for Schools
• Online Courses in Biotechnology: Accessibility and Quality
• Hands-on Biotechnology Experiments for Students
• Bioethics Education in Biotechnology Programs
• Role of Internships in Biotechnology Education
• Collaborative Learning in Biotechnology Classrooms
• Biotechnology Education for Non-Science Majors
• Addressing Gender Disparities in Biotechnology Education

Funding and Policy

• Government Funding Initiatives for Biotechnology Research
• Private Sector Investment in Biotechnology Ventures
• Impact of Intellectual Property Policies on Biotechnology
• Ethical Guidelines for Biotechnological Research
• Public-Private Partnerships in Biotechnology
• Regulatory Frameworks for Gene Editing Technologies
• Biotechnology and Global Health Policy
• Biotechnology Diplomacy: International Collaboration
• Funding Challenges in Biotechnology Startups
• Role of Nonprofit Organizations in Biotechnological Research

Biotechnology and the Environment

• Biotechnology for Air Pollution Control
• Microbial Sensors for Environmental Monitoring
• Remote Sensing in Environmental Biotechnology
• Climate Change Mitigation Using Biotechnology
• Circular Economy and Biotechnological Innovations
• Marine Biotechnology for Ocean Conservation
• Bio-inspired Design for Environmental Solutions
• Ecological Restoration Using Biotechnological Approaches
• Impact of Biotechnology on Biodiversity
• Biotechnology and Sustainable Urban Development

Biosecurity and Biosafety

• Biosecurity Measures in Biotechnology Laboratories
• Dual-Use Research and Ethical Considerations
• Global Collaboration for Biosafety in Biotechnology
• Security Risks in Gene Editing Technologies
• Surveillance Technologies in Biotechnological Research
• Biosecurity Education for Biotechnology Professionals
• Risk Assessment in Biotechnology Research
• Bioethics in Biodefense Research
• Biotechnology and National Security
• Public Awareness and Biosecurity in Biotechnology

Industry Applications

• Biotechnology in the Pharmaceutical Industry
• Bioprocessing Innovations for Drug Production
• Industrial Enzymes and Their Applications
• Biotechnology in Food and Beverage Production
• Applications of Synthetic Biology in Industry
• Biotechnology in Textile Manufacturing
• Cosmetic and Personal Care Biotechnology
• Biotechnological Approaches in Renewable Energy
• Advanced Materials Production Using Biotechnology
• Biotechnology in the Automotive Industry

Miscellaneous Topics

• DNA Barcoding in Species Identification
• Bioart: The Intersection of Biology and Art
• Biotechnology in Forensic Science
• Using Biotechnology to Preserve Cultural Heritage
• Biohacking: DIY Biology and Citizen Science
• Microbiome Engineering for Human Health
• Environmental DNA (eDNA) for Biodiversity Monitoring
• Biotechnology and Astrobiology: Searching for Life Beyond Earth
• Biotechnology and Sports Science
• Biotechnology and the Future of Space Exploration

Challenges and Ethical Considerations in Biotechnology Research

As biotechnology continues to advance, it brings forth a set of challenges and ethical considerations. Biosecurity concerns, especially in the context of gene editing technologies, raise questions about the responsible use of powerful tools like CRISPR. 

Ethical implications of genetic manipulation, such as the creation of designer babies, demand careful consideration and international collaboration to establish guidelines and regulations. 

Moreover, the environmental and social impact of biotechnological interventions must be thoroughly assessed to ensure responsible and sustainable practices.

Funding and Resources for Biotechnology Research

The pursuit of biotechnology research topics requires substantial funding and resources. Government grants and funding agencies play a pivotal role in supporting research initiatives. 

Simultaneously, the private sector, including biotechnology companies and venture capitalists, invest in promising projects. Collaboration and partnerships between academia, industry, and nonprofit organizations further amplify the impact of biotechnological research.

Future Prospects of Biotechnology Research

As we look to the future, the integration of biotechnology with other scientific disciplines holds immense potential. Collaborations with fields like artificial intelligence, materials science, and robotics may lead to unprecedented breakthroughs. 

The development of innovative technologies and their application to global health and sustainability challenges will likely shape the future of biotechnology.

In conclusion, biotechnology research is a dynamic and transformative force with the potential to revolutionize multiple facets of our lives. The exploration of diverse biotechnology research topics, from genetic engineering to emerging trends like synthetic biology and nanobiotechnology, highlights the breadth of possibilities within this field. 

However, researchers must navigate challenges and ethical considerations to ensure that biotechnological advancements are used responsibly for the betterment of society. 

With continued funding, collaboration, and a commitment to ethical practices, the future of biotechnology research holds exciting promise, propelling us towards a more sustainable and technologically advanced world.

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• PhD applications in Plant Sciences

Plant Sciences

Are you interested in pursuing a PhD in one of Australia’s premier Plant Science departments? Do you want to work in a world-class, culturally diverse, department alongside world-leading researchers and in a vibrant, liveable (non-congested) city? Then check out the Division of Plant Sciences at the ANU.

Our Science : We provide a broad range of outstanding research opportunities in plant biology at ANU and through collaborations with the broader Canberra scientific community (e.g. our CSIRO neighbours). The plant science community is highly interdisciplinary and contains many world leaders. Our research seeks to understand, across a range of scales, the fundamental biological processes that control plant growth, survival and reproduction, and to translate that knowledge in applied outcomes. The department has four interconnected areas of expertise; plant cell signaling and development; photosynthesis and energy; plant-microbe/pathogen interactions; ecophysiology and ecosystem function. Our science seeks to determine how plants function in managed and natural systems. Our expertise spans gene and protein regulation; signaling, metabolism and cell biology; organ, whole plant, forest and ecosystem biology and how to apply these discoveries in innovative Ag-biotech and environmental management applications.

