PLANT
BREEDING NEWS
EDITION 155
29 March 2005
An Electronic Newsletter of Applied Plant Breeding
Sponsored by FAO and Cornell University
Clair H. Hershey, Editor
CONTENTS
1. NEWS, ANNOUNCEMENTS AND RESEARCH NOTES
1.01
Plant breeding and the public sector: who will train plant breeders?
1.02
CAST paper examines ethics in agriculture
1.03
Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute presents 10-year baseline
projections
1.04
Some 36 countries worldwide face serious food shortages, says FAO report
1.05
The call for maize mounts in Asia
1.06
Corn demand in developing countries to surpass wheat and rice needs
1.07 The
US Postal Service 2005 Commemorative Stamp Program honors
Barbara McClintock.
1.08
Proposed changes to Canadian Plant Breeders' Rights Act will have no impact on
producers purchasing seed lawfully
1.09
New report offers "road map to the future" of crop variety
registration in Canada
1.10
China is close to production of 'safe' genetically engineered rice
1.11
GM crop tests get green light in Tanzania
1.12
Tilling: Harvesting functional genomics for crop improvement
1.13 Unraveling the mystery of modern potatoes' origins
1.14
Preserving the world's agricultural crop diversity as a resource for future
food security
1.15 CIMMYT
research team aim is to breed high yielding maize that also resists infection
by Aspergillus flavus
1.16
Researchers track yellow pigment genes to boost Canada's durum success
1.17
Sustained soybean rust resistance issue for Brazilian breeders
1.18
Defenseless plants arm themselves with metals
1.19 New
winter hulless barley has high protein
1.20
Marker-assisted breeding leads to new millet hybrid
1.21
Report shows root crop as potential carotenoid
source
1.22
Maize genome database earning acclaim from researchers, says National
Corn Growers Association
1.23
Plants defy Mendel's inheritance laws, may prompt textbook changes
1.24
Understanding rye and rice may help farmers improve wheat
1.25 Genaissance
and Monsanto team up with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to map soybean
genome
1.26
Monsanto unlikely to resurrect biotech wheat
1.27
Oasis Horticulture (Australia) and Suntroy
Flowers (Japan) form a new research and development company
1.28 Update 4-2005 of FAO-BiotechNews
1.29 HIV
pandemia: Could vaccines produced in plants be
the way out?
1.30
Vaccination against tears and sniffling
1.31 Bacteria hard working cleaner of the
environment
1.32
Food allergy hope
1.33
Switzerland reaches a crossroad
1.34
Plants like to be poisoned
2. PUBLICATIONS
2.01
Farmers' Bounty: Locating Crop Diversity in the Contemporary World
2.02
Special-rate memberships in Crop Science Society of
3. WEB RESOURCES
3.01 The FAO
Biotechnology Forum e-mail conference
4 GRANTS AVAILABLE
4.01
Asian Rice Foundation grants
4.02
Fellowship programme for African scientists
5 POSITION ANNOUNCEMENTS
(None posted)
6
MEETINGS, COURSES AND WORKSHOPS
7
EDITOR'S NOTES
=========================
1. NEWS, ANNOUNCEMENTS AND RESEARCH NOTES
1.01 Plant
breeding and the public sector: who will train plant breeders?
Overview of a Plant Breeding Symposium held at Michigan State University
9-11 March 2005
The Henry Center for Executive
Development
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI
An international symposium was recently hosted by the Plant Breeding and
Genetics Group at Michigan State University entitled
Representatives from Corporations, Foundations, Research Centers
and Universities came together to discuss global concerns about the decline in
numbers of plant breeding programs.
The meeting was led off by five invited talks including:
-Plant Breeding Training in North America - Dr. P. Stephen Baenziger
(Professor, University of Nebraska)
-Plant Breeding in the Private Sector of North America Dr. Fred Bliss (Senior
Director, R & D Special Projects, Seminis Seeds)
-Plant Breeding Training in the International Sector - Dr.Gurdev
Khush (Former Head of Plant Breeding, IRRI)
-Building Capacity for International Plant Breeding: What Roles for the
Public and Private Sectors? - Dr. Michael Morris (Senior Economist, World Bank)
-Assessment of National Plant Breeding and Biotechnology Capacity Worldwide -
Dr. Elcio Guimaraes (Senior
Officer Cereal/Crop Breeding, FAO)
After the invited talks, the meeting participants met in breakout groups to
discuss three topics and make recommendations to the group as a whole. The
topics were:
-What kind of training do plant breeders need, and how can we most effectively
provide that training?
-How will we provide improved varieties of minor and subsistence crops in the
future?
-How can the public and public sector most effectively partner to train plant
breeders?
The organizers are now in the process of collating the talks and reports for
publication. Periodic updates will be provided at http://www.hrt.msu.edu/PBSymp/
Contributed by
hancock@msu.edu
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1.02 CAST paper examines ethics in agriculture
The use of biotechnology in agricultural production is one area that raises
ethical concerns. "By analyzing arguments and positions on ethical issues,
a better understanding of the criteria or standards that should govern an
individual's actions can be evaluated and thus lead to judgments about what
counts as being ethically right and wrong," says a recent issue paper on
"Agricultural Ethics" of the Council for Agricultural Science and
Technology (CAST).
