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Our first keynote speaker is Silvia Restrepo @srestrep @BTIscience on Phytophthora infestans sensu lato
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What if we could “vaccinate” plants against pathogens?
New BTI research shows that a natural nematode compound called ascaroside 18 can prime plant immune systems for faster, stronger responses—without sacrificing growth.
Field trials showed reduced fungal disease + improved yields in corn and soybean.
Read more:btiscience.org/primed-and-re…
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It’s hard to believe our summer REU program has already wrapped up!
An exciting summer of research, discovery, fun and new friendships culminated in our annual George and Helen Kohut Symposium, where our summer researchers had the opportunity to showcase the hard work they accomplished over the past 10 weeks.
It was a wonderful day filled with fascinating research, great conversations and plenty of lasting memories. Congratulations to all of our summer researchers—and to everyone who helped make the Symposium and the entire summer a huge success!
We’re so proud of everything this year’s cohort accomplished and can’t wait to see where they go next!
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Innovation starts with bold scientific questions, and that’s exactly what drives BTI postdoctoral researcher Laura Gonzalez Garcia. We are proud to announce that she has been named a 2026 Pew Latin American Fellow.
One of just 10 researchers selected, Laura will develop new approaches to study RNA modification and its roles in biology, with applications spanning plant science and human health.
Pewtrusts
btiscience.org/bti-postdoc-l…
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Please join us in giving a warm welcome to our summer REU students! We're thrilled to have them at BTI and can't wait to share their research, discoveries, and summer adventures in the weeks ahead. Stay tuned for updates as they explore, learn, and contribute to cutting-edge science.
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PhD candidate Yu-Heng Hsieh is studying the signaling compounds that help plants recruit nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria, research that could one day help reduce the need for agricultural fertilizers. This work was made possible through support from the Triad Foundation, helping advance innovative research with real-world agricultural impact.
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BTI PhD candidate Elizabeth "Lizzie" Trost is digging into the powerful partnership between plants and mycorrhizal fungi. With support from the Triad Foundation, Lizzie is exploring the molecular biology behind this underground teamwork and helping pave the way for stronger, more resilient crops in the future. Watch to learn how tiny fungi could help grow big solutions for agriculture.
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Plants and fungi have been cooperating underground for hundreds of millions of years. Plants provide lipids; fungi supply phosphorus in return. But the science of how it works – at the cellular level – has remained one of the great unanswered questions in plant biology.
That's the question at the center of Dr. Natalie Hoffmann's research, and it's what earned her the inaugural Jane Silverthorne Postdoctoral Fellowship at BTI.
Working in Dr. Maria Harrison's lab, she's investigating how plants allow beneficial fungi to enter their cell walls. The answers could point toward new ways to support crop growth and food security.
The fellowship honors the legacy of Dr. Jane Silverthorne, a celebrated plant biologist and BTI Board member who championed curiosity-driven science throughout her career.
Full story: cstu.io/b02456
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Ever wonder what makes watermelon so sweet and vibrantly red? It's genetics – shaped over millions of years and refined through centuries of human breeding. But this same process also stripped away traits that make watermelons more resilient against disease and environmental stress.
BTI scientist Dr. Zhangjun Fei and an international team just published a new resource to help change that: the watermelon super-pangenome, integrating 138 genomes from all seven wild and cultivated watermelon species. Published in Nature Genetics, the work identifies specific genetic variants linked to fruit sweetness, flesh color, and pathogen resistance – some of which couldn't have been detected with any previous method.
The team also built predictive breeding models from their findings. The application is faster, more targeted development of watermelons that are tough enough to handle disease pressure and good enough to keep earning a spot at the table.
Read the full story here: btiscience.org/super-powered…
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BTI has been awarded a USDA grant to expand plant biotechnology education for K–12 students across New York. Through hands-on learning—including growing and studying the Purple Tomato™—this initiative will connect students with real-world science and meaningful community engagement. Cultivating curiosity today to grow the innovators of tomorrow. btiscience.org/boyce-thompso…
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#EarthDay sprouted in 1970, growing into a nationwide call to protect our planet.
At BTI, we’re rooted in a mission to grow planet-positive agriculture and keep pushing the frontiers of plant and life science—for people and the planet. This Earth Day, let’s cultivate real solutions together for a healthier world.
Ready to plant the seeds of change?
🌱 Check out btiscience.org/give to support innovative research at BTI. 🍃 Share our mission to inspire others. 🌿Follow us for the latest updates and breakthroughs in plant science.
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New on the Physalis Project Blog!
Why might goldenberry be closer to the mainstream than we think?
From its unique sweet-tart flavor to its growing presence in health foods, snacks, and home gardens, goldenberry (Physalis peruviana) is starting to gain real traction in North America. But what’s holding it back—and how can research help unlock its potential?
This latest post explores the trends, challenges, and exciting future of this under-the-radar fruit. physalis.btiscience.org/blog…
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BREAKING: A new genetic map allows full customization of cucumbers 🥒🧬
Shape. Flavor. Texture. Even personality?!