Our staff , together with visiting global experts, provide students with opportunities to work in world renowned research teams and on cutting edge research projects that are directly or indirectly related to problems in Australian and global biotechnology, agriculture and natural ecosystems. Our PhD program enables students to establish contacts with researchers elsewhere in Australia, overseas and with industry – providing stimulating scientific opportunities within a leading research division. Annual graduate student events, conference travel awards, graduate training workshops and a seminar series enrich the student experience.

Our facilities: are modern and cutting edge . Plant sciences students enjoy the finest research facilities available in Australia. In addition to modern research laboratories, there are expansive state-of-the-art plant transformation, culture, and phenotyping facilities; extensive new glasshouse facilities; advanced microscopy, mass spectrometry and next-generation sequencing facilities and an inhouse computing support unit.

Our values : We pride ourselves on providing high-quality supervision and research training to our students. Our PhD students go on to highly productive careers in academia, industry and other professional activities outside of science. We value diversity and inclusivity and have active policies to prevent discrimination. Our faculty and their research teams comprise a thriving community of people from all over the globe and from all walks of life.

Our Location: The ANU is a research-intensive university situated in Canberra, Australia’s capital city. Canberra is a well-resourced regional city (population ~460,000), set amongst beautiful mountains and eucalypt forests. Bike riding and hiking are everyday activities, and we are a two-hour drive away from both winter snowfields and beautiful coastal beaches. Canberra’s birdlife is stunning and its inner city kangaroo population expansive. Despite its regional setting, Canberra is a vibrant, multicultural city and home to many National attractions and centres. There are frequent cultural evenings, festivals, art exhibits, music events, and world-class restaurant and coffee scenes.

If you are interested in doing a PhD : then check out the Prospective supervisors and research area list below. Once you identify a topic of interest, email the lead researcher (prospective supervisor) to find out more detail on what projects are available. In your email attach a copy of your CV, a copy of you academic transcripts (a downloaded “non-official” version is sufficient at this point) and include in the email a few sentences on what your research interests are and what you like about the research area of the prospective supervisor. Once you have organised a project and supervisor you will work with them to write a 1-2 page research project outline that you will need to submit with your application (see below for details on how to apply online). If you are an international student and have the possibility of applying for PhD funding from your home country or other source please ensure you include this information in the initial email to your potential supervisor.

Am I eligible to apply for a PhD? : Entry into the PhD program is open to applicants with a Bachelor degree that have also completed (or are in the process of nearly completing) an Honours or Masters research (as opposed to coursework) degree. The degree must comprise at least a half year, full time research component and a thesis (8,000-10,000+ words). Applicants with significant years of research experience and publications may be deemed eligible if their achievements can be justified as completing a body of independent research equivalent to that of an Honours/Masters research graduate. Ensure you tick the scholarship box in your PhD application to automatically be considered for a stipend scholarship. Stipend scholarships are highly competitive, especially for international students. Only students awarded a 1 st class thesis (or with H1 equivalent research experience) will be considered for an ANU PhD stipend scholarship. An initial evaluation of how competitive you are for a stipend scholarship can be made by sending a copy of your CV and transcript to the Plant Science HDR convenor Professor Spencer Whitney .

How do I apply for a PhD?

The application form is here , along with general information on how to apply and the details about the Doctor of Philosophy program . Applications are due by 15 th April (midyear round for both international and domestic student applications), 31 st August ( international student application round) or 31 st October (domestic student application round). If you have any questions or problems with your application send an email here .

Prospective supervisors and research area

• Atkin Group - Plant respiration in a changing world
• Borevitz Group - Plant genomics for climate adaption
• Byrt Group – Engineering plant membrane proteins and solute transport to increase yield security
• Farquhar Group – Coordination of CO2 fixation and transpiration in plants
• Furbank Group – Improving photosynthesis and crop yield
• Masle Group – Environmental sensing, systematic signalling and development
• Mathesius Group - Root microbe interactions - symbionts to parasites
• Millar Group - Plant RNA biology
• Nicotra Group - Plant physiological ecology, plant evolutionary biology, reproductive ecology
• Pogson Group - Chloroplast to nuclear signalling: light, drought and carotenoids
• Rathjen Group - Plant immunity
• Schwessinger Group - Plants, fungi, evolution
• Solomon Group - Wheat biosecurity
• Whitney Group - Synthetic Photosynthesis - bioengineering enzymes to adjust carbon fixation
• Williams Group - Plant structural immunology

Acknowledgement of Country

The Australian National University acknowledges, celebrates and pays our respects to the Ngunnawal and Ngambri people of the Canberra region and to all First Nations Australians on whose traditional lands we meet and work, and whose cultures are among the oldest continuing cultures in human history.

• Contact ANU
• Freedom of Information

+61 2 6125 5111 The Australian National University, Canberra TEQSA Provider ID: PRV12002 (Australian University) CRICOS Provider : 00120C ABN : 52 234 063 906

PhD in Biology and Biotechnology

As a student in WPI’s PhD in Biology and Biotechnology program, you will benefit from close mentorship by dynamic faculty who encourage creativity and inquisitiveness.