The issue paper discusses a method for addressing ethical issues, as well as
topics and issues that general public discussion such as food safety, environmental
impacts, food security, and agricultural biotechnology. It concludes with the
idea that institutionalizing ethics is the responsibility of people in the food
system. "Agricultural institutions need to develop a base of expertise in signaling the nature and importance of ethical concerns,
with the expectation that developing the base will lead to more effective
decision making in the future," CAST added.
CAST is an international consortium of 36 scientific and professional societies
that interprets and communicates science-based information on food, fiber, agricultural, natural resource, and related societal
and environmental issues.
The full paper can be accessed on the CAST website at http://www.cast-science.org.
Read the full reports at http://www.cimmyt.org.
Contributed by Margaret E. Smith
Dept. of Plant Breeding & Genetics
Cornell University
mes25@cornell.edu
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1.03 Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute
presents 10-year baseline projections
Washington, DC
Solid prices, stable economic growth globally and a weak dollar in
industrialized trading countries will keep U.S. agricultural exports strong for
the next 10 years, according to the projections the Food and Agricultural Policy Research
Institute (FAPRI) presented to Congress this
week. Sanitary and phytosanitary concerns, however,
will continue to plague meat markets in the short term and will partially
offset the growth in exports of coarse grains.
FAPRI, an economic research group with centers at Iowa State
University and the University of
Missouri-Columbia, prepares 10-year baseline projections intended for use
by policymakers and other planners in the agricultural sector.
Other highlights from FAPRI's 2005 agricultural
outlook:
In 2004, with strong grain and livestock prices, total
The loss of major meat export destinations after a
Because the
Benefiting from trade shocks from BSE in beef and
from avian flu in the broiler industry, world pork production and trade are
projected to reach 110 and 4.24 million metric tons, respectively, by
2014-2015. The European Union loses market share, going from 45 percent to 33
percent, because of higher feed costs (due to a meal and bone meal ban),
appreciating currency and strict animal welfare and environmental regulations.
All other major competing exporters, including
The depreciation of the U.S. dollar against most other currencies in
industrialized countries tapers off and ends by 2008.
Grain prices remain high, given strong import demand on world markets,
especially in
FAPRI foresees greater concentration in soybean
production.
The multi-year FAPRI projections provide a starting
point for evaluating and comparing scenarios involving macroeconomic, policy,
weather and technology variables in world agricultural trade. More information
is available at the
Source: SeedQuest.com
15 March 2005
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1.04 Some 36 countries worldwide face serious food
shortages, says FAO report
Rome, Italy
Worldwide, 36 countries need external food assistance, while 11 countries face
unfavourable prospects for their current crops, the UN
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said in a report released today.
"The causes are varied, but civil strife and adverse weather
predominate."
According to the February issue of Foodcrops and
Shortages, the highest number of countries facing food emergencies continues to
be in
In
Food and crop situation in southern Africa is mixed
In southern Africa, FAO says prospects for the 2005 main season crops are
mixed because of "delayed, erratic and generally below normal rainfall
during the first half of the season." The food security situation for
vulnerable populations, particularly in
Impact of Tsunamis still stalks many Asian countries
In
The majority of the people affected by the earthquake and the tsunamis made
their living from agriculture and fisheries, or were employed in related
enterprises. According to the report, the fisheries sector was hardest hit, but
localized severe crop and livestock losses were also suffered. Losses of rice
stocks are likely to be important and the report warns that salt water may
prevent farmers from cropping for one or more seasons or force them to adopt
more salt tolerant crops and varieties with low productivity.
The reports says that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea)
still needs international assistance to meet its minimum food needs despite
recent gains in food production.
Total
cereal production in
In
A good harvest is expected in
According to the report, a reduction in cereal production is expected in the
European Union in 2005 after the bumper crop last year. An increase in the
set-aside requirement will result in a reduction in the area sown and the
report says it is likely that yields will fall back from last year's highs.
Overall
prospects for wheat, maize and paddy crops are favourable in
In
Despite generally favourable weather conditions so far this winter in
FAO's Foodcrops and
Shortages is published three times a year in February,
May and October. It is posted in full on the FAO website at this URL: http://www.fao.org/giews/english/fs/index.htm
Source: SeedQuest.com
28 February 2005
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1.05 The call for maize mounts in Asia
El Batan, Mexico
The demand for maize in Asia is expected to skyrocket in the next two decades,
driven primarily by its use for animal feed. In the uplands of seven Asian
countries, however, demand is also increasing in the farming households who eat
the maize crops they grow. CIMMYT and the International Fund for Agricultural Development
(IFAD) have recently completed a project promoting
food and livelihood security for upland farmers in
By 2020, the International Food Policy Research
Institute (IFPRI) estimates that demand for maize in all developing
countries will surpass the demand for wheat and rice, with
To further develop maize improvement recommendations, national workshops and
seven publications built upon the farmer surveys. Careful planning and
appropriate procedures on the part of scientists and policy makers will ensure
an easier transition as farmers face the oncoming demand. A clear message that
emerged from the study in
These conclusions were drawn by researchers conducting rapid rural appraisals
with farmers in commercial and semi commercial systems in the up- and lowlands
of these seven countries. The second stage of fieldwork entailed more in-depth
participatory rural appraisals in marginal, isolated areas and involved village
leaders and groups of farmers. Details on the sociological, agro-economical,
environmental, and technological aspects of maize production were assembled,
and the resulting publications can be viewed, downloaded, or ordered here.
