PLANT BREEDING NEWS
EDITION 164
27
February 2006
An Electronic Newsletter of Applied Plant
Breeding
Sponsored by FAO and Cornell University
Clair H. Hershey,
Editor
Archived issues available at: http://www.fao.org/WAICENT/FAOINFO/AGRICULT/AGP/AGPC/doc/services/pbn.html
CONTENTS
1. NEWS, ANNOUNCEMENTS AND RESEARCH
NOTES
1.01 The world will have 100 million extra hungry people by 2015, scientists say.
1.02 Nobel Laureate Dr. Norman
Borlaug to be recognized with the Danforth Award for Plant
Science
1.03 Vietnam successfully
creates tomato plant resistant to ralstonia solanacearum
1.04 Vietnamese scientists create new
insect-resistant, nutritional hybrid rice variety
1.05 ICRISAT initiates groundnut revolution in Anantapur
district, Andhra Pradesh
1.06 Virginia Tech helping to develop higher quality,
disease-resistant wheat varieties
1.07 US$ 5 million awarded for public wheat research in the
U.S.
1.08 The
role of non-GM biotechnology in developing world agriculture
1.09 Do genetically
modified crops have a role in the responsible control of pests?
1.10 Risk or benefit:
American opinions are split on genetically engineered food, but they are growing
slightly more skeptical, study finds
1.11 Conservation by the numbers:
Reducing genetic drift in crop gene bank collections
1.12 Gene thwarts some pathogens, gives
access to others, could save crops
1.13 New method enables gene disruption
in destructive fungal pathogen
1.14 New heart-healthy oat now available
1.15 Sources of sorghum anthracnose
resistance discovered
1.16 Apple trees resistant to Fire Blight and Apple Scab
1.17 USDA/ARS
watermelon line may help breeders combat powdery mildew
1.18 Breeding winter wheat tolerant to
aluminium toxicity
1.19 Research finds hormones that ripen grapes
1.20 New model designed
to study soybean
1.21 Scientists create disease-resistant tomato
1.22 Feeding the 600 million: the next
step for genomics?
1.23 A high-throughput screen for genes from castor that
boost hydroxy fatty acid accumulation in seed oils of transgenic
Arabidopsis
1.24 New clues in the plant mating mystery: Missouri University researchers discover
molecular details for maintenance of genetic fitness
1.25 CIMMYT develops herbicide resistant
maize hybrids
1.26 Association
mapping: a bridge between QTL analysis and marker-assisted
selection.
1.27 Maize molecule attracts pest enemies
1.28 Major breakthrough in wheat
genetics: chromosome glue identified
1.29 Molecular detection tools for
African maize breeders
1.30 Fighting cancer with the help from plants
1.31 Chloroplasts
reloaded
1.32 'Steeling' silk from nature
1.33 Animal gene renders tobacco resistant to parasitic
weed
1.34 Hepatitis B vaccination by eating a banana?
1.35 When cells dispense
1.36 Diet apples for
diet freaks
1.37 Spying in the fields
1.38 Transgenic tobacco with built-in tick-protection
1.39 Researchers
investigate Valencia orange juice quality
2. PUBLICATIONS
2.01 Unsung hero: the man who fed the world
3. WEB
RESOURCES
3.01 Literature
base on genetically modified crop plants
3.02 Free access to a digital library
for developing countries
4 GRANTS AVAILABLE
(None submitted)
5 POSITION
ANNOUNCEMENTS
(None submitted)
6 MEETINGS, COURSES AND
WORKSHOPS
7 EDITOR'S NOTES
=========================
1. NEWS,
ANNOUNCEMENTS AND RESEARCH NOTES
1.01 The
world will have 100 million extra hungry people by 2015, scientists say.
They were speaking at the annual meeting of the American
Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Despite great improvements in
food availability in the 1960s and 1970s, these trends are reversing in many
developing countries, they say. The United Nations' goal of halving hunger by
2015 looks unattainable without new technologies and greater financial
investment, they add. Ten pre-school children die every minute from malnutrition
and this number has not changed since the early 1980s despite global promises.
Professor Per Pinstrup-Anderson, from Cornell University in New York,
says that improving agriculture is the key. "When you put money in the hands of
farmers that money is spent on creating employment and reducing poverty
elsewhere," he said. "We have found in our research that for every dollar you
invest in agricultural research you generate about $6 of additional income among
the farmers and about $15 of additional economic growth in the society as a
whole. Much of that will help poor people in those countries."
More
commitment needed
There is some good news though. China and Vietnam have
considerably increased food availability and cut the number of people who do not
get enough food. But this has only been achieved by improving infrastructure and
using technology including GM crops to increase yields - which is missing in
many other countries. For instance, east Kenya last year faced a famine. In the
west of the country there was an excess of corn, but this was shipped to Europe
because neither the means nor the money was available to get the corn to those
starving in the east.
Scientists at the AAAS meeting in St Louis,
Missouri, say situations like this will continue to occur unless governments in
developing countries increase their commitments to ending poverty and
hunger.
By Ania Lichtarowicz
Source: BBC News online (
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/4724282.stm)
17 February
2006
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Contents)
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1.02
Nobel Laureate Dr. Norman Borlaug to be recognized with the Danforth Award
for Plant Science
St. Louis, Missouri
Nobel Laureate Dr. Norman E.
Borlaug, often referred to as the “Father of the Green Revolution” in
agriculture, will receive the Danforth Award for Plant Science in recognition of
his life-long commitment to increasing global agricultural production through
plant science. The groundbreaking work by his research team and colleagues from
around the world reversed the chronic food shortages suffered by India and
Pakistan in the 1960s and led to his 1970 Nobel Peace Prize. Dr. Borlaug
recently received the National Medal of Science, the nation's highest scientific
honor, from U.S. President George W. Bush on February 13, 2006, and he was
honored by the Government of India on January 26, 2006 with the Padma Vibhushan
– India’s second highest national award.
“Dr. Norman Borlaug is a
distinguished scientist and agricultural historian with a vision for how
technology can directly impact the lives of people of the world. Many of the
crops consumed throughout industrialized nations are hybrid strains that were
advocated by Dr. Borlaug,” said Dr. Roger N. Beachy, President of the Danforth
Center. “His ability to see how planting high-yield crop hybrids, implementing
fertilizers and pesticides, and utilizing improved irrigation would dramatically
improve the lives of people was revolutionary in the 1950s. Today, it is the
foundation upon which plant science is building future innovation.”
The
Green Revolution is a term that was coined in 1968 by William Gaud, then
director of the U.S. Agency for International Development, to describe the
agricultural movement that called for the use of technology to increase
agricultural production. Led by Dr. Borlaug, the Green Revolution began in 1945
when the Rockefeller Foundation and the Mexican government established the
Cooperative Wheat Research and Production Program to improve Mexican
agricultural output by developing improved strains of wheat, rice, maize and
other cereals. The program was so successful that Mexico went from importing
half its wheat in 1945 to exporting half a million tons of wheat in 1964.
Building on the program’s success in Mexico, it was expanded to India and
Pakistan in the 1960s and today Green Revolution practices are used throughout
the developing world.
“Norman Borlaug has brought more benefit to more
people than anyone in my lifetime and shown how science can serve humanity. He
is a hero and the role model for us at the Donald Danforth Plant Science
Center,” said Danforth Center Chairman, Dr. William H. Danforth. “That one man
can have such a profound impact on the world is nothing short of overwhelming.
It is a pleasure to once again host Dr. Borlaug at the Danforth Center, and a
true honor to recognize his incredibly important lifetime of
achievement.”
Dr. Borlaug’s return to the Danforth Center is a homecoming
of sorts, as he joined former U.S. President Jimmy Carter in July of 1998 to
celebrate the founding and launch of the Danforth Center, and returned in
February 2002 to view the completed construction of the Danforth Center
building.
The public is invited to hear Dr. Borlaug present a lecture
entitled “From the Green to the Gene Revolution: Our 21st Century Challenge” on
February 21, 2006 at 4PM in the SBC Auditorium at the Danforth Center. Prior to
the start of his presentation he will be presented with the Danforth Award for
Plant Science. The Danforth Award for Plant Science recognizes a prominent
national or international leader for outstanding achievement and service in the
conduct and/or advocacy of science for the benefit of agriculture, food,
nutrition or human health. Previous recipients include Dr. Mary-Dell Chilton,
Principal Syngenta Fellow at Syngenta Biotechnology Inc., Dr. Ernie Jaworski,
former Interim President of the Danforth Center, and Dr. Peter H. Raven,
Director of the Missouri Botanical Garden. Individuals interested in attending
the February 21 lecture and awards presentation should call 314/587-1070 to make
reservations.
Donald Danforth Plant Science
Center
Source: SeedQuest.com
20 February 2006
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1.03 Vietnam successfully creates tomato plant resistant
to ralstonia solanacearum
Hanoi, Vietnam
Vietnam has become the
first Southeast Asian nation to successfully create a disease-resistant tomato
plant.
The plant is the result of a project on studying and applying
grafting methods to prevent tomato plants from withering due to ralstonia
solanacearum bacterium conducted by scientists from the southern Agriculture
Science and Technique Institute.
The project has won first prize at the
eighth national technology initiative contest recently held in Ha Noi.
Dr
Ngo Quang Vinh, head of the scientists’ group, said withering in tomato plants
spreads very fast by ralstonia solanacearum bacterium. The bacterium makes
tomatoes green and the death rate of plants is usually 30 percent, sometimes 100
percent.
During 2002-2004, the group created a new disease-resistant
tomato plant by grafting the NT386 tomato variety onto another ordinary tomato
plant to create a disease-resistant tomato variety, Vinh noted.
This
technology will help grow tomato plants in the rainy season, the scientist
announced.
Source: Vietnam News
Agency, via SeedQuest.com
28 January 2006
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1.04 Vietnamese scientists create new
insect-resistant, nutritional hybrid rice variety
Hanoi,
Vietnam
Scientists from the Cuu Long Delta
Rice Research Institute (CLRRI) has for the first time applied gene
modifying technology to create a nutritional rice variety from three existing
rice varieties: IR64, MTl250 (indica) and Taipei 309 (japonica).
Dr. Tran
Thi Kim Cuc, Head of the CLRRI's Biotechnology Research Department, said that
this rice variety is rich in vitamins A and E, iron, zinc, and oryzanol which
helps reduce cholesterol in blood.
It is an insect-resistant rice breed
which is easy to plant, Cuc added.
Prof. Dr. Bui Chi Buu, who is Director
of the CLRRI, said this breed will be planted in remote and disadvantaged areas
to raise the quality of the local community's nutrition.
Source:
Vietnam News Agency, via
SeedQuest.com
16 January 2006
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Contents)
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1.05
ICRISAT initiates groundnut revolution in Anantapur district, Andhra
Pradesh
Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh, India
Groundnut grows
where other crops fail. And when farmers in a tough terrain select a groundnut
variety, they know what is best for their needs.
Improved groundnut
variety ICGV 91114 from the International Crops
Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) has initiated a
revolution in the dry, rocky Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh in India. The
choosy farmers of the district are multiplying ICGV 91114 seeds with alacrity,
helped by an ICRISAT-initiated public-private seed partnership.
ICRISAT's intervention has helped in designing an end-to-end solution to
improve the groundnut variety in Anantapur district, according to Dr William D
Dar, Director General of ICRISAT. "We have blended our scientific excellence
with the strengths of our partners to improve the productivity of the farmers
working in a difficult environment."
Situated in the southern part of
Andhra Pradesh, Anantapur district is known for groundnut cultivation. For the
farmers from Anantapur, groundnut is a preferred crop since it survives the
rough terrain and the uncertainty of rainfall. Though the average rainfall is
around 550 mm per year, some parts of the district have recorded as low as 200
mm in bad years and as high as 900 mm in good years.
Every year, on an
average, farmers grow groundnut over 800,000 hectares in the district, and in
good years, this can go up to one million ha, accounting for nearly 70% of the
cultivated area in the district, and making groundnut cultivation a pillar of
strength for the rural economy. The crop can withstand up to 50 days of dry
spell, and when the rain comes phoenix-like the crop rises from under the
gravelly soil, yielding farmers nuts for the market and fodder for their
animals.
