The rapid expansion of high-throughput sequencing technologies has generated unprecedented amounts of multi-omics data, essential to advancing research in biodiversity, evolution, agriculture, medicine, and environmental science. 

A major new University of Stirling led study aiming to address one of the biggest issues in UK aquaculture has been awarded more than £1.4m in funding.

Osaka Metropolitan University researchers enhanced Saccharomyces cerevisiae to increase its tolerance for high 2,3-butanediol concentrations. This was achieved by introducing mutations into the genomic DNA and successfully obtaining a mutant strain that proliferates 122 times more than the parent strain.

Cold stress severely restricts crop productivity, yet the molecular mechanisms that coordinate transcriptional and oxidative responses remain poorly understood. This study uncovers a key regulatory module in which the E3 ubiquitin ligase VaMIEL1 controls the stability of the cold-responsive transcription factor VaMYB4a. Under normal conditions, VaMIEL1 promotes VaMYB4a degradation, restricting activation of the CBF–COR cold-response pathway. Cold exposure suppresses VaMIEL1, allowing VaMYB4a to accumulate and enhance both cold-responsive gene expression and antioxidant activity. Functional assays in Arabidopsis and grapevine calli demonstrate that VaMIEL1 overexpression weakens cold tolerance, while its silencing improves stress resistance. The discovery reveals an integrated transcriptional–redox mechanism critical for developing cold-resilient grape cultivars.