In addition to CIMMYT and IFAD, the project involved collaboration with IFPRI, Stanford
University, senior officials of national research programs, and ministries
of agriculture.
Source: SeedQuest.com
February, 2005
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1.06 Corn demand in developing countries to surpass
wheat and rice needs
By 2020, demand for corn in all developing countries will be greater than
its demand for other cereal crops like wheat and rice, with Asia accounting for
over half of this need. Increasing demand for animal feeds as well as the
growing number of households will make this situation a reality. This
prediction of the International Food Policy Research Institute encouraged teams
from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center
(CIMMYT) and the International Fund for Agricultural
Development to promote food security for upland farmers in
The teams worked with farmers in the uplands of
CIMMYT has made available, on its website,
publications on the results of its farm visits and participatory rural
appraisals. It gives details on the sociological, agro-economical,
environmental, and technological aspects of corn production on a per country
basis.
Contributed by Margaret E. Smith
Dept. of Plant Breeding & Genetics
Cornell University
mes25@cornell.edu
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1.07 The US Postal Service 2005 Commemorative Stamp
Program honors Barbara McClintock.
This issuance honors four American scientists:
geneticist Barbara McClintock, mathematician John von Neumann, physicist
Richard Feynman, and thermodynamicist Josiah Willard
Gibbs.
For each stamp in this block of four, artist Victor Stabin
created a collage featuring a portrait of the scientist and drawings that are
associated with major contributions made by the scientist.
Text on the back of the stamps highlights their achievements:
Barbara McClintock (1902-1992) conducted maize plant research that led to her
discovery of genetic transposition-the movement of genetic material within and
between chromosomes. In 1983, this pioneering geneticist was awarded the Nobel
Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
Stamp image can be viewed at: http://shop.usps.com/images/05_nscientists37_f.jpg
or
http://www.usps.com/communications/news/stamps/2004/sr04_076.htm
Contributed by Ronnie Coffman
Department of Plant Breeding & Genetics
Cornell University
wrc2@cornell.edu
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1.08 Proposed changes to Canadian Plant Breeders'
Rights Act will have no impact on producers purchasing seed lawfully
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Proposed amendments to Canadas Plant Breeders' Rights
(PBR) Act will not impact Canadian farmers who are
acquiring seed lawfully, says an organization that represents Canadian private
sector innovators in crop development. Producers who are currently
operating in compliance with the legislative and regulatory requirements of the
PBR Act and the Canada Seeds Act have nothing to fear
and will see no impact from these suggested changes,says
Lorne Hadley, executive director of the
Canadian Plant Technology Agency (CPTA).
The proposed amendments will help to insure that those benefiting from the
development of new plant varieties will support those innovators. stated Lorne Hadley Executive Director of the CPTA.
Canadian seed industry views on the proposed amendments have been
misrepresented in the public press and at public meetings by some organizations
advancing various agendas, Hadley explains. This information has been
harmful to the process and created confusion in the countryside on the purpose
of the proposed PBR amendments. It is essential
that we remain focused on their real impact, which is a fair balance of
protection of the interests of both farmers and plant breeders.
The ability of a farmer to save their own crop as seed for use on their own
farm the following season is actually strengthened under the proposed changes
to the PBR Act. The current act does not
address farmers privilege, therefore this ability is a traditional custom not
protected by law.
The vast majority of farmers legitimately buy pedigree seed from their local
seed dealer or seed grower to gain access to a new, better performing, variety,says Hadley, and, for this
majority, the proposed changes just reinforce the good management practices
they are currently using on their farms.
In fact,he continues, the
proposed amendments will help ensure that, through their support of plant
breeders and technology innovators, these farmers will continue to benefit from
the development of, and access to, these new plant varieties.
The CPTA is the lead industry organization empowered
to raise awareness of the value of PBR and other
mechanisms of intellectual property protection to plant agriculture. The CPTA also monitors the seed marketplace and, when
necessary, undertakes enforcement activities.
Source: SeedQuest.com
1 March 2005
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1.09 New report offers "road map to the
future" of crop variety registration in Canada
Calgary, Alberta
The curtain began to lift on a new era for Canada's multi-billion crops industry
at the 2005 meeting of the Prairie Registration Recommending Committee for
Grain (PRRCG) in Winnipeg.