Selecting the variety with farmers
According to Dr Shyam N Nigam, Principal Groundnut
Breeder at ICRISAT, farmers of Anantapur have changed the cropping pattern over
the decades due to poor rains, prolonged dry spells and frequent crop failures. "About 45 years ago it used to be 80% cereals and 20% groundnut. Today it is 80%
groundnut and 20% other crops," explains Nigam.
It is not that only the
choice of crop is limited, but also the choice of variety within the crop. Since
the 1940s the farmers have been planting TMV 2, though improved varieties were
available. The Anantapur farmers felt that the improved varieties selected for
propagation in peninsular India through the formal system did not meet the very
specific needs of the district.
ICRISAT started the process in the
reverse. The groundnut breeding team from the Institute worked with the farmers
to select the most suitable varieties. With financial support from the
International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the project was launched
in 2002 rainy season, in the fields of the ten farmers who volunteered to
participate. Ten new varieties were grown along with the longstanding TMV 2 in
Dhanduvaripalli and Rekulakunta villages. The other partners in the project were
the Acharya NG Ranga Agricultural Research University and the Rural Development
Trust, an NGO.
After the first harvest, the search for new improved
varieties was narrowed down to two varieties - ICGV 91114 and ICGV 89104. During
the next rainy season, in 2003, the selected varieties were grown in slightly
larger plots in West Narsapuram and Rekulakunta villages. The severe drought
that year put all the varieties to test and ICGV 91114 produced a significantly
higher pod yield, haulm (stem or top part of the plant) and a higher shelling
turnover (the percentage weight of the seeds against the total weight of seeds
and the shell) than ICGV 89104 and TMV 2.
"Under such severe conditions
any increase in productivity is of great benefit for the farmers," comments
Nigam. And since the farmers were involved in all stages of the varietal
selection, they had a better acceptance of the improved variety. The trials and
the seed multiplication program for ICGV 91114 picked up from the first year
onwards.
The Anantapur trials show that ICGV 91114 yields on an average
around 10% more pods than TMV 2, matures early (one week earlier than TMV 2), is
tolerant of mid-season and end-of-season droughts, has an average shelling
turnover of 75%, has an average oil content of 48%, and has better digestibility
for livestock.
When the farmers got enthused about ICGV 91114 they
started multiplying the seeds during the Rabi-summer season (the second crop
season). From the initial plot of 2 ha in 2002 it has grown to 210 ha for seed
multiplication. In the rainy season of 2006 it is expected that ICGV 91114
groundnut seeds will be sown over 5,000 ha in Anantapur. The silent revolution
is gathering steam.
Partnering to strengthen the delivery mechanism To
strengthen the delivery mechanism for ICGV 91114, the Agri-Business Incubator
(ABI) at ICRISAT, is partnering with the Aakruthi Agricultural Associates of
India (AAI) - a group of entrepreneurs operating agri clinics - and the Andhra
Pradesh State Seed Development Corporation (APSSDC), the state government
institution mandated to reach seeds to farmers.
The ABI at ICRISAT
headquarters at Patancheru, Andhra Pradesh, helps entrepreneurs to develop
promising agricultural technologies into commercial business opportunities. The
AAI group of scientists and agricultural graduates with experience in research,
production, marketing and banking approached the ICRISAT team for help to
establish a delivery mechanism through a chain of agri clinics. ICRISAT saw this
as an opportunity for supplying the seeds of improved varieties. ICGV 91114 was
chosen as an ideal candidate for promotion in Anantapur district.
However, no effort at seed distribution can be successful without the
involvement of the governmental machinery for seed supplies in Anantapur
district. The APSSDC joined the partnership, and agreed to include ICGV 91114 in
their groundnut seed supply in Andhra Pradesh (especially in Anantapur
district).
According to Dr Kiran K
Sharma, Chief Executive Officer of ABI and Principal Scientist at ICRISAT,
the partnership is a win-win proposition for all stakeholders. While the
groundnut farmers in Anantapur benefit from the supply of the improved variety,
the APSSDC can increase its volume and also add improved seeds to its portfolio
for supply. The agri clinics under the AAI can benefit through the activity of
seed multiplication for supply through the APSSDC.
"For us at ICRISAT,
we are happy that our improved groundnut variety can reach the poor and marginal
farmers of Anantapur. We are also happy that through the ABI we are able to
incubate an idea into an agri-business proposition," observes Sharma.
As
the monsoon showers hit peninsular India in June-July 2006, more and more
farmers in Anantapur will be ready to plant the seeds of ICGV 91114 and mark the
transition from the timeworn groundnut variety.
SeedQuest.com
8
February 2006
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1.06 Virginia Tech helping to develop higher quality,
disease-resistant wheat varieties
Researchers at Virginia Tech's
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences are part of consortium of public wheat
breeders and scientists that have been awarded $5 million from the USDA to
enable routine use of modern breeding technologies to produce higher quality,
disease-resistant wheat.
"For the past two decades, an intensive amount
of molecular research has been conducted wherein chromosome specific DNA
sequences or markers have been used to identify genes controlling traits of
economic importance in wheat varieties. This integrated project will enable us
to demonstrate that DNA markers associated with such traits can be used on a
routine basis to develop superior wheat varieties," said Carl Griffey, professor
of crop and soil environmental sciences at Virginia Tech and consortium project
coordinator for the Mid-Atlantic region. "These technologies will accelerate
development of U.S. varieties that are durable to plant diseases, more
productive, and of better end use quality, which are all essential for
increasing competitiveness of U.S. wheat in global markets."
Griffey,
along with other researchers from Virginia, Kentucky, Maryland, and North
Carolina, will be specifically looking at wheat traits of critical importance in
the Mid-Atlantic region where diseases such as powdery mildew, leaf rust, stripe
rust, and fusarium head blight result in significant losses in yield and quality
each year. For example, researchers will be identifying and using DNA markers to
select varieties possessing genes conferring durable resistant to powdery
mildew, which causes annual crop loss of 10 to 30 percent in the Mid-Atlantic
region. Researchers also will be identifying genes that confer superior milling
and baking qualities.
The new technology implemented in this project is
called Marker Assisted Selection (MAS). MAS involves the direct use of molecular
markers that are located in the same chromosome region as the trait of interest
to select for genes controlling useful agronomic traits. Breeders use these
molecular markers to increase the precision in selection of varieties having the
best trait combinations.
Researchers will work with USDA genotyping
laboratories to provide thousands of molecular analyses required to deploy the
targeted genes into breeding lines. The genetic information will be stored in
national databases and seed stocks deposited in USDA's Small Grain Collection,
providing long-term public access to genetic information and resources for wheat
breeders and researchers nationwide.
Public sector researchers are
primarily responsible for providing new wheat varieties to U.S. wheat growers.
Public wheat varieties accounted for 78 percent of the 2001-2003 wheat
production in the U.S. which represents an average of 38 million metric tons per
year valued at more than $5 billion.
This project includes an extensive
outreach component to share information about these new technologies with
growers and end-users and an educational program to attract new students to
agriculture and train them in modern and traditional breeding techniques.
Source: ErekAlert.org
16 February 2005
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to Contents)
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1.07 US$ 5 million awarded for public
wheat research in the U.S.
Mike Johanns, Agriculture Secretary of the
U.S., announced on February 16th an award exceeding US$ 5 million to a
consortium of public wheat scientists devoted to identify genes with the
potential to produce increased quality, disease-resistant wheat. "This research
will help U.S. wheat breeders to improve wheat yield, develop drought resistant
wheat and help the environment," said Johanns.
The consortium of 18
universities, lead by the University of California Davis, aims to identify
thousands of molecular markers linked to beneficial traits in wheat. These
markers are then used to insert target genes into breeding lines to obtain a
specific combination of improved traits. This technique is known as
marker-assisted selection. The genetic information obtained by this initiative
will be stored in national databases. The project also includes an extensive
outreach/educational component.
For further information visit: http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/!ut/
p/_s.7_0_A/7_0_1OB?contentidonly=true&contentid=2006/02/0045.xml
From CropBiotech Update 17 February 2006
Submitted by Margaret
Smith
Dept. of Plant Breeding & Genetics
Cornell University
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1.08 The role of non-GM biotechnology in
developing world agriculture
Zephaniah Dhlamini
Summary
In the intense debates around the applications of modern
biological research to agriculture and food production, genetic modification (GM
techniques) and the novel crops that result from their application
tend to attract the lion’s share of public attention.
This is despite the
fact that such research offers a range of other tools and techniques that do not
involve genetic modification, and yet can still make major contributions to
agriculture.
One result of the disproportionate focus on GM crops is that
policymakers in the developing world often lack adequate information on the
nature and potential use of non-GM biotechnologies.
This briefing seeks
to help fill this information gap by summarising the characteristics of the most
common non-GM biotechnologies that are being developed and applied to crop
improvement in the developing world.
Drawing on the Food and Agriculture
Organization’s (FAO) database on Biotechnologies in Developing Countries
(BioDeC), it focuses on four types of non-GM biotechnology: tissue culture,
molecular markers, diagnostic techniques and microbial products. [1]
(See
aditional sections on the web)
- Introduction
- Tissue culture
- Molecular marker techniques technologies
- DNA
and immuno-diagnostic techniques
- Microbial
products for agriculture
- Conclusion
- References
Source:
SciDev.net
February 2006
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1.09 Do
genetically modified crops have a role in the responsible control of
pests?
Opinions are sharply divided on whether using genetically
modified crops is compatible with the principles of integrated pest management.
We present two opposing viewpoints
Christine Gould
Manager, Policy
Communications & Research
CropLife International
argues
that crops that have been genetically engineered to kill pests can make an
important contribution to sustainable agriculture.
Read the
article >>
G. V. Ramanjaneyulu
Executive
Director
Centre for Sustainable Agriculture, Secunderabad, India
claims
that the widespread use of such crops will eventually lead to increased
resistance in pests, and should be rejected.
Read the
article >>
Source: SciDev.net
8 February 2006
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1.10 Risk or benefit: American opinions
are split on genetically engineered food, but they are growing slightly more
skeptical, study finds
ST. LOUIS -- While more than two-thirds of the
food in U.S. markets contains at least some amount of a genetically engineered
(GE) crop, researchers want to know if Americans consider GE food a health risk
or benefit.
The result: Americans are split on the issue, but they have
become slightly more skeptical over the past three years, according to a new
study from Cornell University.
"Depending on whom you ask, the
technology is either beneficial or has negative effects on health and
environment," said James Shanahan, associate professor of communication at
Cornell and lead researcher of the study.
Generally, women and
non-Caucasians perceived higher risk in using biotechnology in food production
than men and Caucasians. And politically, Republicans showed more overall
support for GE foods than others, he said.
John Besley, one of
Shanahan's collaborators and a Cornell doctoral candidate in communication,
presented the findings at the annual meeting of the American Association for the
Advancement of Science today (Feb. 19). The third co-author is Erik Nisbet, also
a Cornell doctoral candidate in communication.
The study included four
annual national surveys from 2003 to 2005 (with samples of about 750 respondents
each year) and three annual surveys of New Yorkers from 2003 to 2005 (about 850
respondents each year). The national survey measured support for GE food using a
scale from 1 to 10, while the New York survey used a similar scale to measure
the perceived health risks of GE food.
"The results of the state and
national surveys were very consistent with each other," said Shanahan. "And both
showed a slight but significant shift over time toward a little less support and
more risk perception."
Specifically, the mean response for support for
biotechnology was 5.6 (on a 1-10 scale) in the first year of the surveys,
indicating that people were evenly divided in supporting, opposing or being
undecided; by 2005, the mean declined slightly to 5.2. Similarly, the mean
response for risk perception increased to 6.1 in 2005 from 5.4 in the first
year.
The researchers also found that people who pay more attention to
the news tend to support GE food more than those who don't.
"Overall,
research shows that GE foods are safe and effective, though some people still
harbor reservations about it," said Shanahan. "I suspect that the more people
are exposed to the news, the more aware they are of biotechnology and,
therefore, more supportive of it."
The New York data were collected by
Cornell's Survey Research Institute (SRI), which conducts survey research on par
with other academic research facilities. The national data were collected during
a research methods course in cooperation with SRI.