Value Proposition Description

Enabled by a world-class research infrastructure, students in our competitive program explore their passion for discovery while driving cutting-edge, hypothesis-driven research. You will work alongside interdisciplinary teams of WPI faculty, peers, and industry partners to make an impact in your field and explore topics that matter to you, from cancer biology and immunology research to studies of brain plasticity and pollinator decline.

Through our well-rounded PhD in Biology and Biotechnology, you will delve into immersive research in biology and biotechnology while also sharpening your professional and pedagogical knowledge and skills. You will take core courses covering professional ethics, grant writing, and experimental design, and hone your communication skills by participating in department-wide research presentations. You may also take part in supervised teaching experiences and discuss interdisciplinary research initiatives in our Journal Clubs.

Students complete a qualifying exam by the end of the second year of study and round out required coursework with electives. Completion of PhD studies concludes with the preparation of a written thesis and successful oral defense.

To treat many infectious diseases, including the global scourge of tuberculosis, doctors must do battle with a wily adversary, bacteria. Unfortunately for afflicted patients, bacteria have also acquired strategies for thwarting attacks from the immune system and the onslaught of antibiotic drugs. We need to know more about the strategies bacteria use to survive stresses. Biology and biotechnology professor, Scarlet Shell, is seeking to do just that by probing the molecular changes that underlie these mechanisms.

WPI's Department of Biology and Biotechnology is home to a diverse and dynamic faculty body that employs cutting-edge research to explore and understand research topics at the intersection of biology and technology. You will work alongside them as you make your own discoveries in these research areas:

• cancer cell biology
• cognition and behavior
• cytoskeletal dynamics
• drug resistance
• epigenetics and gene regulation
• infectious diseases
• neuronal migration and degeneration
• regenerative medicine
• signal transduction mechanisms

Grad students work closely with faculty and with each other. The opportunity for potential brings new ideas to the forefront and enhances the work everyone does here.

Students in WPI’s BBT program have access to the state-of-the-art labs and multidisciplinary collaborations in the Life Sciences & Bioengineering Center at Gateway Park.

Well-equipped BBT facilities mean you’ll be supported in your research endeavors whether that involves an AAALAC-accredited vivarium with surgical suites, NMR, or a greenhouse.

WPI’s biology and biotechnology graduate degree programs are rigorous yet flexible to provide students with the appropriate backgrounds in both the theory of biology and the practice of biotechnology.

Work in WPI’s biology and biotechnology labs has real-world applications that impacts problems on a human scale.

The BBT program is rigorous, flexible, and comprehensive, so students are prepared for whatever the next step in their career path brings.

PhD candidates are encouraged to review the department's  faculty pages  to identify potential advisors.

You will have access to state-of-the-art equipment in WPI’s Life Sciences and Bioengineering Center, a research complex where an open-plan lab and presence of biotech companies encourage interdisciplinary collaborations. Facilities include an analytical instrumentation core equipped for NMR, Mass Spec, X-Ray Crystal, and qPCR analysis; imaging core with advanced microscopes for point-scanning confocal, spinning disk confocal, and TIRF microscopy; and AAALAC-accredited vivarium.

Faculty Profiles

Work in my lab is focused on defining the cellular mechanisms that maintain genome stability in normal cells and understanding how these pathways are corrupted in cancer cells.

Defining signaling pathways that program cellular diversity is one of the foremost problems in biology and is central to my research interests.  In the lab we use molecular, genetic, and biochemical approaches to characterize the function of these pathways and to gain insight into their role in disease.  To date, the lab has focused on the Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor network, a principal therapeutic target for a variety of human cancers.

I deeply enjoy teaching, in particular conveying the important roles played by plants. It is a great reward when my students realize that plants are more complex and interesting than they anticipated, and they want to learn more. I enjoy that students at WPI are open about thinking in new ways; this critical thinking is the result of intense project-based learning.

Prof. Weathers is an internationally recognized expert on Artemisia annua and artemisinin, having worked with the plant and its phytochemicals including the antimalarial drug, artemisinin, for >25 years. She is a Fellow of AAAS and SIVB, won many awards, given many national and international presentations, reviews manuscripts for many journals and proposals for many national and international funding agencies. She is an Associate Editor for multiple journals. Her lab was the first to genetically transform A. annua.

Our lab investigates the molecular basis of phenotype switching in human fibroblasts that can be modulated using defined extracellular stimuli. We evaluate the role of oxygen and growth factor FGF2 isoforms independently and in combination in order to identify key molecular mechanisms and pathways, some of which closely mimic mechanisms described in human embryonic stem cells. Extended lifespan of these cells in culture also offers us a model for investigation of molecular mechanism that are regulating cell cycle in the context of both aging and cancer.

My lab works broadly in the emerging field of synthetic biology. Synthetic biology seeks to apply engineering design principles to the understanding and creation of biological systems. I use synthetic biology to design biosensors and bioremediation strategies for various environmental contaminants that impact human health, including lead, arsenic, and other toxic substances. We apply the tools of synthetic biology to address global challenges related to water, soil, and human health.

Research in my laboratory addresses questions in the field of evolutionary ecology and environmental biology, and typically combines field work and laboratory studies. Current projects focus on two disciplines.