Following years of dramatic changes in agriculture, crop science, intellectual
property rights, international protocols and a range of associated issues, the
key players in
Also providing a crystal ball were new crop lines recommended for registration,
which promise to fill Prairie fields over the next several years. The PRRCG's four subcommittees - the Wheat,
Producers and others can get an overview of all the key changes and recommended
crop lines in the new
If all goes as planned, the 2005 PRRCG meeting will
be the last for the organization, which has decided to dissolve and shift
powers for recommending varieties to its four crop-specific subcommittees,
allowing them to become independent recommending committees. In 2005, the
subcommittees worked through a range of administrative issues to prepare for
that transition, leaving everything in place for implementation in 2006.
"The newly created recommending committees would have the option of using
their existing membership in the Western Expert Committee on Grain Breeding (WECG) as a basis to meet in a common forum and conduct
business of mutual concern," says Dr. Scott Duguid,
PRRCG Chair. "Since there's strong support for
retaining this function, the approach we're pursuing is to dissolve the PRRCG but retain the WECG part of
the mandate and continue the meeting function under the WECG
banner."
In other meeting action, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), which for more than five years has conducted a
landmark review of the variety registration system, unprecedented in its scale,
presented the principles shaping an updated regulatory change proposal expected
to be tabled in spring 2005.
Also,
"Though the PRRCG wields tremendous influence on
the crops industry in
The 2005 PRRCG Report includes complete lists of the
crop lines recommended for registration, along with a description of the key
traits they include. The report also features highlights of discussion at the
meeting, including several articles on major issues affecting crop development,
along with background information on PRRCG mandate
and processes.
The 2005 PRRCG Report is developed as a service to
western Canadian farmers, industry and the broad stakeholders in Canadian crop
development. Producers and others can access the full report on the
Source: SeedQuest.com
10 March 2005
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1.10 China is close to production of 'safe'
genetically engineered rice
Beijing, China
Reuters via Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology's As Reported in the News
As early as this year, China could start commercial production of a new breed
of genetically engineered rice, says Reuters.
If adopted, it would be the world's first large-scale plantation of a major
transgenic food crop and, some scientists say, would provide an environmentally
friendly answer to the food problems of the world's poor.
But those who fear that genetically modified organisms (GMOs)
present a danger to the natural crop balance say
Scientists in
Government officials have remained tight-lipped about plans to introduce any
form of GMO rice.
The Xa21 strain, which was developed through publicly funded international
research, is resistant to bacterial blight -- one of the most serious crop
diseases in
As it derives from a wild rice gene, it has emerged as front-runner in the race
to be the first GMO rice crop, ahead of insect-resistant
BT rice, which contains a toxic bacterial gene.
The scientists say
"Many scientists in
Should
It would also be in stark contrast to Monsanto Co.'s decision last year to halt
plans to introduce the world's first GMO wheat in
At present, herbicide-tolerant or insect-resistant soy, cotton, corn and rapeseed
account for most of the GMOs grown commercially
worldwide. Of the four,
Clive James, chairman of the ISAAA, a group with
industry and public foundation support that promotes biotech as a way to halt
global hunger, sees huge significance in
"In the near term, the one single event that is likely to have the
greatest impact is the approval and adoption of ... (GMO)
rice in
"That will herald a new chapter in the debate ... which will be
increasingly influenced by countries in the South (developing countries), where
the new technology can contribute the biggest benefits and where humanitarian
needs are the greatest."
Jia Shirong, a professor
from the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences in Beijing, said that --
after eight years of laboratory study and field trials -- his team had applied
to the government to start commercial output of Xa21 hybrid Japonica rice in
the central province of Anhui, half the size of
Italy.
"The field performance has been excellent," Jia
told Reuters in a telephone interview. "Farmers can reduce yield losses
and chemical use. Our research data showed that the transgenic rice is as safe
as the traditional rice."
Jia said the Xa21 strain was created through
international cooperation that included the participation of the International
Laboratory for Tropical Agricultural Biotechnology (ILTAB)
in the
Pamela Ronald, from the
With the help of ILTAB, she transformed the gene into
a cultivated species.
Many scientists from the International Rice
Research Institute had worked on the wild rice species from
Some say there is no need for Xa21 as there are already rice varieties
resistant to bacterial blight. "The introduction of the GMO rice means taking an unnecessary risk," said Sze Pangcheung from Greenpeace in
Xue from the Nanjing
Institute said
"We should take time and look at it more carefully," he said.
But asked about the possible commercialization of Xa21 rice, Ronald told Reuters:
"It would be a big step for consumers ... There is a lot of potential in
this technology."
She said the
If a company wanted to commercialize a product using the gene, it would pay
royalties into a fund Ronald established in 1996, so that some of the financial
benefits would be shared with
Asked if
"If a farmer plants a seed with Xa21 in it, he or she can harvest the seed
and save some for replanting," she added to the Reuters report.
Source: SeedQuest.com
11 March 2005
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1.11 GM crop tests get green light in Tanzania
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Deodatus Balile
Tanzania will this year begin its first field trials of genetically modified
(GM) crops. The first plants to be tested will be cotton modified to resist
attack by insect pests, including a caterpillar known as red bollworm that
feeds on cotton and causes bollworm disease.