Shanahan serves as
the co-director of the public issues education project, Genetically Engineered
Organisms. The project has an extensive Web site for consumers about GE crops
and foods (
http://www.geo-pie.cornell.edu), including information on what foods are
most frequently engineered (corn and soybeans, followed by canola and cotton,
from which cottonseed oil is derived), which traits have been engineered,
regulations, and media coverage and opinions about GE foods.
Contact:
Blaine Friedlander
bpf2@cornell.edu
Source:
EurekAlert.org
19 February 2006
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1.11
Conservation by the numbers: Reducing genetic drift in crop
gene bank collections
El Batán, Mexico
CIMMYT’s biometrics team
receives special recognition for advancing the science behind crop genetic
resource conservation.
The nightmare of a gene bank curator: You have
a collection of 25,000 precious, unique samples of maize seed; one of the
world’s most extensive. You store it carefully, keep it cold and dry,
butlittle by little over the yearsthe seed dies! Eventually you’re
left with so many packets of useless kernels, and the precious genetic diversity
they once embodied is lost to humanity forever.
To keep this very bad
dream from becoming a reality, Suketoshi Taba, head of maize genetic resources
at CIMMYT, and his team constantly monitor the germination capacity of
collections. When it drops below 80-85%, they take viable seed from the
endangered accession (the term for individual, registered samples in the bank),
sow it under controlled conditions, and harvest enough from progeny to replenish
the accession. Known as “regeneration,” the process sounds simple, but in fact
must be done painstakingly to capture a faithful snapshotrather than a
faded copyof the genetic diversity from the original accession.
The
Crop Science Society of America recently bestowed the honor of “2004 Outstanding
Paper on Plant Genetic Resources” on an article by CIMMYT biometricians that
provides models for proper handling of repeated cycles of regeneration. Their
work, which was funded by the Australian
Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC), is particularly relevant
for outcrossing, genetically diverse crops like maize, legumes, or sorghum, to
name just a few.
“For maize regeneration, we use artificial pollination,
to avoid out-crossing with pollen from other maize fields,” says Taba. “But even
the individuals in a maize population or accession are genetically diverse. How
can we decide on the best way to pollinate the plants, or how many ears we need
to harvest, or how many and which seeds to choose from each ear?” According to
Taba, the danger is ending up with a sample that differs from the genetic
make-up of the original. And with each successive cycle of regeneration, you can
drift further and further.
Building on a strong body of work in this area
by CIMMYT biometricians since the 1980s, the award-winning paper refines and
expands the statistical model and provides reliable computer simulations. “Among
other things, the simulation model shows exactly how many alleles are likely to
be lost through various sampling and regeneration strategies,” says Jiankang Wang, CIMMYT biometrician who is
first author of the study. “It describes how different strategies can affect the
conservation of alleles and gives gene bank curators options that can be
tailored for specific types of accessions.”
Jiankang Wang says he
and his co-author, CIMMYT biometrician José Crossa, are now working with Taba to
apply the paper’s model in managing CIMMYT’s maize gene bank collection. “Many
other gene banks will find this approach useful,” says Crossa, explaining why
their study received the award. “For example, we collaborate closely with the
National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation in Fort Collins, Colorado, in
the USA. They can apply the same principles in their regeneration work.”
Jiankang Wang was excited by the recognition and the fact that peers
might find his work useful. “In middle school, teachers saw I had talent and
told me to specialize in mathematics, but at the university I discovered that I
was most interested in the practical applications of mathematics,” says Jiankang
Wang. “Using science to help preserve the world’s crop genetic resources is a
great satisfaction.”
Source: CIMMYT
E-News, vol 3 no. 1
January 2006
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1.12 Gene thwarts some pathogens, gives
access to others, could save crops
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. A
single gene apparently thwarts a disease-causing invader that creates a fuzzy
gray coating on flowers, fruits and vegetables. But the same gene provides
access to a different type of pathogen.
A Purdue University plant
molecular biologist and his collaborators in Austria and North Carolina
identified the gene that helps plants recognize pathogens and also triggers a
defense against disease. The gene and its defense mechanisms are similar to an
immunity pathway found in people and in the laboratory research insect, the
fruit fly.
As Botrytis cinerea, a pathogen that makes
strawberries gray and fuzzy, tries to invade a plant, the gene BIK1
recognizes the pathogen and sets off a defensive reaction. Botrytis
is a type of pathogen that can infect and obtain nutrients from dead cells
on a plant and actually secretes toxic substances into plant tissue in order to
gain entry. Another type of pathogen, called a biotroph, must feed on live plant
cells. As a strategy to contain a pathogen, plants actually kill their own cells
at the site where a biotrophic pathogen is attempting to invade.
"This
gene, BIK1, makes plants resistant to pathogens such as Botrytis,
but it allows biotrophic pathogens to invade," said Tesfaye
Mengiste, a Purdue plant molecular biologist and assistant professor of
botany and plant pathology. "The mutant plant that doesn't have BIK1
actually shows decreased immunity to two pathogens, including Botrytis.
But unexpectedly, it is completely resistant to virulent strains of the
biotrophic bacteria."
The study of BIK1's role in plant
resistance to these two types of pathogens appeared in the January issue of the
journal Plant Cell. The study
also shows that the gene impacts plant growth and development as evidenced by
abnormally short roots, overabundance of root hairs and wrinkly leaves on plants
lacking the gene, according to the scientists.
The gene produces a
protein located in the plant cell membranes and shows activity that is
characteristic of proteins that act as enzymes. This finding led researchers to
believe that these molecules give the early signals needed to set off a relay of
biochemical events allowing the plant to fight off the pathogen, Mengiste
said.
"Basically the BIK1 protein does this by regulating a plant
defense hormone called salicylic acid," he said. "The amount of salicylic acid
determines the type and level of a plant's response to the pathogen. This is
very important in terms of disease resistance.
"In this paper, we
speculate that there is an optimum level of salicylic acid that is required for
pathogen defense. When that level is exceeded, in some cases it may promote
susceptibility to other pathogens by interfering with other defense strategies
of the plants."
The research team first looked at normal plants and then
at the BIK1 mutant when they began to study the effect of different
hormones on plant growth and pathogen defense, Mengiste said. The scientists
were surprised to find that the mutants had reduced primary root growth but
increased numbers of root hairs. Along with their other findings, this
revelation is leading the scientists to future research.
"It looks like
this gene actually links pathogen response to plant growth and development,"
Mengiste said. "But how a single protein regulates these two processes that are
singularly independent, we don't know. That is the main purpose of our future
studies.
"We need to figure out the details of how it regulates root
growth and the length and amount of root hair. This may have implications in
terms of nutrient absorption or total plant biomass."
The answers
eventually could lead to increased crop yield and decreased produce loss due to
Botrytis and other similar pathogens, he said.
Currently, the
gray mold disease caused by Botrytis destroys about 10 percent of the
grape crop annually and about 25 percent to 30 percent of tomato and strawberry
crops in some seasons. It also infects many other fruits, vegetables, bulbs and
a variety of flowers, including petunias, geraniums and chrysanthemums. Cool,
humid weather fosters the fungus, which is spread by spores. The mold can appear
in fields on growing plants and on strawberries, raspberries and other foods
stored in the refrigerator.
Writer: Susan A. Steeves, ssteeves@purdue.edu
Sources: Tesfaye
Mengiste, Mengiste@purdue.edu
Source:
EurekAlert.com
3 February 2006
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1.13 New method enables gene disruption
in destructive fungal pathogen
Blacksburg, Va. – Researchers at the
Virginia Bioinformatics Institute (VBI) at Virginia Tech, Colorado State
University, and Duke University Medical Center have developed a new method to
determine gene function on a genome-wide scale in the fungal pathogen Alternaria
brassicicola. This destructive fungus causes black spot disease, leading to
considerable leaf loss in such economically important crops as canola, cabbage,
and broccoli.
Genomic methods that allow the disruption of several
thousand genes are needed because they allow high-throughput identification of
genes and gene function. Such procedures are widely applicable and would be
extremely useful in allowing scientists to investigate the key events that occur
when a host interacts with a pathogen.
"The development of this protocol
is timely as the genome sequence of A. brassicicola is scheduled for completion
in 2006. We now have in our hands a versatile method that will allow us to
dissect the pathogen's nucleotide sequence information and establish the
function of many of the individual genes in this filamentous fungus," said
Christopher Lawrence, associate professor at VBI, director of the project, and
one of the authors of the study.
"A. brassicicola has consistently been
used in studies with the weedy mustard plant Arabidopsis. The genome sequence of
Arabidopsis was determined in 2001 and many methods are available to ascertain
gene function in this plant," Lawrence said. "We now have a means to identify
key fungal and plant genes that interact and ultimately lead to disease
development or resistance. This is an extremely powerful research tool."
The generation of gene disruption mutants has been a limiting step for
the analysis of gene function in most filamentous fungi. The new method takes
advantage of a novel linear DNA construct that greatly improves the efficiency
of targeted gene disruption. The DNA construct includes an antibiotic-resistance
marker gene, which allows for easy selection of the new mutants, as well as a
short partial target gene that integrates and disrupts genes in the pathogen's
genome.
Richard Oliver, director of the Australian Centre for
Necrotrophic Fungal Pathogens and professor of Molecular Plant Pathology at
Murdoch University, Perth, commented: "The new disruption method looks highly
promising as a tool for functional genomic studies. The authors looked at over
20 genes and were able to produce transformants and inactivated genes or
knock-outs in each experiment. In most cases, the efficiency of gene disruption
was 100 percent, which represents a considerable improvement over previously
reported methods and makes large-scale functional analysis of individual genes
feasible."
Yangrae Cho of VBI, lead scientist and author of the paper,
said, "The high throughput system described in this study should allow for the
systematic analysis of large sets of candidate genes in A. brassicicola, such as
those encoding cell-wall-degrading enzymes and other genes of interest in
pathogen-plant interactions."
The new gene disruption method may also
find applications in the study of fungal pathogens that directly impact humans
and human health. In addition to causing numerous plant diseases, Alternaria are
involved in the development of such chronic airway diseases as asthma, allergy
and chronic rhinosinusitis. Gene disruption methods could help in identifying
molecules from the fungus that trigger inflammatory and other types of immune
responses in humans. By understanding how fungi modulate immune responses in
humans, new ways of developing therapeutics for these conditions could be
identified.
Contact: Barry Whyte
whyte@vbi.vt.edu
Source:
EurekAlert.com
2February 2006
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1.14 New heart-healthy oat now available
Washington, DC,
ARS News Service
Jan Suszkiw, jsuszkiw@ars.usda.gov
Health-conscious consumers can now get more of the soluble oat fiber called
beta-glucan in their diets, thanks to a new oat variety developed by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and North Dakota State University (NDSU)
scientists.
Combined with a healthy diet, beta-glucan can help lower
blood levels of so-called "bad" cholesterol, diminishing the risk of heart
disease. In August, ARS and NDSU scientists published their joint registration
of "HiFi," a new spring oat bred specifically for increased beta-glucan
content.
According to Doug Doehlert, a cereal chemist with ARS' Red River
Valley Agricultural Research Center in Fargo, N.D., HiFi boasts 50 percent more
beta-glucan than whole-oat products now sold in grocery stores.
This
means a consumer could eat less of a whole-oat product made with HiFi to get the
same health benefit. Or, more of the food could be eaten to gain even more of
beta-glucan's benefits, according to Doehlert, in the ARS center's Cereal Crops
Research Unit.
Doehlert and Mike McMullen of NDSU have been
cooperatively breeding oats since 1993. During routine grain analysis, Doehlert
noticed something odd: One of the oat lines furnished by McMullen contained more
beta-glucan than usual.
The oat also had good agronomic characteristics
and excellent disease resistance, so its seed was made available for production
in the northern Plains region. There, farmers grow oats primarily to feed
livestock, and they prefer varieties with high fat content rather than high
fiber.
Interest in HiFi for food products initially looked bleak, since
such oats are normally imported from Canada or oat-producing regions of the
United States other than the northern Plains. But health-label claims now
permitted for foods containing beta-glucan have rekindled interest in HiFi,
according to Doehlert. In fact, Organic Grain and Milling, Inc., of Hudson,
Wis., is negotiating licensing rights with the NDSU Research Foundation to
market HiFi as an organic brand.
