Boyce Thompson Institute

05/27/2026

Today we took a "paws" from our normal activities for some very important research on ear scratches, belly rubs, and treat distribution. Thanks to Cornell Companions for helping BTI take a Paws for a Break today!

05/18/2026

PhD candidate Yu-Heng Hsieh is studying the signaling compounds that help plants recruit nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria, research that could one day help reduce the need for agricultural fertilizers. This work was made possible through support from the Triad Foundation, helping advance innovative research with real-world agricultural impact.

05/15/2026

This week, we were proud to welcome the BTI Board of Directors for an engaging and productive visit focused on the future of the Institute. Discussions around BTI’s Strategic Plan highlighted the strong community, collaboration, and leadership driving our mission forward.

We’re also excited to congratulate Dr. Andrew Nelson on his unanimous approval as BTI’s new Vice President of Research!

Thank you to everyone who helped make the visit such a success — and to our Board members, faculty, and staff whose dedication continues to drive BTI forward through innovation, collaboration, and discovery.

05/13/2026

BTI PhD candidate Elizabeth "Lizzie" Trost is digging into the powerful partnership between plants and mycorrhizal fungi. With support from the Triad Foundation, Lizzie is exploring the molecular biology behind this underground teamwork and helping pave the way for stronger, more resilient crops in the future. Watch to learn how tiny fungi could help grow big solutions for agriculture.

05/08/2026

For hundreds of millions of years, plants and fungi have been trading nutrients underground. Plants provide lipids; fungi supply phosphorus in return. It's one of the most ancient partnerships in biology – and it helps plants thrive even in nutrient-poor soils.

But one basic question has never been answered: how do beneficial fungi grow into and through plant cells without destroying them in the process?

That's the question at the center of Dr. Natalie Hoffmann's research, and it's what earned her the inaugural Jane Silverthorne Postdoctoral Fellowship at BTI.

Working in the lab of Dr. Maria Harrison, Hoffmann will use cutting-edge imaging tools and CRISPR gene editing to understand how plants allow beneficial fungi to enter their cell walls. The answers could point toward new ways to support crop growth and food security.

The Jane Silverthorne Postdoctoral Fellowship was established through a generous gift from the estate of Dr. Jane Silverthorne, a celebrated plant biologist and BTI Board member whose belief in curiosity-driven science and cross-disciplinary collaboration lives on through this award.

“I’m incredibly honored to receive this fellowship,” Hoffmann said. “It will enable me to learn advanced microscopy techniques, build collaborations across three countries, and continue working at an institute that’s internationally recognized as a leader in plant research. BTI is the perfect environment for tackling a question this ambitious.”

Read the full story: https://btiscience.org/bti-names-dr-natalie-hoffmann-inaugural-jane-silverthorne-postdoctoral-fellow/

Fungi and plants have been trading nutrients underground for hundreds of millions of years. But one basic question has never been answered: how do beneficial

05/06/2026

Ever wonder what makes watermelon so sweet and vibrantly red? It's genetics – shaped over millions of years and refined through centuries of human breeding. But this same process also stripped away traits that make watermelons more resilient against disease and environmental stress.

BTI scientist Dr. Zhangjun Fei and an international team just published a new resource to help change that: the watermelon super-pangenome, integrating 138 genomes from all seven wild and cultivated watermelon species. Published in Nature Genetics, the work identifies specific genetic variants linked to fruit sweetness, flesh color, and pathogen resistance – some of which couldn't have been detected with any previous method.

The team also built predictive breeding models from their findings. The application is faster, more targeted development of watermelons that are tough enough to handle disease pressure and good enough to keep earning a spot at the table.

Read the full story here: https://btiscience.org/super-powered-population-genomics-watermelon-super-pangenome-paves-the-way-for-precision-breeding/

Watermelon is a quintessential summertime fruit, evoking images of warm, sunny afternoons and cookouts with friends and family. You can easily picture its

05/04/2026

BTI has been awarded a USDA grant to expand plant biotechnology education for K–12 students across New York. Through hands-on learning—including growing and studying the Purple Tomato™—this initiative will connect students with real-world science and meaningful community engagement. Cultivating curiosity today to grow the innovators of tomorrow. https://btiscience.org/boyce-thompson-institute-awarded-usda-grant-to-advance-youth-education-in-plant-biotechnology-across-new-york-state/

The Boyce Thompson Institute (BTI) is pleased to announce that Dr. Georg Jander and Delanie Sickler, Education and Outreach Director at BTI, have received a

05/01/2026

This project explores how plants and arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi work together in a mutually beneficial partnership that helps more than 70% of flowering plants absorb nutrients from the soil. In this relationship, both partners benefit: the fungi help plants access nutrients like phosphate, and in return, the fungi receive essential fatty acids that they cannot produce on their own.

Building on recent gene expression data, the research team will combine genetic and metabolomic tools to study how specific plant-made lipids help regulate this symbiosis. The ultimate goal is to better understand and potentially enhance this partnership so plants can take up more phosphate through their fungal partners, improving nutrient acquisition in a sustainable way.

We are deeply grateful to the Triad Foundation for their continued support of BTI and for helping make research like this possible.

04/30/2026

Plant-derived cardiac glycosides, which inhibit a key cellular enzyme called the sodium-potassium pump (Na⁺/K⁺ ATPase), have been used for centuries in both traditional and modern medicine as a treatment for heart disease. Partially blocking Na⁺/K⁺ ATPase activity leads to a slower and stronger heartbeat. However, the endogenous molecules that regulate this essential human enzyme remain unknown.

This project seeks to identify regulators of Na⁺/K⁺ ATPase in mammalian tissues using enzyme activity assays and comparative metabolomics. Discovering such molecules will answer long-standing questions about how Na⁺/K⁺ ATPase is controlled in the human body, and could also guide new treatments for congestive heart failure and other metabolic diseases.

We are grateful to the Triad Foundation for their continued support of BTI and for making research like this possible!

04/29/2026

Ozone (O₃) protects life high in the atmosphere, but at ground level it becomes a pollutant that can reduce photosynthesis and weaken plant stress responses. Ground-level ozone is also rising in many areas due to higher temperatures and reduced soil moisture linked to climate change.

This study examines how ozone has affected vegetation across 244 units of the U.S. National Park System. By comparing current five-year monitoring data with a similar assessment from 20 years ago, Dr. Kohut will assess how changing air quality standards and climate conditions have influenced risks to native plant species in national parks.

This project also marks the culmination of a century of air pollution research at BTI and the conclusion of its environmental biology program.

We are grateful to the Triad Foundation for their continued support of BTI and for making research like this possible!