The Tennessee State University College of Agriculture (TSUAg) and the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture (UTIA) have launched a joint seed funding program to support collaborative research projects focused on some of agriculture’s most pressing challenges. The inaugural initiative brings together the strengths of Tennessee’s land-grant institutions to encourage innovative, interdisciplinary research led by teams from both universities. Through a combined investment of $300,000 from UT AgResearch; the UT Office of Research, Innovation and Economic Development; and Tennessee State University College of Agriculture, six joint seed grants were selected for funding in the program’s first round. Each project received $50,000 and is co-led by faculty from TSUAg and UTIA.

Beef production depends heavily on how efficiently cattle convert feed into energy. By winning a federal award, University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture researchers are studying this process at the genetic, cellular and microbial levels. The team, led by Phillip Myer, associate professor of animal science and UT AgResearch Faculty Fellow, includes department colleagues Jonathan Beever, professor, and Troy Rowan, assistant professor and Extension specialist. They secured a five-year $650,000 grant from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, which awarded $10 million to 19 projects to improve animal nutrition, growth and lactation.

How do radicals form in aqueous solutions when exposed to UV light? This question is important for health research and environmental protection, for example with regard to the overfertilisation of water bodies by intensive agriculture. A team at BESSY II has now developed a new method of investigating hydroxyl radicals in solution. By using a clever trick, the scientists gained surprising insights into the reaction pathway.

As climate change intensifies harmful algal blooms worldwide, an international team led by Hiroshima University has developed a hybrid modeling approach that combines algal movement simulations, AI, and long-term monitoring data to sharpen forecasts of these bloom events—linked to environmental damage, mass fish die-offs, economic losses, and risks to human health.

Researchers from China developed the first high-density 10K SNP array for wax gourd using genotyping by target sequencing (GBTS) technology, comprising 10,722 genome-wide SNPs distributed across the genome, including 278 associated with functional trait loci.

First development of a RT-ERA/CRISPR-Cas12a platform for rapid and visual detection of Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease Virus (EHDV), enabling on-site diagnosis within 1 h without specialized equipment.

Salk scientists find a plant protein that can directly sense temperature, giving plants a built-in cellular “thermostat" that could be a useful target for creating future crops that are more resilient in the face of extreme temperatures.

Using new genetic markers, fruit breeders can now tell whether grapes will be seedless and self-pollinating even years before vines bear fruit. The approach will save time and resources in the pursuit of creating flavorful new grape varieties, including the major challenge of developing seedless muscadines on self-pollinating vines.

A recent study investigates the intermuscular bones (IBs) of a novel hybrid fish (BTB), derived from female Megalobrama amblycephala (BSB) and male Culter alburnus (TC), and its parents. The research reveals that BTB exhibits a reduced number of IBs per sarcomere compared to its parents, showcasing the potential of distant hybridization in developing fish varieties with fewer IBs, which is advantageous for both consumer preference and industrial processing.