Read more about the research in this
month's issue of Agricultural Research magazine, available online at:
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/feb06/oat0206.htm
ARS is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific research
agency.
Source: SeedQuest.com
6 February 2006
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1.15 Sources of sorghum anthracnose
resistance discovered
Washington, DC
ARS News Service
By Jim Core
Agricultural
Research Service (ARS) scientists scouring
sorghum germplasm collections from African countries in search of anthracnose
resistance for this valuable grain crop were surprised to find some key sources
in unexpected locales.
Disease evaluation data are lacking for more than
50 percent of the 43,000 accessions in the ARS sorghum collection. Since
pathogens can overcome plant resistance, researchers need to find new sources of
resistant germplasm that breeders can use.
The United States produces
about one-fifth of the world's sorghum and is the leading exporter of grain
sorghum. But Africa is the center of origin for this plant, so research
geneticist and sorghum curator John E.
Erpelding of ARS' Tropical Agriculture Research Station (
TARS) in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, looked to sorghum collections from African
countries for resistance to the highly variable anthracnose pathogen.
The
fungus infects all aboveground parts of the plant and, in severe cases, the
disease can kill plants before maturity. Often, anthracnose weakens the plant,
severely reducing grain yield and quality.
Erpelding and Louis K.
Prom, a plant pathologist at the ARS Crop
Germplasm Research Unit in College Station, Texas, were not surprised to
find resistance in about half of the lines evaluated from a subset of the Sudan
collection, considered a center of diversity for sorghum.
But finding 80
percent of the accessions from a subset of the Mali collection to be resistant
was unexpected. So, the researchers evaluated additional germplasm subsets
representing specific regions of Mali and found an association between weather
pattern and anthracnose resistance. More accessions from dry areas were
susceptible, while nearly all from the wettest region were resistant.
Erpelding is working with ARS geneticist Robert R.
Klein of College Station, who is mapping the sorghum genome and cloning
important genes which could include anthracnose resistance.
Source:
SeedQuest.com
3 February 2006
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1.16
Apple trees resistant to Fire Blight and Apple Scab
Apple Scab and Fire Blight are two of the most important diseases
affecting apple trees. The Venezuelan biologist, Alejandro Martínez Bilbao, has
undertaken research into more than 200 types of apple tree, autochthonous to
Spain, in order to select those varieties resistant to these pathogens. One of
the main conclusions of the PhD thesis of this biologist is that, in Navarre,
there are 12 apple tree varieties capable of resisting these highly damaging
pests. This is the first time in Spain that such a study has been carried out.
The PhD defended at the Public University of Navarre is entitled, “Evaluation of the resistance of autochthonous varieties in Spain to Fire Blight (Erwinia amylovora) and to Apple Scab (Venturia
inaequalis)”.
The first measures against Apple Scab and Fire
Blight
In 1996 a focus of Fire Blight appeared in Spain. This led
government authorities to take a number of eradication measures, given the
threat that the disease posed if it spread to other trees such as the pear. One
of the decisions taken was to set up a research project, in which the
Universities of Gerona, Valencia and Pamplona took part, in order to determine
the class of apple trees that offered resistance or had low sensitivity to this
pathogen. Some years later the study of the Apple Scab was included in the
study, this being the other disease that most frequently attacks these types of
fruit trees.
Both pests are highly damaging, although the Fire Blight
has more serious consequences, given that it attacks all the plant’s organs. The
first symptom observed is that the buds appear to be burnt. If the fruit tree is
very sensitive to the bacteria, it may die; but, if it is not very sensitive, it
can halt the progress of the pest. The Apple Scab acts in a different manner,
focusing on the leaves and the fruit and, therefore, easier to control. The
fungus causes a decrease in the size of the apple and deterioration in its
overall aspect. Moreover, the leaves become full of dark stains.
One of
the main methods to control Fire Blight and Apple Scab is based on the crop
varieties that are resistant or have low sensitivity to this pest. In Navarre,
the Technical Institute for Agricultural Management (ITGA) has a collection of
253 types of apple tree, autochthonous to Spain, providing a valuable source in
the quest for solutions. Alejandro Martínez’s PhD analysed apple trees that the
ITGA has on its experimental farm in Doneztebe/Santesteban and has confirmed
that 12 Navarre varieties show resistance to both Fire Blight and Apple Scab. In
the case of Apple Scab, the fruit trees have shown that they are totally
resistant to this disease, while in the case of Fire Blight, it has been shown
that the pathogen attacks them, but does not damage them as much as the rest of
the trees.
The Apple Scab may be controlled by treatment with fungicide,
but the problem is, if the plant is highly sensitive to the pest, it will need
15 treatments a year. This brings with it great environmental and economic
consequences. Moreover, the continued use of insecticides may give rise to the
appearance of strains resistant to the fungicides.
Although in a number
of European countries and in the USA numerous studies on resistance of apple
tree varieties to Fire Blight and Apple Scab have been undertaken, this is the
first in Spain. It is true that field evaluations of these pests have been
carried, but these were never transferred to the laboratory. The results that
appear in the PhD were obtained by means of artificial
inoculation.
Perspectives for the future
The ITGA tests
were aimed at looking for new alternatives for the future. One line of research
is the possibility of planning new varieties of apple trees resistant to Apple
Scab and with low susceptibility to Fire Blight. The biologist has stated that
this solution could be particularly interesting in ecological farming given
that, in this type of market, the aim is to obtain fruit free of fungicides and
other products. The problem with this alternative method is that it could create
a resistant variety that is of no commercial use, i.e. that does not incorporate
the specific commercial characteristics that give the fruit its specific taste
and texture.
The other option is genetic enhancement. This involves
achieving a mixture of varieties resistant to the diseases and varieties that
contain the commercial characteristics that consumers like. It is precisely this
second way that the Navarre Technical Institute for Agricultural Management is
employing to find a mixture to produce cider. The project is currently in its
study phase but it could be the long-term solution.
Internet reference
www.unavarra.es
Source:
EurekAlert.org
17 February 2006
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1.17
USDA/ARS watermelon line may help breeders combat powdery
mildew
Washington, DC
ARS News Service
Agricultural Research Service (ARS)
researchers and cooperators are introducing watermelon stock that may help
breeders combat powdery mildew, a disease that threatens watermelon yields and
quality in several states.
Recently, two races of powdery mildew have
been reported on watermelon, and they appear to be geographically separate.
Existing watermelon lines, which were thought resistant, were found to be
susceptible. But ARS researchers and colleagues discovered the first documented
resistance to race 1 powdery mildew in an ARS germplasm collection.
The
scientists first analyzed existing lines from the ARS Southern Regional Plant
Introduction Station in Griffin, Ga., for resistance to race 1 using field and
growth chamber studies. They developed the new watermelon line, PI 525088-PMR,
by repeatedly selecting the most resistant plants from the line PI 525088
(Citrullus lanatus var. lanatus).
According to Angela R. Davis,
geneticist at the ARS South Central Agricultural Research Laboratory in Lane,
Okla., watermelon has historically been resistant to powdery mildew, but the
disease has become widespread during the past few years. A significant problem
in Europe and Africa for about a decade, powdery mildew has emerged as a severe
problem in some areas of the United States.
Powdery mildew appears as a
dusty white or gray coating over leaf surfaces or other plant parts, and can be
difficult to control.
Davis conducted the research with Amnon Levi, an
ARS geneticist with the U.S. Vegetable Laboratory in Charleston, S.C.; Todd C.
Wehner of North Carolina State University in Raleigh; and Michael Pitrat of
France’s National Institute for Agricultural Research.
The new watermelon
line may be useful for introducing resistance to race 1 powdery mildew (caused
by the fungus Podosphaera xanthii, previously known as Sphaerotheca fulginea
auct. p.p.) into commercial watermelon cultivars. Ultimately, it may also reduce
the amount of fungicide needed to control the disease.
Jim Core, jcore@ars.usda.gov
ARS is the U.S.
Department of Agriculture’s chief scientific research agency.
Source:
SeedQuest.com
23 February 2006
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1.18 Breeding winter wheat tolerant to
aluminium toxicity
Andrzej Anio
The biochemical mechanisms of
Al and tolerances are not known. Various physiological aspects associated with
tolerance to Al observed in plants subjected to A1 stress were reviewed (,ROUT
ET ALL 2001,MATSUMOTO 2000).There are many possible mechanisms of metal
avoidance or internal tolerance, but our knowledge of these mechanisms are far
from complete, and it would be unjustified at this moment to base the selection
on any simple biochemical parameter (GRAHAM 1988).
Because of lack of
sufficient knowledge about the mechanism of metal tolerance in plants, selection
for tolerance is based on bioassays, in which an overall effect of A1 is
assessed: retardation of root growth by A1. These tests performed either in soil
or in nutrient solution are effective in selection of more tolerant cultivars
and allow studies on the inheritance of A1 tolerance. Elucidation of the
biochemical mechanism of tolerance is necessary to identify and isolate
tolerance genes in order to manipulate them using modern methods of plant
engineering.
The most obvious medium for screening plants for tolerance
to acid soil is a particular soil itself. However, using acid soil, either in
field or pot experiments, has several limitations. First, soil diversity makes
design of experiments technically difficult; it is virtually impossible to find
identical batches of soil for successive experiments. Second, resistance to soil
acidity is a complex character; it might involve A1 tolerance, Mn tolerance, or
resistance to calcium or phosphorus deficiency, just to mention a few important
factors. The constraints might be of little importance for a breeder who selects
cultivars adapted to a particular soil but are very serious for a geneticist or
physiologist trying to elucidate genetic control or physiological mechanisms of
tolerance to different factors affecting plant growth in acidic
soils.
Nutrient solutions are usually more accurate systems than field
trials for studies on resistance or mechanisms to toxic factors.
Below I
present a simple, cheap screening test used in our winter wheat breeding
program directed at development of Al-tolerant cultivars.
Nutrient
solution aluminium-pulse screening test
The test used in our
experiments is based on the assumption that inhibition of plant growth by A1 is
not observed before root systems develop. Since inhibition of root elongation is
the first visible symptom of A1 injury, direct reference to this process in
selection seems to be a reasonable approach.
The pulse test is based on
exposure of roots to short A1 shock after which the effect on root elongation is
recorded. In the method used in our laboratory, the A1 pulse principle of MOORE
ET AL.1976 was combined with the staining technique developed by POLLE ET
ALL 1978. Seeds were sterilized with 0.1%Hg2 Cl2 aqueous solution for 10 min., rinsed thoroughly with water, and germinated
overnight on filter paper in Petri dishes. Sprouted seeds were sown the next day
on polyethylene net fixed in lucite frames. Styrofoam blocks were attached to
the frames with rubber bands and floated on the surface of a vigorously aerated
nutrient solution. Containers with nutrient solution were placed in water bath
at 25oC under continuous light (12 w/m). Nutrient solution of the
following composition was used: 0.4 mom calcium chloride, 0.65 mom potassium
nitrate, 0.25 mom magnesium chloride, 0.01 mom ammonium sulfate and 0.04 mom
ammonium nitrate. Four day-o1d seedlings were transferred to the same nutrient
medium supplied with Al, in the form of aluminium chloride, at concentration
indicated in the experiments. After 24 hours of incubation in the medium
containing A1, seedlings were thoroughly washed for 2-3 min. in running water
and transferred to nutrient solution without A1 for 48 h. Seedlings were removed
from nutrient solution, again washed with tap water, and stained with 0.1 %
aqueous solution of Eriochrome cyanine R for 10 min. The excess dye was washed
after staining with tap water. The root regrowth after A1 shock (or additional
root growth) was easily assessed. Seedlings with apical meristems, damaged by a
given A1 pulse, had intensively stained root tips while those not damaged by A1
had a stained section of root followed by white root tip which developed after
A1 shock. The dye is nontoxic to roots at the concentration used and at the time
stain was applied. During all stages of growth, and particularly during A1
treatment, nutrient solution was maintained at pH 4.5, adjusted with 0.1 M HCl.
At the ratio of approximately 20 ml of nutrient solution per seedling, changes
of pH of the medium were minimal during 24 h of A1 treatment. Seedlings after
the test were still viable and could be transplanted for seed increase.
