Biotech Updates

NY Researchers Produce the Largest Seed Plant Tree of Life

December 21, 2011

Researchers from different research institutions have created the most extensive genome-based tree of life for seed bearing plants. They have plotted the evolutionary linkages of 150 different species of plants using advanced genome-wide analysis of gene structure and function called "functional phylogenetics". This new approach enables scientists to reconstruct the pattern of events that led to the huge number of plant species and to identify which genes were used to enhance the quality of seeds for agriculture.

The researchers involved were from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, New York Botanical Garden, and New York University, forming the New York Plant Genomics Consortium.

Read more about their study at http://www.amnh.org/news/2011/12/researchers-create-the-largest-seed-plant-tree-of-life/.