A member of the WPI faculty since 2004 and chair of the Department of Biology and Biotechnology since 2022, Reeta Rao is a leader in the field of molecular genetics and genomics. Her primary research activities are focused on emerging infectious diseases, specifically understanding and managing fungal diseases. Students and research associates in her laboratory are trained to use a variety of biochemical, molecular-genetic, and genomic tools to study host-microbe interactions to explore fungal virulence strategies and identify novel therapeutics in a high through

I have a passion for understanding how living systems work, as well as for sharing my love of biology and research with the next generation of scientists and informed citizens.

The central goal of my lab is to understand the regulatory mechanisms that underlie mycobacterial stress tolerance. We combine genetics, genomics, transcriptomics and biochemistry to understand how mycobacteria respond to, and ultimately survive, stressful conditions.

It has been my lifelong dream to become a professor in the field of Biology. Being a faculty member provides a great opportunity to teach and interact with students. Students by nature are highly inquisitive and motivated, and as teachers, we have the responsibility to guide our students to explore and think in new ways. I believe that teaching is a two-way interaction between teachers and students. I come from India and my parents, both of whom were teachers, taught me to strive for excellence in my scholarly pursuits.

• PhD Student

Refer a Friend

Do you have a friend, colleague, or family member who might be interested in Worcester Polytechnic Institute’s (WPI) graduate programs? Click below to tell them about our programs.

Earn a Master’s Degree in Biology & Biotechnology First

Are you interested in making advanced discoveries about living organisms in a robust community of like-minded researchers, but need your master’s to get there? Consider earning a master’s in biology and biotechnology where you’ll participate in cutting-edge laboratory training and gain professional training in areas like experimental design, ethics, and more. Do you prefer advancing a career in the biotech industry from making cross-functional decisions to gaining expertise in bio-production? Our online master’s in biotechnology is a skills-focused program perfect for students who are working professionals looking to study part-time. Maybe you have a strong foundation in computer science and statistics? Consider earning a master’s in bioinformatics and computational biology which dives into leveraging biological data to improve health care.

Get Started with a BS in Biology & Biotechnology or a Minor in a Related Field

If you’re interested in the field but need your initial degree, a bachelor’s in biology & biotechnology is the first step. This degree introduces you to how the theory of biology is put into practice with biotechnology. If your interest lies in gaining enough information to use in a different discipline or practice, WPI has minors that will deliver the skills and knowledge you seek. A minor in biology is an excellent addition to your academic program and will be relevant in many industries including biomechanics, big data, or personalized medicine. Or maybe you’re seeking a global perspective. WPI’s interdisciplinary minor in global public health examines biological, social, political, environmental, and economic influences on the health of diverse and varied populations.

WPI is proud to be the recipient of not one, but two National Science Foundation Research Traineeship programs. The programs provide exceptionally talented graduate students with specialized training and funding assistance to join careers at the forefront of technology and innovation. The programs are for graduate students in research-based master's and doctoral degree programs in STEM. Learn more .

The BioPoint Program for Graduate Students has been designed to complement traditional training in bioscience, digital and engineering fields. Students accepted into one of the home BioPoint programs will have the flexibility to select research advisors and take electives in other departments to broaden their skills. BioPoint curriculum is designed to be individual, interactive, project-focused and diverse, and includes innovative courses, seminars, journal clubs and industrial-based projects. Learn more .

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Plant Biotechnology for Health and Sustainability Graduate Training Program The PBHS program provides new training and career opportunities for predoctoral candidates who are pursuing research related to plant biotechnology at MSU. The program aims to create common set of core coursework and training experiences for graduate students pursuing research related to plant biotechnology. The PBHS mission includes the goal of integrating the many different plant-related graduate programs and research expertise across different MSU units. Students in the program are trained in critical thinking and analysis of the primary literature across a broad range of topics so that they can build upon the best current thinking in their research. An understanding and appreciation of multi-disciplinary plant research will enable students to effectively collaborate with scientists across diverse backgrounds in biological, computational, engineering and physical sciences. Finally, PBHS students are provided resources to consider the ethical and legal consequences of their actions during their dissertation research projects and their future career positions.

Overall, PBHS seeks to foster the education, research training, and professional development of the next generation of interdisciplinary scientists who will assume leadership positions in biotechnology-related careers across industry, government, academia, and entrepreneurship. 

Why Participate in the program?

Program Outcomes

Access The MSU PBHS Program encourages participation by students, faculty and staff from underrepresented minority groups and individuals with disabilities

The Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) had its genesis from establishment of an Agricultural School at Saidapet, Madras, Tamil Nadu, as early as 1868 and it was later relocated at Coimbatore.

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Ph.D. in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology

Department of Plant Biotechnology, Centre for Plant Molecular Biology & Biotechnology is one of the oldest institutes in India to offer PhD in Biotechnology from 1991. It has good repute and the PhD degree is internationally recognized. Biotechnology is utilization of living organisms and their derivatives for the betterment of human life. Genetic improvement of plants is essential to feed the ever-growing population coupled with the declining land resources, global warming and vagaries of monsoon. Modern molecular biology methods combine the techniques from plant breeding, plant physiology, plant biochemistry, recombinant DNA technology, gene editing, “omics” based technologies and other allied fields to impart specialized characters to plants – called Plant Biotechnology.

Why this programme?

• Thorough understanding of plant genomics and biochemistry leading to the physiology of plant functioning
• Learning the complimentary fields of Plant tissue culture and plant breeding.
• Complying to ethical and regulatory aspects and intellectual property rights.