Aluminium concentration in nutrient solution causing irreversible damage to root
apical meristem during pulse treatment is a measure of tolerance of tested
genotype.
The described test was used for screening parental cultivars
and hybrid populations. The results correspond very well with cultivars of known
A1 resistance. Selected seedlings were transplanted to the field for seed
increase or further crossing. The test gives reproducible results provided that
proper conditions (temperature, pH, A1 concentration, time of exposure to Al)
are controlled.
This test was used successfully in our program directed
at development of winter wheat strains with introduced Al-tolerance from
Brazilian, extensive spring cultivar BH 1146. We can now offer to the wheat
breeders a set of strains with agronomic characters at the level of top
cultivars on the list and Al-tolerance similar to BH 1146.
Several major
genes control Al tolerance in hexaploid wheat and the character is dominant and
heritable, therefore, selection for A1 tolerance in wheat would be
effective.
The described screening test do not allow the
discrimination between Al-tolerant homozygotes and heterozygotes.
Moreover, Al-tolerance in hexaploid wheat is a genetically complex character and
sensitive segregants were observed in many generations after cross. This
obstacle was solved by development of DH lines in F3
/F4 generations.
References
1.Graham R D 1988 Genotypic
differences in tolerance to manganese deficiency. In: Manganese in Soils and
Plants. Eds. R D Graham, R J Hannam and N C Uren. pp 261-276. Kluwer Academic
Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands
2.Matsumoto, H.2000: Cell
biology of aluminum toxicity and tolerance in higher plants. Int. Rev. Cytol.
1-46.
3.Moore D P, Kronstad W E and Metzger R J 1976. Screening
wheat for aluminum tolerance. Plant Adaptation to Mineral Stress in Problem
Soils. Ed. M J Wright. Cornell Univ Agric. Exp. Sta.,Ithaca,NY.
4.Polle E,
Konzak A F and Kittric J A 1978 Visual detection of aluminum
tolerance levels in wheat by hematoxillin staining of seedling roots. Crop Sci.
18, 823-827.
5.Rout G.R., S. Samantaray, and P. Das. 2001: Aluminum
toxicity in plants: a review. Agronomie 21,3-21
Submitted by Andrzej
Anio
Plant Breeding and Acclimatization Institute, Radzikow
05-850 Blonie,
Poland
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1.19 Research finds hormones that ripen grapes
Based on
their ripening patterns and physiological differences, fruits can be categorized
as climacteric
or non-climacteric.
The first class encompasses fruits which have a well-characterized peak of the
hormone ethylene during the onset of ripening, and includes fruits such as tomatoes, apples,
and bananas. The second class, on the other hand, includes species such as
citrus, strawberries, grapes, and other
fruits whose ripening processes are not well understood.
The ripening
process is important to food supply, nutrition, and health, and controlling it
may allow fruits to be transported without worry that they will be bruised or
damaged. How this process occurs in grape is explored in "Grapes on Steroids.
Brassinosteroids Are Involved in Grape Berry Ripening," an article by Gregory M.
Symons, of the University of Tasmania, and colleagues. Their work is published
in the latest issue of Plant Physiology.
By isolating the genes coding
for steroidal hormones known as brassinosteroids
(BRs), and the receptors for their gene products, researchers confirmed that the
grape brassinosteroid-6-oxidase gene is involved in the grape ripening process.
They also found that applying BRs to grape berries (cv. Cabernet Sauvignon)
significantly promoted ripening, while brassinazole, an inhibitor of BR
biosynthesis, significantly delayed fruit ripening.
Previous research has
shown that BRs are essential for normal plant growth and development, but they
have not hitherto been found to be involved in ripening. The new findings can
aid scientists in their work on improving grapes, and can likewise allow
researchers a deeper understanding of how ripening can be controlled in other
important non-climacteric fruits.
Subscribers to Plant Physiology can
read the article at http://www.plantphysiol.org/cgi/content/full/140/1/150.
Other readers may take a look at the abstract at http://www.plantphysiol.org/cgi/content/abstract/140/1/150.
From
CropBiotech Update 27 January 2006
Submitted by Margaret Smith
Dept. of
Plant Breeding & Genetics
Cornell University
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1.20 New model designed to study
soybean
In "A Gene-Based Model to Simulate Soybean Development and
Yield Responses to Environment," C. D. Messina and colleagues of the University
of Florida develop and test a procedure meant to predict how well soybean can
grow in certain environments, and with specific genetic loci. Their work appears
in the latest issue of Crop Science.
An existent model called
CROPGRO-Soybean predicts yields for soybean based on the crop's surrounding
environment. In this research paper, scientists combined the model with genetic
data. First, a field experiment was carried out to obtain phenotypic data for a
set of near-isogenic lines with known genotypes at six loci; these data were
then used to estimate cultivar-specific parameters for their model; and,
finally, the same parameters were expressed as linear functions of the known
gene loci.
Researchers combined their gene data with CROPGRO-Soybean, and
were able to more accurately predict the time to maturity and yield levels of a
separate field of soybeans. Their results suggest that gene-based approaches can
be used to effectively assess cultivar performance, and should thus be utilized
in plant breeding.
Subscribers to Crop Science can read the
complete article at http://crop.scijournals.org/cgi/content/full/46/1/456.
Other readers can take a look at the abstract at http://crop.scijournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/46/1/456.
From
CropBiotech Update 3 February 2006
Submitted by Margaret Smith
Dept.
of Plant Breeding & Genetics
Cornell University
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1.21 Scientists create disease-resistant
tomato
Vietnamese scientists from the country's Southern Agriculture
Science and Technique Institute have created a new disease-resistant tomato
plant which can grow during the rainy season and withstand invasion by the
lethal bacterium Ralstonia solanacearum.
The project, which won first
prize at the 8th National Technology Initiative Competition, was conducted by a
research group headed by Dr. Ngo Quang Vinh. The new tomato was created by
grafting the NT386 tomato variety onto a conventional tomato plant.
More
news available at http://www.vnanet.vn/default.asp?LANGUAGE_ID=2.
For more information on this article, e-mail Le Hien of the Vietnam
Biotechnology Information Center at hienbiotechvn@pmail.vnn.vn.
From
CropBiotech Update 17 February 2006
Submitted by Margaret Smith
Dept.
of Plant Breeding & Genetics
Cornell University
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1.22 Feeding the 600 million: the next step for
genomics?
The genetic code of cassava – one of
Africa's staple crops – should be sequenced next, say Raven and
colleagues
The recent successful sequencing of the genetic code of rice
will underpin research on the crop for decades. This promises to bring huge
benefits for farmers and consumers, but where should the science go
next?
In this letter to Science, Peter Raven and colleagues say
sequencing should now focus on the crops vital to poor farmers.
They
point out that in 2050, some 90 per cent of the world population will live in
developing countries and rely largely on agriculture making such crops
central to food security, poverty reduction, health, social stability and
economic growth.
Cassava, they say, is an ideal choice. Grown throughout
tropical Africa, Asia and the Americas, the crop feeds some 600 million people a
day. Yet average yields attain barely a tenth of their potential a concern
of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization's Global Cassava Partnership, which
says it should be the next species to have its genetic code
sequenced.
Doing so would not only boost breeding technologies, but also
bring the crop into the mainstream of plant science research. This is, say Raven
and colleagues, the time to apply genomics to the needs of the global
majority.
Link
to article in Science
Source: SciDev.net
30 January 2006
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1.23
A high-throughput screen for genes from castor that boost hydroxy fatty acid
accumulation in seed oils of transgenic Arabidopsis
by Chaofu Lu,
Martin Fulda, James G. Wallis and John Browse
SUMMARY
It is
desirable to produce high homogeneity of novel fatty acids in oilseeds through
genetic engineering to meet the increasing demands of the oleo-chemical
industry. However, expression of key enzymes for biosynthesis of industrial
fatty acids usually results in low levels of desired fatty acids in transgenic
oilseeds. The abundance of derivatized fatty acids in their natural species
suggests that additional genes are needed for high production in transgenic
plants. We used the model oilseed plant Arabidopsis thaliana expressing a
castor fatty acid hydroxylase (FAH12) to identify genes that can boost hydroxy
fatty acid accumulation in transgenic seeds. Here we describe a high-throughput
approach that, in principle, can allow testing of the entire transcriptome of
developing castor seed endosperm by shotgun transforming a full-length cDNA
library into an FAH12-expressing Arabidopsis line. The resulting transgenic
seeds were screened by high-throughput gas chromatography. We obtained several
lines transformed with castor cDNAs that contained increased amounts of hydroxy
fatty acids in transgenic Arabidopsis. These cDNAs were then isolated by PCR and
retransformed into the FAH12-expressing line, thus confirming their beneficial
contributions to hydroxy fatty acid accumulation in transgenic Arabidopsis
seeds. Although we describe an approach that is targeted to oilseed engineering,
the methods we developed can be applied in many areas of plant biotechnology and
functional genomic research.
Source: CropBiotech Update: http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-313X.2005.02636.x
Novel approach to fatten up castor beans
A team of researchers
of the Institute of Biological Chemistry, Washington State University, U.S.
describe a high throughput approach designed to identify genes important for oil
yield in castor bean. Their article: “A high-throughput screen for genes from
castor that boost hydroxy fatty acid accumulation in seed oils of transgenic
Arabidopsis” is published in the latest issue of the Plant Journal.
The
over-expression of known enzymes in the biosynthetic pathway of fatty acids in
castor beans has not been a successful approach to develop biotech castor beans
with increased oil content, suggesting that additional genes to the ones
engineered are required. To identify novel genes, the authors used the model
species Arabidopsis thaliana and generated an Arabidopsis line
over-expressing the castor fatty acid hydroxylase FAH12 gene. They
subsequently introduced into this line the entire set of cDNAs expressed in the
castor seed endosperm (the nutritive tissue surrounding the embryo within seeds)
by biolistic transformation. The resulting transgenic seeds were screened to
isolate lines with increased oil yields. The cDNAs responsible were then
identified by PCR, and retransformed into castor seeds to confirm their
contribution. Although this approach was designed for oilseed engineering, it
can be applied to many areas of plant biotechnology.
To view the abstract of
the article “A high-throughput screen for genes from castor that boost hydroxy
fatty acid accumulation in seed oils of transgenic Arabidopsis” visit:
http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-313X.2005.02636.x
The Plant Journal
/ CropBiotech Update
Volume 45 Page
847 - March 2006
Source: SeedQuest.com
February
2006
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1.24
New clues in the plant mating mystery: Missouri University researchers
discover molecular details for maintenance of genetic
fitness
Columbia, Missouri
New data suggest that molecular
communication between the plant sexes--specifically the pollen of males and
pistils of females--is more complicated than originally thought. Plants, like
animals, avoid inbreeding to maximize genetic diversity and the associated
chances for survival. For decades, scientists have sought to fully understand
the plant's molecular system for recognizing and rejecting "self" so that
inbreeding does not occur.
Now, Bruce McClure at the University of
Missouri-Columbia (UMC), together with his colleagues, report in the Feb. 16
issue of the journal Nature that plant "self" recognition systems involve
multiple players and lots of male-female "conversation," at least at the
molecular level.
For successful reproductions to occur in plants, the
pollen must make its way to the plant's female parts. That is, it germinates and
grows within the pistil in order to reach the ovule. In one system plants use to
prevent inbreeding, the pistil literally poisons the pollen en route to the
ovule using a toxin known as S-RNase. Until now, the specifics of this
self-incompatibility system perplexed scientists.
McClure and his
colleagues showed that after the pistil injects S-RNase into the pollen, the
toxin is whisked away to a holding compartment where it can do no harm until the "self" or "non-self" decision is made. McClure's work also suggests that at
least three other proteins may be involved in this decision-making
process.
McClure said, "What's really new here is the finding that pollen
protects itself from the toxin in a different way than we previously thought,
and we're starting to understand how these other proteins work together with
S-RNase." McClure's group is now determining the molecular information
responsible for the sequestering and release of S-RNase.
McClure also
engages UMC freshman biochemistry laboratories in studying this plant
self-recognition system to learn and perform advanced molecular biology. "It's a
great system for helping students see how we connect genetics and biochemistry
and use them to build an understanding of how living things work," said
McClure.