The plans were announced by Wilfred Ngirwa, permanent
secretary for the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, at an
international workshop on GM crops held in Arusha in
7 February.
"
The government-run trials expected to begin before October will be supervised
by researchers from Sokoine University of Agriculture
in Morogoro, whose laboratory studies have shown that
the GM cotton kills caterpillars feeding on it.
The research will be conducted in the Mbeya, Rukwa and Iringa regions of
Since then, farmers in the region have largely grown sunflowers to sell to
processors who extract oil from the plants. But the growers have complained
that the industry offers little financial security due to the small local
market for their crops.
According to Paul Ntwina, the member
of parliament for Songwe constituency, that
the introduction of GM cotton would be good news for farmers in southern
"I am glad we will be able to produce cotton," Ntwina
told SciDev.Net. "Technology is likely to be our liberator".
Job Lukonge of the Tanzania Farmers Association told
SciDev.Net it was good that the government had decided to start its GM trials
with cotton instead of a food crop, as it would avoid the contentious issue of
having GM products in the human food chain.
Lukonge said the association was glad that GM
technology was within reach, but said
If successful, the GM cotton trials are likely to pave the way for wider use of
GM crops in
Growing or germinating GM crops is currently illegal in
By starting its GM trials, Tanzania will become the seventh African country to
do so, following Burkina Faso, Egypt, Kenya, South Africa, Tunisia and
Zimbabwe. Of these,
Source: SciDev.NetSeedQuest.com
28 February 2005
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1.12 Tilling: Harvesting functional genomics
for crop improvement
Charles Paul (Max) Moehs
Since the first publication describing the technique of TILLING (Targeting
Induced Local Lesions in Genomes) in 20001, this method of reverse
genetics has been widely adopted by the academic community for use in model
organisms, including Drosophila, zebrafish,
and Arabidopsis. Now a recent paper by Slade et
al.2 highlights its potential for crop improvement.
Slade et al. describe the application of TILLING to the identification
of an allelic series of variants in the granule-bound starch synthase I (GBSSI)
gene in hexaploid and tetraploid
wheat. GBSSI or Waxy plays a critical role in
the synthesis of amylose, which, in addition to amylopectin, comprises the starch fraction of the seed.
Reduction or loss of GBSSI function results in starch
with a decreased or absent amylose fraction, which is
desired for its improved freeze-thaw stability and resistance to staling
compared to conventional starch.
Prior to Slade et al.s work, wheat breeders had
developed breeding lines of waxy wheat, although no waxy wheat is
yet grown commercially. The conventional breeding approach, however, took
considerable effort over many years to find rare spontaneous knock-out alleles
of GBSSI in germplasm
collections of wheat landraces using time-consuming phenotypic screens such as SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of waxy
proteins. The search for natural knock-out alleles of GBSSI
in bread wheat is complicated by the presence of A, B, and D genomes in allohexaploid bread wheat and A and
B genomes in tetraploid pasta wheat. GBSSI is encoded by a locus found on the 7A and 7D homoeologous chromosomes, and, due to a translocation, on
the 4B chromosome. In addition to the difficulty of finding naturally-occurring
knock-out alleles of the waxy locus, plant breeders have had to contend
with the necessity of removing associated unadapted
traits from landraces when introgressing the
recessive waxy trait into elite wheat germplasm.
In their paper published in Nature Biotechnology, Ann Slade and her
colleagues at Anawah, a company focused on the
commercial applications of TILLING, use the identification of extensive allelic
series of the waxy genes in both hexaploid
bread wheat and tetraploid pasta wheat as a
demonstration of the power of TILLING for practical crop improvement. TILLING
is an updated version of mutation breeding, a technique that has been practiced
for decades by plant breeders. TILLING differs from mutation breeding, however,
in the method of mutation detection: while traditional mutation breeding has
been used primarily for readily observable phenotypes, such as plant height or
disease resistance, TILLING detects the mutation directly in the DNA sequence
of the gene of interest. Because the mutation is not required to have an
immediately observable phenotype, TILLING is a method of reverse genetics that
can be used to test hypotheses about the functions of any desired candidate
gene.
The basic procedure of TILLING is straightforward; it involves 1) the creation
of a large genetically diverse population of plants; 2) the high throughput
identification of individual plants whose genotype predicts a phenotype of
interest; and 3) the evaluation of these individualsphenotypes
for the accelerated development of novel cultivars that exhibit traits of
interest. It combines random mutagenesis of seeds with an alkylating
agent such as ethyl methanesulfonate (
Chemical mutagenesis with alkylating agents produces
a high density of point mutations, including missense
and nonsense mutations. The combination of the high density of mutations in an
individual plant with a large population of plants results in the creation of
multiple lesions in any desired gene. These lesions are subsequently identified
by screening the DNA of the M2 progeny of the mutagenized
seeds. PCR is used to amplify genes of interest with
fluorescently labeled gene-specific primers in pools
of DNA from M2 plants, and then mismatch-containing duplexes are created by
melting and reannealing the PCR
fragments. The heteroduplex DNA is identified by
cleaving the mismatch with a specific mismatch-recognizing endonuclease3
followed by sequence analysis. Finally, phenotypic analysis of the selected
plant and its progeny is carried out. The selected plant serves as the parent
in subsequent breeding generations, and the segregation of the desired SNP can
be followed with molecular markers4.
