Press

Loss of Karma transposon methylation underlies the mantled somaclonal variant of oil palm

Study Published in Nature Reveals Epigenetic Cause of Mantling, Seen in Oil Palms Cloned from Top-Performing Plants

DNA Testing Services To Help Boost Palm Oil Yield Launched | South-South Information Gateway

Towards Solidarity Development and Prosperty of South Nations

Newly identified gene provides reliable visual cue for oil palm fruit ripeness

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and St. Louis, MO - June 30, 2014 - A genetic discovery by a team of scientists from the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB), aided by scientists from Orion Genomics, paves the way for increased production of palm oil, which accounts for 45 percent of the world's edible oil.

Scientific American “Can Indiana Jones Help Sort Out the Palm Oil Problem?”

Harrison Ford, known for iconic roles such as Han Solo and the intrepid archaeologist, confronts the Indonesian forestry minister on television.

The oil palm VIRESCENS gene controls fruit colour and encodes a R2R3-MYB

Oil palm, a plantation crop of major economic importance in Southeast Asia, is the predominant source of edible oil worldwide. We report the identification of the VIRESCENS (VIR) gene, which controls fruit exocarp colour and is an indicator of ripeness.

International Business Times “Crucial Oil Palm Gene Could Prove Beneficial To Farmers And Asian Rain Forests”

A single gene in the oil palm could hold the key to making more oil from fewer plants -- and could possibly help preserve Asian rain forests from destruction.

New York Times “Looking at Oil Palm’s Genome for Keys to Productivity”

On Wednesday a team of Malaysian and American scientists published a pair of papers in Nature on the genome of this profoundly important (oil palm) tree… They hope to use the knowledge to grow better trees that can yield more oil… The researchers discovered that a single gene, called SHELL, has a powerful effect on how much oil is produced… mutations to SHELL can raise the yield of the palm by as much as 30 percent.

BBC News Science and Environment “BBC News Science and Environment”

The genome of one of the world's key commercial crops, the oil palm, has been sequenced. The plant's oil is used in many food and household products, but has caused controversy because large areas of rainforest have been cleared to make way for plantations. Through deciphering the crop's DNA, researchers have identified the genes that could help to produce a more sustainable crop. The work is published in Nature.

Research Published in Nature Sequences Oil Palm Genome and Identifies Gene Critical for Yield of Palm Oil, Major Source of Edible Vegetable Oil

Malaysian Palm Oil Board and Orion Genomics researchers contribute to discovery that will protect rainforest