McClure first showed that RNases were involved in controlling
plant mating some 17 years ago. In 1994, he and Teh-hui Kao at Pennsylvania
State University, both supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF),
independently determined the toxin's function. Recently, Kao's lab made another
key advance by showing that a pollen protein called SLF helps pollen recognize
S-RNase.
Susan Lolle, the NSF program manager for McClure's current
research said, "This latest development in the pollen-pistil story is not only
significant in its own right as we strive to understand the intricacies of plant
breeding--it's also a great example of how stepwise advances in fundamental
knowledge lead to our greater understanding of a complex
system."
Missouri University investigators' discovery sheds light on
how plants control mating
Source: University of Missouri-Columbia
By:
Melody Kroll
Like animals, most plants avoid mating with close
relatives. But, how plants decide who is a relative has been a mystery to
science. New research from Missouri
University investigators suggests that this decision-making process is more
intricate than previously considered.
In plants, some of the important
mating choices are made through an intimate "conversation" between the pollen
(the male) and the pistil (the female part of a flower). The conversation is
carried on with molecules instead of words. One molecular-level conversation
scientists have been eavesdropping on for a long time is the one a plant may
have with itself to avoid self-mating, or inbreeding. How this conversation
occurs is now turning out to be quite complex.
"We've known that there
is a molecular conversation going on between S-RNase, a protein on the pistil
side, and SLF, a protein on the pollen side, and that the result of this
conversation is a decision about whether or not the pollen will be allowed to
fertilize the plant.in other words, who to mate with and who to reject," said Bruce McClure, Associate
Director of the Christopher S. Bond Life Sciences Center and the lead
investigator for the research. "We used to think these two proteins interacted
pretty directly."
In this week's Nature, McClure and fellow MU
investigators show that S-RNase is taken up into a compartment inside a growing
pollen tube.
"That S-RNase is sequestered in a compartment away
from the SLF protein really changes how we think about this interaction,"
continued McClure. "It means the conversation is a lot more intricate and
two-sided than we had thought."
McClure, who received funding for the
research from both the National Science Foundation and the MU-Monsanto Plant
Biology Program, said the finding is important for a basic understanding of
plant biology, but may also offer insight into other issues, like the spread of
transgenes from genetically modified crops to wild relatives.
In studies
in 1989 and 1990 (also in Nature), McClure showed that S-RNase causes
rejection of pollen from close relatives by acting as a cytotoxin (toxic
substance) inside the cytoplasm of the growing pollen tube. What scientists know
now is that pollen keeps S-RNase safely stored in a bag-like compartment where
it cannot cause damage unless it is released. The molecular conversation between
S-RNase and SLF controls this release. With this new finding, scientists now
envision the pollen-pistil conversation as involving a whole new set of
interactions.
"It's as much where the molecules are as what they are,"
McClure said. "We used to think that the important molecular decision made
between mating partners was whether or not to degrade S-RNase. We now know the
important decision is whether or not to release the S-RNase from this
compartment. This takes us in a whole new direction of research."
For
their studies, the MU team used Nicotiana alata, a relative of tobacco
commonly grown in home gardens as "flowering tobacco." The advanced microscope
facilities in the Molecular Cytology Core at the Bond Life Sciences Center were
critical for discovering the S-RNase compartment.
"The combination of a
great team and great facilities made this possible," said McClure. "We had team
members from Argentina, Japan, India, Mexico, and the United States. It's an
incredible collaborative effort."
Among the team members are an MU
graduate student in the Division of Biological Sciences, Christopher Lee, and
three MU investigators, Katsuhiko Kondo, Mayandi Sivaguru, and Thomas E.
Phillips. Nathan Hancock, an MU alumnus, also participated in the research, as
did Ariel Goldraij, from the National University of Cordoba, Argentina, and
Sonia Vasquez-Santana and Felipe Cruz-Garcia, from the National University of
Mexico.
Source: National Science
Foundation via SeedQuest.com
16 February 2006
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1.25 CIMMYT develops herbicide resistant
maize hybrids
The International Maize
and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), in collaboration with public and
private partners, has developed and tested 26 Imidazolinone-resistant (IR) 3-Way
maize hybrids, across 18 sites in several sub-Saharan African countries. These
hybrids are available to National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) and seed
companies in eastern and southern Africa companies for inclusion into trials to
decide on variety registration, release, and eventual commercialization in
various sub-Saharan African countries.
Imidazolinone-resistance (IR) is a
natural form of herbicide resistance originally discovered in mutation-derived
populations. Imidazolinone herbicides possess high biological potency at low
application rates, and thus are an attractive alternative for weed control. The
seed of IR-hybrids coated with Imidazolinone offers an effective protection
against Striga, a flowering parasitic plant with devastating effects on crop
production in sub-Saharan Africa. In trials, IR-hybrids show a 50% increase in
yield and provide close to 100% Striga control. Without Imidazolinone seed
treatment, the same hybrids can be commercialized in non-Striga affected
areas.
For more information write to Ms. Ebby Irungu (e.irungu@cgiar.org) or visit: http://www.africancrops.net/striga/CIMMYT-IR-Maize-Hybrids.pdf
Source: SeedQuest.com
24 February 2006
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to Contents)
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1.26
Association mapping: a bridge between QTL analysis and
marker-assisted selection.
The plant science literature is rich in
QTL analysis results, but examples of actual application in plant breeding are
still scant. One of the main reasons is that a significant marker, to be useful
for selection in a population other than the one used for its detection, must be
very closely linked to the gene of interest. However, due to the excessively
high linkage disequilibrium normally present in mapping populations, fine
mapping of QTL requires very large populations. Breeders cannot afford to
evaluate each of the genes of interest in such depth. Another limitation of QTL
studies is that they normally compare only two alleles, while many more may
exist in the breeding pool.
A solution for this conundrum is to detect
the association between marker and gene directly in the germplasm used in the
breeding program. Under this situation, even a loose association can be used to
accelerate genetic gains for quantitative traits through marker-assisted
selection. Until recently, though, no methodology was in place to achieve this
goal.
Two recent papers from Breseghello & Sorrells demonstrate
theoretically and practically how plant breeders can use association analysis to
convert QTL information into selectable SSR markers that are useful in the
breeding program. One paper, in press in Crop Science (Association analysis as a
strategy for improvement of quantitative traits in plants), put marker-trait
associations as a simple matter of conditional probabilities and expectations.
This way of looking at genetic associations is intuitive in the breeding
context, and reveals promises and pitfalls of this approach. In this paper, the
authors illustrate the appropriate application of association mapping to
germplasm core collections synthetic outcrossing populations, and elite
varieties. Synthetics were found to be the material of choice for implementation
of MAS through association.
The other paper, to be published in the next
issue of Genetics (Association mapping of kernel size and milling quality in
wheat (triticum aestivum L.) cultivars, preprint available at www.genetics.org/cgi/rapidpdf/genetics.105.044586v1.pdf),
is a practical application of association analysis for kernel size and milling
quality in wheat. Starting from QTL mapped in small mapping populations, the
authors used association analysis to confirm the presence of the QTL in a panel
of cultivars, and evaluated the effects associated with different marker
alleles.
The work described in the two papers was planned and
executed from the perspective of the plant breeder. The results showed that
association mapping is a promising technique, and that it is within the reach of
breeding programs with reasonable genotyping capacity. Using association
analysis, the wealth of QTL results in the literature may finally become a
powerful tool in the hands of plant breeders.
Submitted by Flávio
Breseghello
Embrapa Arroz e Feijão (Rice and Beans)
S. Antônio de Goiás,
GO, Brasil
flavio@cnpaf.embrapa.br
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1.27 Maize molecule attracts pest enemies
Plants can
protect themselves from herbivores through a process known as "indirect
defense": they emit a complex mixture of plant volatiles to attract natural
enemies of the herbivores. For instance, once attacked by lepidopteran
larvae, maize
releases a mixture that is highly attractive to females of various parasitic
wasp species, natural enemies of the lepidopterans.
Christiane Schnee, of
the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, and colleagues unscramble the
complex mixture and find that "The products of a single maize sesquiterpene
synthase form a volatile defense signal that attracts natural enemies of maize
herbivores." Their work is published in the latest issue of The Proceedings of
the National Academy of Sciences.
By overexpressing tps10, the gene
coding for terpene synthase in maize, in Arabidopsis,
researchers were able to grow plants emitting high quantities of the gene
product. These plants were then used as odor sources in olfactometer assays,
where researchers found that females of the parasitoid Cotesia
marginiventris used the odor to locate their lepidopteran
hosts.
Terpene synthase is an enzyme which, when activated, allows plant
cells to produce a number of volatiles. Research showed that introduction of the
gene coding only for terpene synthase was enough to mediate the indirect defense
of maize against herbivore attack - allowing scientists another option in
designing suitable strategies for protecting agricultural crops against insect
pests.
Read the complete article at http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/103/4/1129.
From
CropBiotech Update 27 January 2006
Submitted by Margaret Smith
Dept.
of Plant Breeding & Genetics
Cornell University
(Return to Contents)
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1.28 Major breakthrough in wheat
genetics: chromosome glue identified
Wheat is one of the most
important food crops in the world, and the domestication of this grass species
is intimately linked to the rise of agricultural practices. Bread wheat
(Triticum aestivum) is in fact a hexaploid, that is, it is composed of 6
sets of genomes (AABBDD) derived from 3 different species. Correct chromosome
pairing and segregation during reproduction (meiosis) are essential for
fertility and for ensuring genome stability. The Ph1 locus, residing on
chromosome 5B, is responsible for this control, as chromosomes of lines carrying
deletions of the Ph1 locus fail to pair properly.
So what is Ph1?
A research team lead by Dr. Graham Moore in the John Innes Centre, in Norwich,
UK, adopted an ambitious strategy to answer this question, and they report their
major breakthrough in the latest issue of Nature. The authors found that the
Ph1 locus is localized to a 2.5 Mb region containing a segment of
heterochromatin inserted into a cluster of cdc2-related genes (shown previously
to affect chromosome condensation). The cdc2 genes are therefore the best
candidates for Ph1 function. The presence of this structure correlates
with Ph1 function in related species, and can therefore be used to generate
fertile cross species hybrids. "This will make it possible to cross wheat
varieties with wild relatives which have features like drought tolerance or can
grow in more saline conditions", said Dr Moore.
Lys Holdoway, of Oxfam's
Make Poverty History campaign, said: "This has the potential to benefit so many
people who are struggling to grow food in very difficult soils and
climates."
To view the first paragraph of the article: "Molecular
characterization of Ph1 as a major chromosome pairing locus in polyploid wheat" access: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v439/n7077/abs/nature04434.html.
Written with information from: http://www.jic.ac.uk/corporate/media-and-public/grains.htm
From
CropBiotech Update 17 February 2006
Submitted by Margaret Smith
Dept.
of Plant Breeding & Genetics
Cornell University
(Return to Contents)
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1.29 Molecular detection tools for African maize
breeders
El Batán, Mexico
A new DNA detection service provided
by CIMMYT and KARI responds to African researchers’ calls for modern
technology.
African maize breeders now have access to
state-of-the-art biotechnology tools thanks to a service launched by CIMMYT and
the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute
(KARI). Housed within the laboratories at the International Livestock Research Institute
(ILRI) headquarters in Nairobi, under the Canadian International Development
Agency (CIDA)-funded Biosciences
Eastern and Central Africa (BECA) platform, the lab offers and trains
researchers in the use of molecular marker techniques.
The molecular
markers are DNA snippets that help researchers locate and select for genes
associated with traits of interest, including resistance to pests and diseases,
or tolerance to stresses like drought. With markers, breeders can cut the time
and money needed to develop plant types that possess such useful traits. Until
now, this capability had been unavailable to scientists in sub-Saharan Africa,
outside of South Africa.
Led by CIMMYT biotechnologist Jedidah Danson and supported by the Rockefeller Foundation, the service now has
its hands full of requests from breeders working with CIMMYT, national
agricultural research systems, local seed companies, and universities. “They’ve
learnt of the service entirely through word-of-mouth,” she says. “It’s
especially attractive because current funding allows us to offer the service
free, so more breeders are exposed to the technology.”
