Following the news that Parliament has passed the secondary legislation to implement the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act for plants in England, we welcome the benefits this offers, and the increased opportunities for plant and microbial science to improve the health of plants, people and the planet. 

The iconic pea plant experiments of Gregor Mendel laid the foundations for the science of genetics.  Now 160 years on, an international research collaboration has used genomics, bioinformatics and genetics to map the diversity of a globally important pea collection – revealing secrets behind the traits that Mendel made famous and uncovering agriculturally useful genetic diversity on an unprecedented scale

Following an international search, Professor Cristóbal Uauy has been appointed as the next Director of the John Innes Centre. Professor Uauy is internationally recognised for his significant contribution to the development of resources and tools available to the wheat research community which allow for the rapid identification of genes for key traits.

An international collaboration has achieved an important breakthrough in understanding the genetic mechanisms that allow bacteria to build resistance to drugs

Researchers have discovered a biological mechanism that makes plant roots more welcoming to beneficial soil microbes

The capacity of bacteria to spread disease across the Plant Kingdom may be much more widespread than previously suspected, according to new analysis

An international research collaboration has shed new light on the molecular basis of gene expression, the fundamental biological process that underpins how all organisms use their genetic information

A pioneering collaboration investigating the intricacies of biological clocks in bacteria has been awarded prestigious European Research Council (ERC) funding

A consortium of four UK research organisations led by the John Innes Centre has won £3m Defra funding to enable the development of climate resilient legume crops