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A tiny plant with big potential for the future of food
Check out the recent news coverage of the latest research from BTI Associate Professor Fay-Wei Li and his collaborators. It explores how an odd plant called hornwort could help scientists improve photosynthesis in crops.
The research team uncovered a unique way in which hornwort concentrates CO₂ around rubisco, the key enzyme that powers photosynthesis. Because rubisco is naturally inefficient—especially in higher temperatures—this finding could help scientists develop crops that grow faster, use less water, and require fewer fertilizers.
The research is an exciting step toward boosting crop yields and improving food production with fewer resources.
🔗 Read the full story to learn more about this exciting research. grist.org/food-and-agricultu…
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This odd little plant could help turbocharge crop yields. 🌱
Scientists have been trying to give crops a photosynthesis upgrade for decades. A new discovery just made that goal look more achievable than ever.
Here's the challenge: an enzyme called Rubisco is responsible for capturing CO₂ during photosynthesis–it's essentially the engine behind all plant growth, including our food crops. But Rubisco is slow and inefficient.
Many algae solve this by using a specialized compartment that floods Rubisco with CO₂, helping it work faster and use less energy.
Transferring that system into crops like wheat, rice, or soybean has been the dream. But algae machinery has proven stubbornly difficult to transfer.
Researchers at the Boyce Thompson Institute, Cornell University, and the University of Edinburgh found a simpler way to get there, hidden inside hornworts, tiny plants that most people have never heard of.
Hornworts are the only land plants with this kind of CO₂-boosting compartment. Instead of requiring a separate protein to cluster Rubisco, hornworts built the function directly into Rubisco itself.
When the researchers moved that component into a standard lab plant, Rubisco formed dense clusters that don't exist in normal plants.
The potential for agriculture: even modest improvements in photosynthetic efficiency could meaningfully increase crop yields while reducing agriculture's resource footprint.
It's not a finished solution; there's still engineering work to do. But it's the kind of foundational breakthrough that changes what's possible.
The research was published in Science. Learn more: btiscience.org/explore-bti/n…
ALT Macro photograph of unusual green plant structures growing from a leafy surface, with the headline text: “This odd little plant could help turbocharge crop yields.” A plant-themed logo appears in the bottom corner.
ALT Quote by Fay-Wei Li over a close-up background of bright green moss-like plant structures. The quote reads: “This research shows that nature has already tested solutions we can learn from. Our job is to understand those solutions well enough to apply them where they’re needed most—in the crops that feed the world.” A small circular headshot of Fay-Wei Li appears in the bottom corner.
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🌱 Now Hiring: Controller 🌱
The Boyce Thompson Institute (BTI) is seeking an experienced Controller to lead financial operations, reporting, compliance, and budgeting in a mission-driven nonprofit research environment.
✔️ CPA required
✔️ 5–10 years of accounting/financial management experience
✔️ Nonprofit, research, or higher ed experience preferred
Competitive salary + comprehensive benefits.
Join a team advancing plant science and global food security.
Learn more & apply recruiting.paylocity.com/Rec…
ALT Graphic with the headline “We’re Hiring! Controller” in green and black text. The posting states that BTI is seeking an experienced Controller to oversee day-to-day financial operations, fiscal management, compliance, and reporting. It describes working in a small, collaborative finance team and interacting with the Board of Directors, management, auditors, banks, investment managers, and service providers. The lower portion features a photo of a modern brick office building surrounded by trees and flowers, with green geometric design elements and a small leaf-themed logo in the corner. Image credit: Simon Wheeler.
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Throwback science! 🌿We found this fascinating piece of equipment while digging into the BTI archives. Think you know what it was used for? Take a guess in the comments!
ALT Black-and-white studio photograph of a laboratory clinostat machine with rotating circular plates holding potted plants, labeled “A Continuous and Intermittent Clinostat” from the Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research in Yonkers, New York, used to rotate plants to study the effects of gravity on growth.
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Roses are red, violets are blue, our research keeps growing, and so does our love for you! 💚 Happy Valentine’s Day from BTI.
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Today we celebrate International Day of Women and Girls in Science by recognizing the scientists at BTI whose curiosity, creativity, and leadership are shaping the future of plant science and agriculture. Their work drives discovery, innovation, and real-world impact.
ALT Green graphic from the Boyce Thompson Institute (BTI) celebrating the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. The BTI logo appears at the top, followed by the headline “International Day of Women and Girls in Science.” Text below reads: “Today we honor all the women of BTI’s past, present and future, whose work furthers science at BTI and beyond.” At the bottom, four illustrated women of diverse skin tones and backgrounds stand side by side in profile, facing right.
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Pop quiz: What's the world's third most-produced vegetable? 🥒
It's the cucumber. (Tomatoes and onions take the top spots.)
Despite its popularity, breeding better cucumbers has been surprisingly difficult. Now, BTI scientists have created a powerful tool to help.
They built the most detailed genetic map of cucumber ever assembled—cataloguing 172,000 large DNA variations, rearrangements that have shaped the evolution of this important vegetable crop and can have dramatic effects on agronomic traits.
This can help breeders develop better varieties more efficiently. Better cucumbers incoming!
Read the full story: cstu.io/004865
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