Breeders using
the service are especially interested in finding ways to incorporate resistance
to maize streak virus, a disease endemic in much of sub-Saharan Africa and in
enhancing the nutritional quality of herbicide tolerant maize, originally
developed as part of a package to control the parasitic witch weed.
“Marker assisted selection is an important tool for breeders in Africa.
CIMMYT and KARI must be lauded for being the first in the region to provide the
service to public sector researchers,” says Richard Edema, molecular breeder at
Makerere University, Uganda. Edema is also coordinator of the African Molecular Marker Application
Network, a consortium of about 100 biotechnologists and breeders from across
sub-Saharan Africa.
Danson is building a database of markers for genes
for resistance to important pests and diseases, including maize streak virus,
gray leaf spot, the parasitic weed Striga, and northern corn leaf blight. She
also helps train breeders in the effective use of markers. “Clearly, our
partnership to support African breeders was long overdue,” she
says.
Source: CIMMYT E-News, vol 3
no. 1
January 2006
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1.30 Fighting cancer with the help from plants
26 January
2006
By Ana Hrus, Checkbiotech
“How to create a better vaccine” - that
is the question that occupies many researchers in the world. Although there is a
multitude of vaccines produced in the 21st Century, it is impossible to use them
on a world-wide scale due to their high cost and methods of
application.
A research team from the Biotechnology Foundation
Laboratories at the Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, has been
working on developing an entirely new class of vaccines.
http://www.checkbiotech.org/root/index.cfm?fuseaction=search&search=checkbiotech&doc_id=12112&start=1&fullsearch=1
Submitted by Submitted by Robert.Derham@unibas.ch
Editor,
Checkbiotech
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1.31
Chloroplasts reloaded
24 January 2006
By
Lukas Herwig, Checkbiotech
Researchers from the University of Nebraska
found that adding human genes to tobacco plants increases their
resilience.
For some time, scientists have been studying a phenomenon
called program cell death (PCD), in which a cell is told to commit suicide.
Extensive research about PCD has shown to be very beneficial for understanding
cellular functions that directly influence human health. For instance, it is now
known that faulty PCD is connected to important mammalian diseases such as
cancer, AIDS and strokes.
One way of finding out more about PCD is to
study the differences in plants and humans. Both plants and animals have similar
forms of PCD, yet they also differ in certain ways. A notable difference lies
with a group of PCD regulators called the Bcl-2 family of proteins in mammals.
The Bcl-2 family members are divided into two groups: those that activate PCD
and those that prevent PCD. So far, a similar group of proteins that perform
similar functions in plants has not been found.
http://www.checkbiotech.org/root/index.cfm?fuseaction=search&search=checkbiotech&doc_id=12094&start=1&fullsearch=1
Submitted by Submitted by Robert.Derham@unibas.ch
Editor,
Checkbiotech
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1.32
'Steeling' silk from nature
11 January 2006
By Flora Mauch, Checkbiotech
Spider dragline silk exhibits
extraordinary strength and toughness. A research team from DuPont is interested
in producing large scale amounts of the silk at affordable costs.
Scientists
have long envied the strength and elasticity of spider's silk. It exhibits a
combination of strength and toughness unmatched by any other fiber so far.
While many insects secrete silks of varying quality, the dragline silk
spidrion 1 of the golden orb-weaving spider, Nephila clavipes, has
attracted the most scientific attention. Researchers marvel its high tensile
strength.
Recently, two research teams headed by Dr. Jianjun Yang at
DuPont's Experimental Station in Wilmington, Delaware succeeded in producing a
protein with the same features as the natural protein spodrion 1 through genetic
engineering. To achieve this, they provided plant cells (from tobacco, potato or
soy) with a special piece of DNA, which contains the recipe for spidrion 1. In
this way, genetically modified plant cells become a factory for spodrion 1. At a
later time point, spidrion 1 can be extracted from the plant cells and used to
spin the strong silk.
http://www.checkbiotech.org/root/index.cfm?fuseaction=search&search=checkbiotech&doc_id=11999&start=1&fullsearch=1
Submitted by Submitted by Robert.Derham@unibas.ch
Editor,
Checkbiotech
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1.33
Animal gene renders tobacco resistant to parasitic
weed
15 December 2005
By Katharina Schoebi,
Checkbiotech
The parasitic plant species Orobanche can cause enormous
yield losses. Up to now, there are only few control measures that are successful
and affordable. An American-Israeli research team has now been able to
genetically engineer tobacco plants to enhance their resistance against
Orobanche.
Parasitic plants heavily contribute to the weed problem for
agriculture. Plants of the species Orobanche attack the roots of many crops and
abstract water, nutrients and photosynthesis products from their host plant, and
by so doing can cause enormous yield losses. Since the parasite is closely
associated with the host root, its control is very difficult. Thus, crop species
that are resistant to the parasite are in great demand.
http://www.checkbiotech.org/root/index.cfm?fuseaction=search&search=checkbiotech&doc_id=11865&start=1&fullsearch=1
Submitted by Submitted by Robert.Derham@unibas.ch
Editor,
Checkbiotech
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1.34
Hepatitis B vaccination by eating a banana?
7
December 2005
By Daniela Jenni, Checkbiot
How about eating a ripe
appetizing banana fruit and getting rid of all your worries about catching
hepatitis B at the same time? A scientist’s dream, or just a step away from
reality?
Over 20 million people become infected with Hepatitis B every
year. Hepatitis B is a serious disease caused by a virus that attacks the liver,
and can cause lifelong infection, cirrhosis (scarring) of the liver, liver
cancer, liver failure, and death. Most of the infections occur in the developing
world.
Fortunately there are vaccines available against Hepatitis B.
However, at present such are gained from microbes, and are expensive to produce.
This restricts their availability in those countries where they are needed most.
Right now, researchers are busy working out other solutions, such as
producing a vaccine against Hepatitis B in plants. There is for example a team
from India which succeeded in producing a Hepatitis B antigen in bananas. The
antigen can then be used to make a vaccine against Hepatitis B.
Bananas
are an ideal host since most of the edible bananas do not set seeds and fruits
develop parthenocarpically, which means directly from the maternal tissue of the
flower. This prevents the imported gene from being transferred to other
vegetation.
http://www.checkbiotech.org/root/index.cfm?fuseaction=search&search=checkbiotech&doc_id=11803&start=1&fullsearch=1
Submitted by Submitted by Robert.Derham@unibas.ch
Editor,
Checkbiotech
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1.35
When cells dispense
1 December 2005
By Flora
Mauch, Checkbiotech
Imagine a machine whose most important component is a
bunch of living cells. Nature and technology – what might seem like opposites to
many of us, have actually been made to work hand in hand by researchers.
Recently, a team in California developed a process utilizing a commercially
available membrane bioreactor, in which rice cells produce substances that can
be subsequently used as health care products.
There are several methods
that use genetic engineering to encourage cells to produce a desired substance.
In such cases, cells are provided with a special piece of DNA, which contains
the recipe for the desired substance. Under ideal circumstances, the cell starts
to read off the DNA and to produce the product.
In order to maximize
yields and facilitate harvesting the product, a research team headed by Dr.
Karen A. McDonald, at the University of California Davis, developed a process
which utilizes a special type of bioreactor. A bioreactor is a container in
which special cells or microorganisms are cultivated in ideal conditions to gain
their metabolites.
http://www.checkbiotech.org/root/index.cfm?fuseaction=search&search=checkbiotech&doc_id=11768&start=1&fullsearch=1
Submitted by Submitted by Robert.Derham@unibas.ch
Editor,
Checkbiotech
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1.36 Diet apples for diet
freaks
20 February 2006
Translated by Mark Hutcko,
CheckBiotech
US researchers have developed a transgenic apple tree which
bears fruits sweetened with sorbitol.
US researchers have developed a
technique which reduces the calories in an apple by about one half. With the
help of genetic engineering, they changed the metabolism of apple trees, so they
would store sorbitol instead of fructose in the fruit.
http://www.checkbiotech.org/root/index.cfm?fuseaction=search&search=checkbiotech&doc_id=12287&start=1&fullsearch=1
Submitted by Submitted by Robert.Derham@unibas.ch
Editor,
Checkbiotech
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1.37
Spying in the fields
Wednesday, February 15,
2006
Translated by Mark Hucko, Checkbiotech
Using genetic engineering,
researchers at the Max Planck Institute have started to decipher the chemical
vocabulary of inter-plant communication.
As an answer to an insect attack,
plants release volatile scents. Scientists at the Max-Planck Institute for
Chemical Ecology in Jena, Germany have been investigating chemical-scent
exchange between neighboring plants.
Preliminary laboratory research
hinted at the first evidence, however these lab results did not necessarily
reflect field conditions. Thus, the Max-Planck researchers have investigated
(with field trials as well) the defense reaction of the wild tobacco plant
(Nicotiana attenuate) to an insect pest attack, after it had received
scent-signals from a neighboring and wounded plant - the Great Basin Sage Brush
(Artemisia tridentata).
http://www.checkbiotech.org/root/index.cfm?fuseaction=search&search=checkbiotech&doc_id=12256&start=1&fullsearch=1
Submitted by Submitted by Robert.Derham@unibas.ch
Editor,
Checkbiotech
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+++++++++++++++++++++++
1.38
Transgenic tobacco with built-in
tick-protection
30 January 2006
Translated by Mark Hucko,
Checkbiotech
Tobacco plants can now produce vaccine against Lyme disease
- a tick-borne disease from the bacterium Borreliosis. Dr. Heribert Warzecha,
from the University of Wuerzburg, Germany, describes how his group was able to
accomplish this feat in the scientific journal Nature
Biotechnology.
Scientists have already several times tried to generate
plant-made vaccines with the aid of genetic engineering. Generally it works
since many vaccines are protein-based, whose building code can be inserted into
the plant hereditary material as DNA. However, until now, enhanced plants have
produced only minute amounts of the desired substances.
In an innovative
approach, Dr. Warzecha and his team built in the additional hereditary
information in the tobacco plant’s chloroplasts - not in the cellular nucleus.
Chloroplasts are small cellular organelles with their own hereditary material,
which help the plants to produce energy from sunlight. The advantage: in one
cell there are around one hundred chloroplasts in comparison to only one
nucleus. Thus, plants with transgenic chloroplasts are more effective vaccine
producers, in that the yield of a target protein is much higher than those that
target the nucleus.
http://www.checkbiotech.org/root/index.cfm?fuseaction=search&search=checkbiotech&doc_id=12140&start=1&fullsearch=1
Submitted by Submitted by Robert.Derham@unibas.ch
Editor,
Checkbiotech
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+++++++++++++++++++++++
1.39
Researchers investigate Valencia orange juice
quality
21 December 2005
By CheckBiotech
The Valencia
orange is the main citrus species used in processed orange juice products.
However, the enzyme pectin methylesterase (PME) adversely affects juice quality
in that a separation of juice and pulp may occur.
The problem that companies
have is that despite high temperature pasteurization, PME retains residual
activity, where many enzymes would be inactivated.
In the May issue of
Plant Cell Reports, Guo et al. report on “Protoplast transformation and
regeneration of transgenic Valencia sweet orange plants containing a juice
quality-related pectin methylesterase gene.” They were able to successfully
produce genetically modified Valencia varieties that overexpressed or
underexpressed thermostable PME (TSPME).
http://www.checkbiotech.org/root/index.cfm?fuseaction=search&search=checkbiotech&doc_id=11907&start=1&fullsearch=1
Submitted by Submitted by Robert.Derham@unibas.ch
Editor,
Checkbiotech
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=========================
2 PUBLICATIONS
2.01 Unsung
hero: the man who fed the world
From the day he was born in 1914,
Norman Borlaug has been an enigma. How could a child of the Iowa prairie,
who attended a one-teacher, one-room school; who flunked the university entrance
exam; and whose highest ambition was to be a high school science teacher and
athletic coach, ultimately achieve the distinction as one of the one hundred
most influential persons of the twentieth century? And receive the Nobel Peace
Prize for averting hunger and famine? And eventually be hailed as the man who
saved hundreds of millions of lives from starvation--more than any other person
in history?
