United States Department of Agriculture

Insights from coproduced scenarios toward urban sustainability transformations

Urban sustainability transformations call for fundamental shifts in how cities are organized, developed, and governed. Yet we need a better understanding of the diversity of visions and pathways that can enable transformative change. We address this gap through an analysis of 60...

Assessing short‐stature corn hybrids for irrigated Mid‐South production systems

Abstract Short‑stature (SS) corn ( Zea mays L.) hybrids represent an emerging phenotype with distinct morphological characteristics, but their performance under irrigated Mid‑South conditions is not well documented. We compared two SS hybrids (H1 and H2) and three tall‐stature (T...

A multivalent mRNA-lipid nanoparticle vaccine containing eight hemagglutinin antigens elicited broad neutralizing antibody responses and protected against influenza A virus challenge in swine

The diversity within H1 and H3 subtype influenza A viruses (IAVs) in swine prevents effective vaccine control approaches with inactivated whole-virus vaccines. We addressed the challenge of controlling co-circulating hemagglutinin (HA) clades of swine IAV with the development of...

Quantifying Free-Roaming Horse Body Condition: A Methodological Investigation Using Game Cameras and Observer Bias Corrections

Large populations of free-roaming horses (Equus caballus ) inhabit the western United States, Australia, and other arid and semi-arid rangelands globally. In the United States, horse body condition has been the impetus for gathering and removing horses under an emergency designat...

Global Distribution of Freshwater Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning Toxins (“Saxitoxins”) 1967–2025: Implications, Limitations, and Application to Risk Assessment

Abstract Paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) toxins (PSPTs) (“Saxitoxins”) are a class of neurotoxins identified globally in freshwater and marine systems but are understudied in freshwater environments. We collected literature reports of PSPTs in natural systems from their first...

Improving grain yield prediction in Southern US oat germplasm using genomics information and environmental covariates

Genetic gains of oat (Avena sativa L.) grain yield have been historically low compared to other major cereal crops. The use of machine learning models to capture complex interactions and leveraging data types other than genomic information in prediction models has great potential...

Genome-wide association study of diverse soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merrill] accessions for agronomic and seed composition traits in Rwanda

Abstract Key message This research explored the genetic basis of adaptation for soybean to the low-latitude but high-elevation production regions in Rwanda. Abstract Soybean [ Glycine max (L.) Merrill] is an increasingly important crop in Rwanda; however, production remains const...

Engineering Klebsiella oxytoca for enhanced 2,3-butanediol production from gluconate

Abstract Background Historically, microbial production of 2,3-BD has relied predominantly on glucose as the substrate. However, its fermentation necessitates microaerobic conditions due to inherent redox imbalances. This limitation complicates process control and can lead to unde...

Supply chain network design and food loss in the U.S. fresh produce system

The U.S. food supply chain provides year-round access to a diverse range of fresh fruits and vegetables, but the perishability of these products makes food loss a persistent sustainability challenge. While previous studies have primarily focused on food loss occurring at the prod...

Disruption of Fatty Acid Desaturase Gene Alters Aphid Resistance and Volatile Emissions in Sorghum

ABSTRACT Jasmonic acid (JA)‐deficient msd3 sorghum mutants exhibit contrasting resistance phenotypes against sugarcane aphids (SCA; Melanaphis sacchari ), which promotes aphid settling at early time points while providing antibiosis‐mediated resistance at later stages. Here we in...

Engineering Thermothelomyces heterothallica for cellobionate production

Abstract In this study, a thermophilic cellulolytic filamentous fungus Thermothelomyces heterothallica was engineered for direct production of cellobionic acid (CBA) from alkali-pretreated wheat straw without the addition of external cellulases. The CBA bioproduction pathway was...

Invisible Threats, Relentless Hunters: Biosurveillance of Airborne Plant Pathogens

Airborne dispersal enables plant pathogens to travel across fields, regions, and continents, fueling rapid epidemics and emerging disease threats. Biosurveillance, the systematic monitoring of airborne inoculum, offers the opportunity to detect pathogens before symptoms appear an...

A High-Resolution Stereo-Seq Spatial Transcriptomic Resource for Adult Holstein Cattle Liver

The bovine liver is a highly compartmentalized organ that plays essential roles in continuous gluconeogenesis and nitrogen recycling; however, its spatial molecular architecture has remained largely uncharacterized due to the limitations of traditional bulk and single-cell approa...

Gas flux determination and prediction of methane emissions in yearling steers under grazing conditions

Context The use of an automated head chamber system (AHCS) for determining methane (CH4) emissions in ruminants has increased in recent years; however, assessments of emissions in grazing systems remain limited, constrained by a lack of knowledge regarding the minimum number of A...

Whole orchard recycling in California's Central Valley: Benefits, management, and adoption

Abstract Whole orchard recycling (WOR) has become a common practice in California (CA) orchards and vineyards due to declining options for agricultural biomass disposal. WOR is the process by which entire orchards or vineyards are shredded into chips, spread onto the soil surface...

Using the Diffusion of Innovations Theory to Explore U.S. Horticultural Industry Stakeholders’ Adoption of Alternative Substrates

Peat is commonly used in container substrates; however, concerns about reliance on imported products, inconsistent availability, and environmental sustainability are increasing growers’ interest in transitioning to alternative soilless substrates. Several studies have explored gr...

Compressible but not redundant: knockout recovery and assay-panel architecture of the Neurospora crassa deletion phenome

Classical phenotype assays remain central to functional genetics, but a deletion phenome reflects both assay design and the set of knockouts that can be recovered for phenotyping. We integrated current Neurospora crassa knockout-availability records with a published complete-data...

Multilocus-Derived Genetic Variability and Pathogenicity of Colletotrichum Species from the Mid-Atlantic United States Associated with Anthracnose in Pepper

Colletotrichum species are important fungal pathogens that cause fruit rots leading to pre and postharvest losses of a broad range of Solanaceae crops, including bell and non-bell pepper and fresh-market and processing tomato. We performed a phylogenetic and pathogenic characteri...

MaizeGDB Phylostrata Tool: Exploring evolutionary origins of maize proteins

Abstract Motivation Phylostratigraphic analysis identifies the evolutionary origins and level of conservation of proteins, facilitating research in evolutionary biology and comparative genomics. Results We developed the MaizeGDB Phylostrata Tool, a custom web application that ena...

A pair of duplicated SOC1 genes, DcSOC1-1 and DcSOC1-2, control vernalization requirement in carrot

Abstract Background Carrot vernalization requirement (VR), the amount of cold exposure needed for plants to become vernalized, strongly influences geographical adaptation of the crop and many agricultural practices, and this trait defines annual vs. biennial cultivars. Despite it...