Study Programme

The Doctoral programme in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology has been designed following the UGC & ICAR guidelines. The course imparts:

• Biotechnology students an enabling environment for better learning
• Develop globally competitive human capacity in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology
• Promote research on frontier areas of biotechnology for developing high performance and nutrient rich crop varieties
• Foster international alliances and collaborative initiatives to reach global excellence.
• Promoting entrepreneurial skills of biotechnology students.

Application and Admission

Interested in taking part in the programme of Biotechnology? Find out more about the specific  Admission requirements and the application procedures . If you doubt whether admission is possible, feel welcome  to apply online . The Admission Committee will check your admissibility.

Future Career

M.Sc. (Agriculture) in Biotechnology students are admitted through JNU Common Entrance Examination in Biotechnology (CEEB) which was replaced by the Graduate Aptitude Test – Biotechnology (GAT-B) from the year 2020. Generally, JNU-CEEB/ GAT-B toppers prefer CPMB&B, TNAU as one of their primary priority institutes during the selection process. Apart from JNU students, ten students are admitted  through TNAU entrance examinations. Apart from this, students are also admitted through NTA-AIAEE-PG entrance exam under the ICAR quota.

Doctoral program in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology

Doctoral Courses

After admission the students undergo a set of courses that help them understand the basics of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology as per the Choice Based Credit System (CBCS) with a total of 25 credits, of which 2 credits are seminar. The courses include major, minor, supporting and some non-credit compulsory courses.

Doctoral thesis research

After completing the courses in the first year, the students start their thesis research for 75 credits exclusively earmarked for their Thesis Research. Each student is assigned to an experienced faculty, approved by the Dean of School of Post-Graduate Studies, who would guide the student on his/ her choice of research topic.

Research internship

The students are exposed to several scientific events like industrial/ institutional visits, workshops, symposia and conferences. Many are encouraged to have internship training at other institutes for a couple of months, either in India or abroad.

Alumni Experience

It was a fantastic learning experience at the Department of Plant Biotechnology, TNAU Coimbatore. A solid foundation is required for success, and the Department of Plant Biotechnology has assisted me in laying one. The faculty at the Department were outstanding, and the laboratory facilities are excellent. I am grateful to all of the faculty members who have always encouraged and assisted me in overcoming my weaknesses. Thank you, CPMB&B, TNAU, for moulding me into the person I am today and providing me with professors who genuinely cared about my success.

Kambale Rohit Dilip,

I am Bharathi completed Ph.D in biotechnology in the Department of Plant Biotechnology, Centre for plant molecular biology and Biotechnology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore. This campus has provided me the excellent learning environment for the studies. The learning and research experience gained from CPMB & B has a significant role in shaping my career. It has helped me to learn from different institutes through collaboration with other universities and institutes and also knowledge on all the research activities and also all the field related experiences also. It has provided very good infrastructure that enables us to explore many research areas. It has given exposure to a diverse range of perspectives and has taught me the value of collaboration and teamwork.

Bharathi, A

Michael Gomez Selvaraj,

Senior Scientist (Digital Agriculture),

Leader Phenomics Platform

Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, Columbia

I am Michael Gomez Selvaraj and did my Doctoral degree in Biotechnology at Department of Plant Biotechnology, CPMB&B, TNAU from 2001-2005. l was trained as a Drought Stress Physiologist during my Doctoral Degree Program. During this period I was also awarded Rockefeller Foundation Scholarship for pursuing my Ph. D. with specialization in Drought Stress. The knowledge imparted by the faculty of the faculty had a huge impact in shaping my career. The infrastructure facilities at CPMB&B were excellent and the periodic Guest lectures, workshop, conferences added some more exposure.

Dr. Sona S Dev

Assistant Professor & Head of the Department

Department of Biotechnology

St. Peter’s College, Kolenchery

I am Sona S Dev and did my Master’s and Doctoral program in Biotechnology at Department of Plant Biotechnology, CPMB&B. The faculty at CPMB&B were well trained and passionate of research. The facilities in the lab were constantly upgraded and excellent.

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Research Proposal Topics In Biotechnology

Biotechnology is a fascinating subject that blends biology and technology and provides a huge chance to develop new ideas. However, before pursuing a career in this field, a person needs to complete a number of studies and have a thorough knowledge of the matter. When we begin our career must we conduct study to discover some innovative innovations that could benefit people around the world. Biotechnology is one of a variety of sciences of life, including pharmacy. Students who are pursuing graduation, post-graduation or PhD must complete the research work and compose their thesis to earn the satisfaction in their education. When choosing a subject for biotechnology-related research it is important to choose one that is likely to inspire us. Based on our passion and personal preferences, the subject to study may differ.

What is Biotechnology?

In its most basic sense, biotechnology is the science of biology that enables technology Biotechnology harnesses the power of the biomolecular and cellular processes to create products and technologies that enhance our lives and the wellbeing of the planet. Biotechnology has been utilizing microorganisms' biological processes for over six thousand years to create useful food items like cheese and bread as well as to keep dairy products in good condition.

Modern biotechnology has created breakthrough products and technology to treat rare and debilitating illnesses help reduce our footprint on the environment and feed hungry people, consume less energy and use less and provide safer, more clean and productive industrial production processes.

Introduction

Biotechnology is credited with groundbreaking advancements in technological development and development of products to create sustainable and cleaner world. This is in large part due to biotechnology that we've made progress toward the creation of more efficient industrial manufacturing bases. Additionally, it assists in the creation of greener energy, feeding more hungry people and not leaving a large environmental footprint, and helping humanity fight rare and fatal diseases.

