Tomato growers in New York and other regions lose millions of dollars to crop damage because cultivated tomatoes are susceptible to cold weather. The relationship between the genes that control chilling tolerance is complex, so traditional breeding programs haven't had much success moving chilling tolerance from wild tomato species into improved varieties. It also could reduce energy costs for commercial greenhouse tomato production. Not horsing around. Markers may lead to improvements in health and more informed breeding decisions.
Kentucky researchers are also involved in mapping the horse's genetic makeup.
Arkansas researchers are studying how the disease spreads in chicken tissue, how the virus can be activated by signals within cells and how it manipulates the chicken's own cells. Understanding these processes could lead to new ways of transforming cells, a finding that could be used to disrupt the virus and shed light on the cause of some human cancers. Only 200 genes out of thousands have been mapped in the chicken genome. Tuskegee research has added another 15, improving the map's usefulness for breeding and biotechnology efforts to develop poultry with better reproductive performance, disease resistance and other traits. The work may also contribute to the use of birds to investigate human conditions such as aging.