A key parameter in any TILLING project is the mutation frequency achieved in the
TILLING population. In this regard, the work by Slade and colleagues is unique
since they found a mutation frequency of one in 24 kb in hexaploid
wheat and a frequency of one in 40 kb in tetraploid
wheat. This is approximately five fold higher than had been observed in Arabidopsis.
Slade et al. report that their mutagenized
population showed few apparent visible phenotypes attributable to the
mutagenesis, and they hypothesize that this is due to genetic redundancy
inherent in this polyploid crop. Because of this
remarkable mutation frequency, Slade et al. identified 196 new alleles
in the A and D genome waxy genes in only 1,152 individual plants
screened in their hexaploid TILLING population, and
50 new alleles in only 768 individuals in their tetraploid
pasta wheat TILLING population. These allelic series in both hexaploid and tetraploid wheat
included multiple truncation and splice junction mutations as well as numerous missense mutations with predicted deleterious effects on
the function of the waxy enzyme.
One plant was found to have a truncation mutation in the D genome locus as well
as a missense mutation predicted to severely affect
enzyme function in the A genome homoeolog. Because
the Express cultivar used to generate the TILLING population has a naturally
occurring deletion of the B genome homoeolog, progeny
of the plant having induced mutations in the D and A
genome homoeologs included homozygous triple
mutation-containing plants. Iodine staining of one of these plants confirmed
the near-null expected waxy phenotype.
These new alleles in GBSSI in wheat represent a
useful resource for breeding a range of waxy and partial waxy wheats, but even more importantly,
this work represents proof-of-concept for TILLING other genes whose
modification may be desired in wheat or other crops. In order to identify new
alleles via TILLING in wheat, homoeolog-specific
primers are required. In the case of Waxy, the sequences of the three homoeologous sequences were already known, which
facilitated primer design. Future wheat TILLING of other genes is likely to
require additional molecular research to develop homoeolog-specific
target primers and will be more complex for genes that are members of gene
families.
Ann Slade and her colleagues at Anawah have
convincingly shown that TILLING is a technique with considerable potential for
crop improvement. It represents an extension of the use of spontaneous and
induced mutants in plant breeding and allows the direct identification of
beneficial nucleotide and amino acid changes in genes with known functions and
their use as the genetic markers for selection. The range of alleles that can
be developed via TILLING in a short time is unparalleled and unlikely to be
found elsewhere in the pool of germplasm accessible
to plant breeders (including landraces and undomesticated relatives). Because
the TILLING population is a permanent resource, the results of basic scientific
research can be efficiently translated into crop improvement as new information
about the functions of potential gene targets becomes available.
References
1. McCallum CM et al. (2000) Targeting induced local lesions
in genomes (TILLING) for plant functional genomics. Plant
Physiology 123, 439-442
2. Slade AJ et al.
(2005) A reverse genetic, non-transgenic approach to wheat crop improvement by
TILLING. Nature Biotechnology 23, 75-81
3.
4. Neff MM et al. (1998) dCAPS, a
simple technique for the genetic analysis of single nucleotide polymorphisms:
experimental applications in Arabidopsis thaliana genetics.
The Plant Journal 14, 387-392. March 2005
COVERING AGRICULTURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL BIOTECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENTS
http://www.isb.vt.edu/news/2005/news05.mar.html#mar0503
Source: EurekAlert.org
February 2005
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1.13 Unraveling the mystery of modern potatoes' origins
When it comes to veggies, almost everyone can agree on potatoes. But
despite its popularity, the common brown potato has a colorful
history that some researchers are still disputing.
While potatoes are believed to have arrived in
From outward appearances, modern potatoes would seem to have Chilean ancestors.
European potato plants have wide leaflets like Chilean ones, and both are
"long-day adapted," which means they require the longer days of
summer to form tubers.
But in the 1930s, researchers started challenging the notion of the Chilean
connection, arguing that the first potatoes to reach
According to Spooner, who works in the ARS Vegetable
Crops Research Unit at Madison, Wis., potato seeds
can last several years and so could have easily survived the trip. But even
more compelling are data he recently assessed with colleagues at the
The researchers surveyed an assortment of potatoes from
Still, some argue that Chilean potatoes weren't introduced to
With an increased understanding of modern potatoes' true ancestors, scientists
can better preserve the world's potato plants to breed future varieties and
realize the crop's natural disease- and insect-resistance potential.
Agricultural Research Service, USDA
ARS is the
SeedQuest.com
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1.14 Preserving
the world's agricultural crop diversity as a resource for future food security
The challenge to preserve the world's agricultural crop diversity as a
resource for future food security will be discussed in
Agrifood Awareness Australia will host a
seminar by Mr Julian Laird, Director of Development at the Global Crop
Diversity Trust, head-quartered in
"We are delighted to host Julian Laird in
"The Global Crop Diversity Trust has been established to halt the loss of
irreplaceable crop diversity so that genes from current and past crops and
their wild relatives can be harnessed for future varieties," said Mr
Julian Laird.