Our writing services for assignments within the field of biotechnology covers all kinds of subjects that are designed to test and validate the skills of students prior to awarding their certificates. We assist students to successfully complete their course in all kinds of biotechnology-related courses. This includes biological sciences for medical use (red) and eco-biotechnology (green) marine biotechnology (blue) and industrial biotechnology (white).

What do we hope to gain from all these Initiatives?

Our primary goal in preparing this list of the top 100 biotechnology assignment subjects is to aid students in deciding on effective time management techniques. We've witnessed a large amount of cases where when looking for online help with assignments with the topic, examining sources of information, and citing the correct order of reference students find themselves stuck at various points. In the majority of cases, students have difficulty even to get through their dilemma of choosing a topic. This is why we contribute in our effort to help make the process easier for students in biotech quickly and efficiently. Our students are able to save time and energy in order to help them make use of the time they are given to write the assignment with the most appropriate topics.

Let's look at some of the newest areas of biotechnology research and the related areas.

• Renewable Energy Technology Management Promoting Village
• Molasses is a molasses-based ingredient that can be used to produce and the treatment of its effluent
• Different ways to evapotranspirate
• Scattering Parameters of Circulator Bio-Technology
• Renewable Energy Technology Management Promoting Village.

Structural Biology of Infectious Diseases

A variety of studies are being conducted into the techniques used by pathogens in order to infect humans and other species and for designing strategies for countering the disease. The main areas that are available to study by biotech researchers include:

• inlA from Listeria monocytogenes when combined with E-cadherin from humans.
• InlC in Listeria monocytogenes that are multipart with human Tuba.
• Phospholipase PatA of Legionella pnemophila.
• The inactivation process of mammalian TLR2 by inhibiting antibody.
• There are many proteins that come originate from Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Plant Biotechnology

Another significant area for research in biotechnology for plants is to study the genetic causes of the plant's responses to scarcity and salinity, which have a significant impact on yields of the crop and food.

• Recognition and classification of genes that influence the responses of plants to drought and salinity.
• A component of small-signing molecules in plants' responses to salinity and drought.
• Genetic enhancement of plant sensitivity salinity and drought.

Pharmacogenetics

It's also a significant area for conducting research in biotechnology. One of the most important reasons for doing so could be the identification of various genetic factors that cause differences in drug effectiveness and susceptibility for adverse reactions. Some of the subjects which can be studied are,

• Pharmacogenomics of Drug Transporters
• Pharmacogenomics of Metformin's response to type II mellitus
• The pharmacogenomics behind anti-hypertensive medicines
• The Pharmacogenomics of anti-cancer drugs

Forensic DNA

A further area of research in biotechnology research is the study of the genetic diversity of humans for its applications in criminal justice. Some of the topics that could be studied include,

• Y-chromosome Forensic Kit, Development of commercial prototype.
• Genetic testing of Indels in African populations.
• The Y-chromosome genotyping process is used for African populations.
• Study of paternal and maternal ancestry of mixed communities in South Africa.
• The study of the local diversity in genetics using highly mutating Y-STRs and Indels.
• South African Innocence Project: The study of DNA extracted from historical crime scene.
• Nanotechnology is a new technology that can be applied to DNA genotyping.
• Nanotechnology methods to isolate DNA.

Food Biotechnology

It is possible to conduct research in order to create innovative methods and processes in the fields of food processing and water. The most fascinating topics include:

• A molecular-based technology that allows for the rapid identification and detection of foodborne pathogens in intricate food chains.
• The effects of conventional and modern processing techniques on the bacteria that are associated with Aspalathus lineriasis.
• DNA-based identification of species of animals that are present in meat products that are sold raw.
• The phage assay and PCR are used to detect and limit the spread of foodborne pathogens.
• Retention and elimination of pathogenic, heat-resistant and other microorganisms that are treated by UV-C.
• Analysis of an F1 generation of the cross Bon Rouge x Packham's Triumph by Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR/microsatellite).
• The identification of heavy metal tolerant and sensitive genotypes
• Identification of genes that are involved in tolerance to heavy metals
• The isolation of novel growth-promoting bacteria that can help crops cope with heavy metal stress . Identification of proteins that signal lipids to increase the tolerance of plants to stress from heavy metals

This topic includes high-resolution protein expression profiling for the investigation of proteome profiles. The following are a few of the most fascinating topics:

• The identification and profile of stress-responsive proteins that respond to abiotic stress in Arabidopsis Thalian and Sorghum bicolor.
• Analyzing sugar biosynthesis-related proteins in Sorghum bicolor, and study of their roles in drought stress tolerance
• Evaluation of the viability and long-term sustainability of Sweet Sorghum for bioethanol (and other by-products) production in South Africa
• In the direction of developing an environmentally sustainable, low-tech hypoallergenic latex Agroprocessing System designed specifically especially for South African small-holder farmers.

Bioinformatics

This is an additional aspect of biotechnology research. The current trend is to discover new methods to combat cancer. Bioinformatics may help identify proteins and genes as well as their role in the fight against cancer. Check out some of the areas that are suitable to study.

