'Yellow biotechnology' refers to biotechnology with insects -- analogous to the green (plants) and red (animals) biotechnology. Active ingredients or genes in insects are characterized and used for research or application in agriculture and medicine. Scientists in Germany are now using a procedure which brings forward ecological research on insects: They study gene functions in moth larvae by manipulating genes using the RNA interference technology (RNAi). RNAi is induced by feeding larvae with plants that have been treated with viral vectors. This method -- called "plant virus based dsRNA producing system" (VDPS) -- increases sample throughput compared to the use of genetically transformed plants. 

Today's alarmingly high rate of plant extinction necessitates an increased understanding of the world's biodiversity. An estimated 15 to 30 percent of the world's flowering plants have yet to be discovered, making efficiency an integral function of future botanical research.

Studying self-replicating genetic units, called plasmids, found in one of the world's widest-ranging pathogenic soil bacteria -- the crown-gall-disease-causing microorganism Agrobacterium tumefaciens -- biologists are showing how freeloading, mutant derivatives of these plasmids benefit while the virulent, disease-causing plasmids do the heavy-lifting of initiating infection in plant hosts. The research confirms that the ability of bacteria to cause disease comes at a significant cost that is only counterbalanced by the benefits they experience from infected host organisms.

To generate phylogenetic trees and investigate relationships between organisms, scientists usually look for similarities and differences in the DNA. Plant scientists were confounded by the fact that the DNA extracted from the plants’ green chloroplasts sometimes showed the greatest similarities when related species grew in the same area. Scientists have now discovered that a transfer of entire chloroplasts, or at least their genomes, can occur in contact zones between plants. Inter-species crossing is not necessary. The new chloroplast genome can even be handed down to the next generation and, thereby, give a plant with new traits. These findings are of great importance to the understanding of evolution as well as the breeding of new plant varieties.

A team of researchers has discovered an overachieving plant enzyme that works both the day and night shifts. The discovery shows that plants evolved a new function for this enzyme by changing merely one of its protein building blocks.

Every night millions of people go to bed hungry. New genetic technology can help us feed the world by making inedible seeds edible and tasty.

Location matters for birds on the hunt for caterpillars, according to researchers. Findings suggest that chickadees and others zero in on the type of tree as much as the characteristics of their wriggly prey.

A solution to the difficult issue of harvesting algae for use as a biofuel has been developed using microbubble technology.

The upsurge in droughts is one of the main consequences of climate change, and affects crops in particular. However, a biologist has confirmed that in the case of barley at least, climate change itself is providing it with a self-defense mechanisms to tackle a lack of water.

In August 2010, an entomologist at the University of California, Riverside discovered a tiny fairyfly wasp in upstate New York that had never been seen in the United States until then. Nearly exactly a year later, he discovered the wasp in Irvine, Calif., strongly suggesting that the wasp is well established in the country. Called Gonatocerus ater, the 1-millimeter-long wasp was accidentally introduced in North America. It lays its eggs inside the eggs of leafhoppers.

Scientists have taken us a step closer to breeding hardier crops that can better adapt to different environmental conditions and fight off attack from parasites.

A recent study investigating the molecular structure and function of an essential plant hormone could profoundly change our understanding of a key cell process, and might ultimately lead to the development of new drugs for a variety of diseases.

Greenhouse bedding plant growers can save themselves time, money or possibly both by giving cuttings in propagation more light, according to a new study.

Sweet corn research shows that higher yield and profitability are possible with greater plant populations of certain hybrids.

A new study shows a hybrid plant species may experience rapid genome evolution in predictable patterns, meaning evolution repeats itself in populations of independent origin.

A natural substance obtained from seeds of the "miracle tree" could purify and clarify water inexpensively and sustainably in the developing world, where more than 1 billion people lack access to clean drinking water, scientists report.

New research shows that a warmer climate will have quite different consequences for plant species in the Arctic. While most species are expected to lose part of their current habitat, the genetic consequences will differ markedly among species. The research results will have major impact on future conservation efforts.

Grain crops that produce less carotene can produce more food, especially in Africa, as they are less affected by parasitic plants. Agricultural researchers studied processes and technologies that could improve the control of the parasitic weed Striga both in the lab and in the field. He discovered that rice plants that produce less carotene than usual are less infected by the Striga parasite.

According to a relatively new insight in plant research, there is no single gene strongly controlling growth. Nevertheless, in order to breed new varieties of corn with a higher yield faster than ever before, researchers are relying on a trick: early selection of the most promising parent plants based on their chemical and genetic makeup, as well as on new statistical analysis procedures.

Scientists have discovered a "nourishing gene" which controls the transfer of nutrients from plant to seed -- a significant step which could help increase global food production.