"The United Nations predicts that the world population will pass nine
billion by 2050, an extra two and a half billion mouths to feed, and without a
concerted effort now to protect our agricultural raw materials we will simply
not be able increase yields to meet this predicted demand," said Mr Laird.
"The Global Crop Diversity Trust was established to provide a continuous
and reliable source of funding to preserve crop genetics around the world, and
it hopes to raise in excess of $260 million to do this," said Mr Laird.
"Agricultural biodiversity is under threat from habitat destruction and displacement
by improved varieties," said Mr Laird. "As a result, guaranteeing
facilities to conserve, manage and reproduce the diversity of crop varieties
into the future is integral and the growing number of governments, industry and
foundations supporting the Trust reflect this."
According to the Trust, there are well over a million crop varieties which have
evolved over thousands of years through a dynamic interaction between nature
and careful selection and breeding by farmers and plant scientists.
"All of
BACKGROUND
The Global Crop Diversity Trust is being set up by a partnership between the
Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR),
and the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations. It will serve
as an element of the fundraising strategy of the International Treaty on Plant
Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, which came into force in 2004. To
achieve its aims, the Trust will raise and disburse funds and, in particular,
build and manage an endowment whose proceeds will provide a permanent source of
financial support for collections around the world.
The mission of the Trust is to ensure the long-term conservation and use of
crop diversity for food security worldwide. The Trust will:
1. promote and assist the development of an efficient and effective system for
conserving crop diversity around the world;
2. help salvage the word's most important collections of crop diversity and
guarantee their permanent healthy and safe management;
3. provide funds to upgrade and build the capacity of collections seeking to
become eligible for ongoing support.
For further information: www.startwithaseed.org
Source: SeedQuest.com
22 March 2005
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1.15 CIMMYT research
team aim is to breed high yielding maize that also resists infection by Aspergillus flavus
El Batan, Mexico
Simple Screening for a Complex Problem
A CIMMYT research team is using an old
but effective technique to get a head start on some very advanced crop science.
Their aim is to breed high yielding maize that also resists infection by a
dangerous fungus. As part of a USAID-funded project,
the team uses ultraviolet or black light to identify maize that inhibits Aspergillus flavus,
a fungus that produces potent toxins known as aflatoxins.
The fungus is particularly widespread in maize-growing regions of
No continent is immune from the Aspergillus problem.
During 1988-1998, losses from aflatoxin damage in the
By collaborating with scientists in the
The kernels vibrate as they shuffle down the tray of the light box. Healthy
kernels appear faded under the black light, but the infected grain glows.
Jeffers and his team will use the fluorescence data to choose the maize lines
that show the least amount of fungal infection. "The most promising
materials will then be used in further studies to look at aflatoxin
levels," Jeffers says.
Source: SeedQuest.com
February 2005
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1.16 Researchers track yellow pigment genes to boost
Canada's durum success
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
New research could help Canada develop a new generation of high pigment durum
varieties to strengthen its position in top world markets.
A study at the University of Saskatchewan's
Crop Development Centre aims to pinpoint the genes responsible for bright
yellow pigment in durum, a trait that is desired by foreign markets. The
three-year study is funded in part by the Endowment Fund, which is administered
by Western Grains Research Foundation
(WGRF).
"This study will help ensure that Canadian durum wheat producers remain
competitive with other wheat producing nations, such as
Pozniak plans to identify the genes contributing to
yellow pigment in durum, develop molecular markers to track them and then build
tests so breeding programs can produce varieties that help Canadian producers
keep their stronghold on world durum markets.
The high yellow pigmentation of durum translates commercially to bright yellow
pasta. Understanding the genes that do this will speed the development of new
varieties and keep Western Canadian farmers on top.
To date, little work has been focused in this area. However in previous
research, the study's co-researcher, Dr. Ron Knox, has located the chromosome
regions where genes for yellow pigment can be found.
Pozniak says finding the chromosome region is like
finding the town the genes live in. With this information, his team can now go
into the town, find the genes and confirm that they are responsible for high
pigmentation.
He also says that because the gene sequences for yellow pigmentation have
already been characterized in rice and maize, there is an available DNA library
to compare with. "Rice is a model species for grass species like wheat and
barley in terms of genome organization and structure," he says.
Once the genes are found on the chromosome, Pozniak's
team will compare two lines on each end of the pigment spectrum to develop
markers, which are segments of DNA that indicate the desired genes are nearby.
Varieties W9262-260D3 (low-medium pigment) and Kofa
(high pigment) will be used as the endpoints.
Following that, the markers will then be used to build a multiplex Polymerase
Chain Reaction (PCR) strategy. This will allow
breeders to select the desired pigment genes in one step.
More information on the durum pigment project is available in the March edition
of Western Grains Research Magazine, now on the Western Grains Research
Foundation (WGRF) Web site, www.westerngrains.com.
Western Canadian wheat and barley growers are major investors in breeding
research through the Wheat and Barley Check-off Funds, administered by WGRF. The Research Magazine offers "Ideas and issues
for farmer research investors."