• Prediction of anticancer peptides with HIMMER and the the support vector machine.
• The identification and verification of innovative therapeutic antimicrobial peptides for Human Immunodeficiency Virus In the lab and molecular method.
• The identification of biomarkers that are associated with cancer of the ovary using an molecular and in-silico method.
• Biomarkers identified in breast cancer, as possible therapeutic and diagnostic agents with a combination of molecular and in-silico approaches.
• The identification of MiRNA's as biomarkers for screening of cancerous prostates in the early stages an in-silico and molecular method
• Identification of putatively identified the genes present in breast cancer tissues as biomarkers for early detection of lobular and ductal breast cancers.
• Examining the significance of Retinoblastoma Binding Protein 6 (RBBP6) in the regulation of the cancer-related protein Y-Box Binding Protein 1 (YB-1).
• Examining the role played by Retinoblastoma Binding Protein 6 (RBBP6) in the regulation of the cancer suppressor p53 through Mouse Double Minute 2 (MDM2).
• Structural analysis of the anti-oxidant properties of the 1-Cys peroxiredoxin Prx2 found in the plant that resurrects itself Xerophyta viscosa.

Nanotechnology

This is a fascinating aspect of biotechnology, which can be used to identify effective tools to address the most serious health issues.

• Evaluation of cancer-specific peptides to determine their applications for the detection of cancer.
• The development of a quantum dot-based detection systems for breast cancer.
• The creation of targeted Nano-constructs for in vivo imaging as well as the treatment of tumors.
• Novel quinone compounds are being tested as anti-cancer medicines.
• Embedelin is delivered to malignant cells in a specific manner.
• The anti-cancer activities of Tulbaghia Violacea extracts were studied biochemically .
• Novel organic compounds are screened for their anti-cancer potential.
• To treat HIV, nanotechnology-based therapeutic techniques are being developed.

Top 100 Biotechnology Research Proposal Topics to Consider in 2022

We've prepared a list of the top 100 most suggested dissertation topics, which were compiled by our experts in research. They've made sure to offer a an extensive list of topics that cover all aspects of the topic. We hope that this list will meet all of the requirements for assistance with your dissertation . Let us start with our list of subjects, one at a time each one

• Achieving effective control of renewable power technologies to help the village
• The production of ethanol through the aid of molasses and the treatment of its effluent
• Different approaches and aspects of Evapotranspiration
• Its scattering parameter is biotechnology circulator
• The inactivation of mammalian TLR2 via an inhibiting antibody
• The number of proteins produced by Mycobacterium tuberculosis
• Recognition and classification of genes that shape the responses of plants to drought and salinity.
• The small sign molecules that are involved in the response that plants have to the effects of salinity as well as drought
• Genetic improvement of the plant's sensitivity to drought and saltiness
• The pharmacogenomics of drug transporters
• The anti-cancer drugs' pharmacogenomics are based on pharmac
• The pharmacogenomics of antihypertensive medications
• Indels genotyping of African populations
• Genomics of the Y-chromosomes of African populations
• The profiling of DNA extracted from historical crime scenes Consider the implications of South African Innocence Project
• Nanotechnology-related methods for DNA isolation
• Nanotechnology applications in the context of DNA genotyping
• Recognizing the heavy metals that are tolerant with genotypes that are sensitive.
• Genetic characteristics that play a role within the procedure of gaining tolerance to metals
• The animal's DNA is authenticated by the species by the commercial production of raw meat products
• The use of molecular-based technology is in the sense of detection and identification of foodborne pathogens in complicated food systems
• Assessing the effectiveness of cancer-specific peptides that are suitable for efficient implementations in the area of diagnosis and treatment for cancer
• Quantum Dot-based detection system is being developed in relation to a positive breast cancer diagnosis
• It is targeted delivery of the embelin to cancerous cells
• Exploring the potential of novel quinone compounds as anti-cancer agents
• Treatment strategies for treating HIV in addition to the significance of nanotechnology the treatment of HIV.
• A review of the medicinal value the antioxidants found in nature.
• An in-depth examination of the structure of COVID spike proteins
• A review of the immune response to the stem therapy using cells
• CRISPR-Cas9 technology to aid in the process of editing the genome
• Tissue engineering and delivery of drugs through the application of Chitosan
• Evaluation of beneficial effects of cancer vaccines
• Use of PacBio sequencing in relation to genome assembly of model organisms
• Examining the connection between mRNA suppression and its effect on the growth of stem cells
• Biomimicry is a method of identifying of cancer cells
• The sub-classification and characterisation of the Yellow enzymes
• The process of producing food products that are hypoallergenic and fermented.
• The production of hypoallergenic milk
• The purification process for the thermostable phytase
• Bioconversion of the cellulose produce products that are significant for industry
• The investigation of the gut microbiota of the model organisms
• The use of fungal enzymes for the manufacture of chemical glue
• A look at those inhibitors to exocellulase as well as endocellulase
• Examine the value of microorganisms to aid in the recovery of gas from shale.
• Examine the thorough analysis of the method of natural decomposition
• Examine ways to recycle bio-wastes
• Improved bio-remediation in the case of oil spills
• The process of gold biosorption is accomplished with the aid of the cyanobacterium
• A healthy equilibrium between the biotic and the abiotic elements by using biotechnological devices
• The measurement of the mercury level in fish by means of markers
• Exploring the biotechnological capabilities from Jellyfish related microbiomes Jellyfish related microbiome
• What is the role of marine fungi to aid in attempts to break down plastics and polymers?
• Examine the biotechnological possibilities that can be extracted of dinoflagellates
• Removing endosulfan residues using the use of biotechnology the agriculture sector
• The creation of the ELISA method for the detection of crop virus
• Enhancing the quality of drinking water by the aid of the E.coli consortium
• The characterisation of E.coli is its isolation from the feces of Zoo animals
• Enhancing the resistance of crops to the attack of insects
• The reduction of the expenditure on agriculture by using efficient bio-tools
• Are there the most efficient ways to stop erosion of soils using the help of biotechnology-based tools?
• What can biotechnology do to assist in increasing the levels of vitamin content in GM food items?
• Enhancing the distribution of pesticides by using biotechnology
• Comparing the biofortification of folate in various types of corpses
• Examine the photovoltaic-based generation of ocean-based crop
• What is the best way to use nanotechnology will improve the efficiency of the agriculture sector?
• Analyzing the mechanisms that govern resistance to water stresses in models of plants
• Production and testing of human immune boosters within the test organisms
• Comparing genomic analysis to the usefulness of tools intended for bioinformatics
• The Arabinogalactan protein sequence and its value in the field of computational methods
• Analyzing and interpreting gut microbiota from model organisms
• Different methods of purification of proteins A comparative analysis
• The diagnosis of microbes and their function in micro-arrays of oligonucleotide oligonu
• The use of diverse techniques within the biomedical research field that includes micro-arrays technology
• The use of microbial community to produce the greenhouse effect
• Evaluation of the computational properties of various proteins that are derived from the marine microbiota
• E.coli gene mapping through the help of different tools for microbial research
• Intensifying the strains of Cyanobacterium the aid of gene sequencing
• Assessment and description by computation of crystallized proteins that are found in the natural world.
• MTERF protein and the use of it to end the process of transcription that occurs in mitochondrial DNA inside algae
• Reverse column chromatography in phase and its use in the separation of proteins
• The study of the various proteins that are found within Mycobacterium leprae.
• A review of the methods that are ideal to ensure the success of cloning RNA
• Examine the most common mistakes of biotechnology in conserving the ecology and natural environment.
• Is there a method to ensure that the medicinal plants are free of insects? Discuss
• What are the dangers caused by pest resistant animals on birds and human beings?
• What are the many areas of biotechnology that remain unexplored in terms research?
• What's the future of biotechnology in the medical field?
• Recombinant DNA technology to develop of new medical treatments
• What is the reason for the type of bacteria that is used to make vaccines with the aid of biotechnology?
• How can biotechnology aid in the development of new medicines that are resistant to the mutations of viruses and bacteria?
• Is there a long-term treatment for cancer that is available in the near term? Biotechnology could play an essential role in this?
• What is the reason it is so important that students remember the DNA codes in biotechnology?
• How can we create hybrid seeds with assistance of biotechnology?
• How can one create resistant plants to pests and what are the benefits of these seeds in final yields in agriculture?
• Examine bio-magnification and its effects on the ecology
• What are the causes to the reasons ecologists do not approve the use of pest-resistant seed, even though they are in application in agriculture?
• How has biotechnology influenced the lives of farmers in developing countries?
• Biotechnology can be used to boost the yield of plant species?
• Examine the role played by biotechnology to increase the production of the seasonal crops
• Are there any adverse side effects associated with pharmaceutical drugs when they are manufactured with biotechnological techniques? Let the issue with real-world examples

