UF/IFAS Scientists Develop Groundbreaking Method for Detecting DNA of Invasive Snakes in Florida
UF researchers have developed a pioneering tool to bolster Florida’s defenses against invasive species: a DNA-based environmental monitoring test that can pinpoint where they’ve been, aiding eradication efforts.
Synthetic “Alien” DNA Provides Opportunities for Disease Diagnostics and Treatment
To help understand how DNA may have evolved on other planets, UF researcher Dr. Steven Benner and his partners synthesized DNA-like molecular systems with more than four nucleotides in the laboratory.
Sea Turtle Conservation Gets Boost From New DNA Detection Method
A study led by University of Florida researchers is the first to sequence environmental DNA, or eDNA, from sea turtles — genetic material shed as they travel over beaches and in water. The research project is also the first to successfully collect animal eDNA from beach sand. The techniques could be used to trace and study other kinds of wildlife, advancing research and informing conservation strategies.
UF Scientists May Have Found a Way to More Efficiently Apply Genome Editing to Plant Breeding
New research led by a University of Florida scientist shows a development regulator can help plants grow. In the bigger picture, the study’s results also may help genome editing and as a result, plant breeding.
Can Handheld DNA Testing Technology Stand Up to Seafood Fraud?
When LeeAnn Applewhite started running DNA analysis on commercial seafood samples in 2015, 75 percent of them – species ranging from grouper and snapper to catfish and shrimp – were mislabeled. “We were testing thousands of samples, and some of it was unintentional mislabeling; it was a bycatch species with [species like] grouper or snapper but the whole load was not erroneously labeled,” said Applewhite, co-founder and president of UF Innovate | Sid Martin Biotech graduate Applied Food Technologies.
Using DNA, UF Research Shows Which Bats Binge on Crop Pests
UF study, published in the journal Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, found that the three most common bat species voraciously ate insects that otherwise cause major economic damage to several crops.