The Endowment Fund, the original core fund of WGRF,
has supported over 200 research projects since 1983. Research Reports on many
of these projects are available on the WGRF Web site,
www.westerngrains.com.
Source: SeedQuest.com
2 March 2005
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1.17 Sustained soybean rust resistance issue for Brazilian
breeders
In an attempt to control a clever adversary, Brazilian researchers are
working to build a genetic arsenal that will allow farmers to continue a
long-term fight against Asian soybean rust. Development of disease-resistant
cultivars has become a primary goal in
But rust presents a special challenge because of its high degree of variability
it can develop several races within a short period and high spore dispersal
capacity.
To date, Embrapa has identified several highly
tolerant soy breeding lines. But because of rusts variability, researchers also
are studying genes that provide lesser levels of tolerance but could bolster
straight resistance traits.
One variety now in final yield trials has shown continued resistance and should
be available in another year for use in central
The rust seems to be clever, so we need to have a fungicide at hand, Embrapa head of rust research Jose Tadashi Yorinori advised
They are aided by what Yorinori termed an important clueto resistance. The disease does not kill leaf tissue
around its tell-tale, spore-bearing pustules, although tan-colored,
generally harmless lesions appear around the pustules.
Embrapa scientists discovered that in some lines
exposed to rust, brown or red lesions appear as leaf tissue dies, indicating
resistance.
The rust fungus needs living tissue to grow, Purdue crop scientist Greg Shaner explained. By sacrificing a few cells, the host
plant is protecting itself. You get a lesion, you get damage, but you don't get
very much sporulation (spore release), so the epidemic
isn't able to build up.Though Embrapa
focuses on varieties suited to Brazils specific climatic and agronomic
conditions, Pioneer breeder Paul Stephens noted the genes will transfer,opening the door to biotech rust solutions.
Given uncertainty about prolonged natural resistance, rust tolerance would
appear to be the ideal trait for a biotech approach, he suggested.
Incorporation of genetic material from other species also could offer promise
if (soybean resistance) traits don't hold out, Stephens said. One major
question is whether the economic impact of a soybean disease epidemic would
outweigh
In that regard,
The South Americans now have an issue. If they come up with a biotech solution,
that could bode well for getting it approved and into domestic use, Stephens
told FarmWeek.
Source: FarmWeek, Illinois Farm Bureau
via SeedQuest.com
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1.18 Defenseless plants
arm themselves with metals
A group of plants that uses metal to defend against infection may do so because
the normal defense mechanism used by most other
plants is blocked.
This research is part of a larger gene discovery initiative involving Purdue's Center for Phytoremediation
Research and Development, a multidisciplinary research center
dedicated to developing a "molecular toolbox" to provide the genetic
information to develop plants to clean up polluted sites. Technologies
developed at the center will be commercialized
through a partnership with the
ABSTRACT
John L. Freeman, Daniel Garcia, Donggiun Kim,
Amber Hopf, and David E. Salt
Constitutively Elevated Salicylic Acid Signals Glutathione-Mediated Nickel
Tolerance in Thlaspi Nickel Hyperaccumulators
Plant Physiol. 2005 137: 1082-1091.
Progress is being made in understanding the biochemical and molecular basis of
nickel (Ni)/zinc (Zn) hyperaccumulation in Thlaspi; however, the molecular signaling
pathways that control these mechanisms are not understood. We observed that
elevated concentrations of salicylic acid (SA), a molecule known to be involved
in signaling induced pathogen defense
responses in plants, is a strong predictor of Ni hyperaccumulation
in the six diverse Thlaspi species investigated,
including the hyperaccumulators Thlaspi
goesingense, Thlaspi rosulare, Thlaspi oxyceras, and Thlaspi caerulescens and the nonaccumulators
Thlaspi arvense and Thlaspi perfoliatum. Furthermore,
the SA metabolites phenylalanine, cinnamic acid, salicyloyl-glucose, and catechol are
also elevated in the hyperaccumulator T. goesingense when compared to the nonaccumulators
Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) and T. arvense.
Elevation of free SA levels in Arabidopsis, both genetically and by exogenous
feeding, enhances the specific activity of serine acetyltransferase,
leading to elevated glutathione and increased Ni resistance. Such Samediated Ni resistance in Arabidopsis phenocopies
the glutathione-based Ni tolerance previously observed in Thlaspi,
suggesting a biochemical linkage between SA and Ni tolerance in this genus.
Intriguingly, the hyperaccumulator T. goesingense also shows enhanced sensitivity to the pathogen
powdery mildew (Erysiphe cruciferarum)
and fails to induce SA biosynthesis after infection. Nickel hyperaccumulation
reverses this pathogen hypersensitivity, suggesting that the interaction
between pathogen resistance and Ni tolerance and hyperaccumulation
may have played a critical role in the evolution of metal hyperaccumulation
in the Thlaspi genus.
Source: SciDev.net
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1.19 New winter hulless barley has high protein
Virginia Tech's Small Grains Breeding Program is developing a new type of
barley that lacks the fibrous covering. This new hulless
barley offers producers an alternative grain for both traditional and new
markets, including food, feed, and ethanol.
The price for winter barley has declined since 1996. Even though winte