We attempted to cover the essential topics needed for research work. Other topics are available that could be picked based on our interests, the facilities available and resources available for the research, as well as resources and time limits.

We have reached the end of this list. We feel it was beneficial in satisfying the selection criteria. Furthermore, the inclusion of biotechnology-related assignment themes was done in such a manner that they may help us with the requirements of assignment writing kinds and forms. The themes listed above can meet our demands for topic selection linked to aid with case studies and essay assistance, research paper writing help , or thesis writing help .

Frequently asked questions

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Research Progress and Future Development Trends in Medicinal Plant Transcriptomics

Affiliations.

• 1 Faculty of Life Science and Technology, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, China.
• 2 Yuxi Walvax Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Yuxi, China.
• 3 Yunnan Provincial Key Laboratory of Panax Notoginseng, Kunming, China.
• 4 Key Laboratory of Panax Notoginseng Resources Sustainable Development and Utilization of State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Kunming, China.
• 5 Kunming Key Laboratory of Sustainable Development and Utilization of Famous-Region Drug, Kunming, China.
• PMID: 34394145
• PMCID: PMC8355584
• DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2021.691838

Transcriptomics is one of the most popular topics in biology in recent times. Transcriptome sequencing (RNA-Seq) is a high-throughput, high-sensitivity, and high-resolution technique that can be used to study model and non-model organisms. Transcriptome sequencing is also an important method for studying the genomes of medicinal plants, a topic on which limited information is available. The study of medicinal plants through transcriptomics can help researchers analyze functional genes and regulatory mechanisms of medicinal plants and improve breeding selection and cultivation techniques. This article analyzes and compares the applications of transcriptome sequencing in medicinal plants over the past decade and briefly introduces the methods of transcriptome sequencing and analysis, their applications in medicinal plant research, and potential development trends. We will focus on the research and application progress of transcriptome sequencing in the following four areas: the mining of functional genes in medicinal plants, development of molecular markers, biosynthetic pathways of secondary metabolites, and developmental mechanisms of medicinal plants. Our review will provide ideas for the mining of functional genes of medicinal plants and breeding new varieties.

Keywords: RNA-Seq sequencing; developmental mechanism; functional genes; medicinal plant; secondary metabolism; transcriptomics.

Copyright © 2021 Guo, Huang, Sun, Cui and Liu.

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