What is it that made Norman Borlaug different? What drove
him? What can we--especially our youth--learn from his life?
Those
questions are answered in Leon Hesser’s authorized biography, The Man Who Fed
the World: Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Norman Borlaug and His Battle to End
World Hunger (Durban House Publishing, September 2006, hardcover,
$24.95)
In the book’s foreword, Dr. Borlaug's good friend and fellow
Nobel laureate Jimmy Carter wrote, "Since 1986, I have had the distinct pleasure
of working with Norman Borlaug in sub-Saharan Africa where, in spite of AIDS,
endemic malaria and other maladies, populations are increasing faster than food
supplies. I have witnessed first-hand the reverence that thousands upon
thousands of Africans have for Dr. Borlaug’s untiring efforts to relieve their
hunger. … I commend Leon Hesser for making more people aware of the remarkable
life and achievements of this American hero."
In addition to an earned
Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota, Dr. Borlaug has been awarded more than
fifty honorary doctorates from institutions in eighteen countries. At age
91, Borlaug made three trips during 2005 to Africa and one each to India and
Argentina in his continuing efforts to relieve hunger. During each fall
semester, he serves as Distinguished Professor of International Agriculture at
Texas A&M University.
To request a copy of The Man Who Fed the
World or to schedule an interview with Leon Hesser, please contact Diana
Oleskow, publicist, at (239-293-1585) or dianabob2.at.comcast.net
Source: AgBioView
10 February 2006
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=========================
3. WEB
RESOURCES
3.01 Literature base on
genetically modified crop plants
Berlin, Germany
February 17, 2006
Source: http://www.akademienunion.de/publikationen/literatursammlung_gentechnik/english.html
The Commission “Green Biotechnology” of the Union of the German Academies of Sciences and
Humanities, in the framework of the IAP-GMO-Initiative, has collected about
240 publications on various aspects of genetically modified crop plants in a
literature base.
This collection, which does not claim to be complete,
contains beside many recent original publications a number of extensive reviews
produced by organisations such as the Royal Society, the International Council
for Science, the US National Center for Food and Agricultural Policy, the
Australian Bureau of Agriculture, the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the
United Nations (FAO), the Nuffield Council of Bioethics, as well as
introductions to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety by the World Conservation
Union and the UN Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity.
Global Reviews of Commercialized Transgenic Crops published by the
International Service for the Aquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA)
give a detailed summary of global applications of Green Biotechnology in
Agriculture.
One focus of this collection is on reports about the
application of Green Biotechnology in developing countries.
Technical
Note:
This database requires Microsoft Access 2000 or higher. Please download
the file "database.exe" below. Opening the file will automatically extract the
required documents to a chosen directory. You start your research by clicking on
"database mdb". For instruction of use please consult the file "readme.pdf".
Download from the website of the German Academies of Sciences and
Humanities:
Literature
base on genetically modified crop plants (EXE-archive, 72 MB)
Source:
SeedQuest com
17 February 2006
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++++++++++++++++++++++++
3.02
Free access to a digital library for developing countries
Springer participates in the initiative Online Access to Research in
the Environment (OARE):
As of 2006 more than 130 environmental journals
from the scientific publisher Springer will be part of the initiative Online
Access to Research in the Environment (OARE), a digital library for developing
countries. Public and non-profit institutions in underdeveloped nations in
Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean and Eastern Europe will have free
access to the peer-reviewed scientific literature of Springer and other leading
international publishing houses.
Springer’s Environmental Online Library
covers a range of publications in topics spanning the un-charted depths of the
oceans to the outer reaches of our atmosphere. Springer, one of the founding
publishers of OARE, has also made available works on environmental policy – identifying how human behavior can be modified in the future to help minimize
problems such as ground water con-tamination and the depletion of the ozone
layer.
“Helping to improve access to environment, health and nutrition
information in developing countries is a matter of course for us. We
already participate enthusiastically in projects such as AGORA and HINARI. I
would like to congratulate everyone involved in setting up OARE, which will
un-doubtedly be yet another worthwhile effort,” said Derk Haank, CEO of Springer
Science+Business Media. The Springer environmental collection features journals
such as Oecologia, Marine Biology, Climatic Change, Ecosystems, Environmental
Geology and Water, Air, & Soil Pollution.
OARE will enable countries
to build their own higher education programs in the environmental sciences,
educate their own leaders, conduct their own research, publish their own
scientific findings and disseminate information to policy makers and the public.
Literature in environmental chemistry, economics, law and policy, and other
environmental subjects such as botany, conservation biology, ecology and zoology
will be available through a portal presented in several world languages,
in-cluding Arabic, English, French, Portuguese and Spanish.
The project
developing OARE is a partnership between Yale University, the United Nations
Envi-ronment Programme, the World Health Organization, the Food and Agriculture
Organization, Cornell University, the International Association of Scientific,
Technical and Medical Publishers (STM), and leading scientific publishers around
the world.
Springer Science+Business
Media is one of the world’s leading suppliers of scientific and specialist
literature. It is the second-largest publishing group in the science,
technol-ogy, and medicine (STM) sector and the largest business-to-business
publisher in the German-language area. The group owns 70 publishing
houses, together publishing a total of 1,450 journals and more than 5,000 new
books a year. The group operates in over 20 countries in Europe, the USA, and
Asia, and has some 5,000 employees. Springer is an active partner in many
developing countries initiatives such as Access to Global Online Research in
Agriculture (AGORA), Health InterNetwork Access to Research Initiative (HINARI),
Programme for the Enhancement of Re-search Information (PERI).
Contact:
Renate Bayaz
Source:
EurekAlert.org
24 February 2006
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===========================
6.
MEETINGS, COURSES AND WORKSHOPS
Note: New announcements are listed at the
beginning of this section, and may include some program details, while repeat
announcements will include only basic information. Visit web sites for
additional details.
NEW ANNOUNCEMENTS
* 29 April - 4
May 2007 I International Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Conference on
Culinary Herbs (organized by ISHS) will be held in Antalya (Turkey) on .
Conference web page adress is http://www.mapc2007ant.org/index.htm. Further info can be obtained from congress scientific secretary Assoc. Prof. Dr.
A. Naci Onus, onus@akdeniz.edu.tr.
MAIN TOPICS OF THE
CONFERENCE:
Cultivation and propagation
Molecular genetics and
breeding
Essential oils
Culinary usage
- Fresh herbs
- Herbs and
home gardens
- Ethnobotanical usage
Biodiversity and
conservation
Biological activities
Analytical studies
Submitted by
Prof. Dr. A. Naci Onus, onus@akdeniz.edu.tr.
+++++++++++++++
*
19-23 June 2006. Training course on biotech crop commercialization,
Manila, The Philippines
Asia BioBusiness (http://www.asiabiobusiness.com/), in cooperation with National
Institute of Education, Singapore and ISAAA, are pleased to present a training
course on ³Commercialization of Biotechnology Crops in Asia: Moving from ideas
to useful products in farmers¹ fields.² The course aims to provide a
comprehensive, in-depth understanding of the principles, approach, regulatory
requirements, information needs, awareness-building techniques, and stewardship
requirements for commercializing a biotechnology seed product for widespread
farmer adoption. The course will provide participants with opportunities to
network with experts and to become knowledgeable about supporting resources in
the region and worldwide, which are relevant to the commercialization of
agricultural biotechnology.
This is a 5-day, in-house, hands-on training
and learning course, the first of which will take place on June 19-23, 2006, in
Manila, Philippines. The all-inclusive course fee is US$2,500.00 per
participant, and will cover material and six nights of accommodation (including
five days of specially catered meals). Cost of travel to and from the course
venue in Manila, Philippines is not included.
Full details and the
pre-registration form to be emailed to <info@asiabiobusiness.com> are
available at (http://www.asiabiobusiness.com/images/manilaCourse_final.pdf). Closing
date for pre-registration is March 31, 2006. Registrants paying the registration
fee by 31st April, 2006 will receive a discount of $150.
Submitted by
Andrew D. Powell
Chief Executive Officer
Asia BioBusiness Pte.
Ltd
Singapore
Email:- andrew.powell@asiabiobusiness.com
REPEAT
ANNOUNCMENTS
* 2006-2008. Plant Breeding Academy, University of California, Davis.
The University of California
Seed Biotechnology Center would like to inform you of an exciting new course we
are offering to teach the principles of plant breeding to seed industry
personnel.
This two-year course addresses the reduced numbers of plant
breeders being trained in academic programs. It is an opportunity for companies
to invest in dedicated personnel who are currently involved in their own
breeding programs, but lack the genetics and plant breeding background to direct
a breeding program. Participants will meet at UC Davis for one week per quarter
over two years (eight sessions) to allow participants to maintain their current
positions while being involved in the course.
Instruction begins
Fall 2006 and runs through Summer 2008 (actual dates to be
determined)
For more information: (530) 754-7333, email scwebster@ucdavis.edu, http://sbc.ucdavis.edu/Events/Plant_Breeding_Academy.htm
*
19-21 February 2006. The 3rd International Conference on Date Palm , Abu
Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The conference covers a wide range of topics
including molecular and genetic engineering and post harvest and processing
technologies. See http://www.cfs.uaeu.ac.ae/Conferences/ticdp/
or contact zaid@uaeu.ac.ae for more information.
* 21-24 February 2006.
Third General Assembly of the West Africa Seed and Planting Material Network
(WASNET), Palm Beach Hotel, Accra, Ghana. For more details contact
the Coordinator of WASNET by email at n.maroya@coraf.org or
n.maroya@cgiar.org or send your request through the website http://www.wasnet.org
* 6-7 March 2006.
42nd Annual Illinois Corn Breeder’s School, Urbana, Illinois,
Holiday Inn Hotel and Conference Center in Urbana, IL.
A registration fee
of $95.00 per person includes a copy of the proceedings and meals on Monday,
March 6. Further details about the meeting, lodging, and registration forms can
be found at http://imbgl.cropsci.uiuc.edu/index.html.
*
6-10 March 2006. Introduction to biosafety and risk assessment for the
environmental release of genetically modified organisms (GMOs): Theoretical
approach and scientific background, Treviso, Italy. Workshop organised by
the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology in
collaboration with the Istituto Agronomico per l'Oltremare. Closing date for
applications is 30 November 2005. See http://www.icgeb.org/MEETINGS/CRS06/6_10march.pdf
or contact courses@icgeb.org for more information.
* 14 -17
March 2006 CIMMYT Fusarium head blight workshop on Global Fusarium
Initiative for International Collaboration, CIMMYT Headquarters, El Batan,
Mexico.
For more information and to confirm your participation, please
contact me by email (t.ban@cgiar.org). Also, for your reference, CIMMYT will
convene an International Workshop on Increasing Wheat Yield Potential in
CIMMYT-Obregon, Mexico on the next week March 20 to 24.
* 22-24 March
2006. Detection of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and genetically
modified food (GMF), Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. Regional practical training
programme organised by the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka on behalf of the
International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology. See http://www.icgeb.org/~bsafesrv/bsfn0510.htm#srilanka
or contact profaperera@sltnet.lk for more information.
* 18-21 April
2006: The 13th Australasian Plant Breeding Conference --
Breeding for Success: Diversity in Action, Christchurch Convention Center
in Christchurch, New Zealand. For more details, visit http://events.lincoln.ac.nz/apbc/
*
27-29 April 2006. Joint IOBC Working Group conference "Breeding for inducible
resistance against pests and diseases," Heraklio, Crete, Greece. Register
and find additional information at http://www.unine.ch/bota/IOBC/. If
there are questions, please contact: a.schmitt@bba.de or N.Birch@scri.sari.ac.uk
* 27 to 30 April 2006. Breeding for inducible resistance against pests and
diseases, Heraklio, Crete, Greece.
For further information see: www.unine.ch/bota/iobc or contact
either convenor: Annegret Schmitt (a.schmitt@bba.de) or Nick Birch
(N.Birch@scri.sari.ac.uk)
* 15-19 May 2006. Biosafety II: Practical
course in evaluation of field releases of genetically modified plants,,
Florence, Italy. Organised by the International Centre for Genetic Engineering
and Biotechnology in collaboration with the Istituto Agronomico per l'Oltremare.
Closing date for applications is 30 January 2006. See http://www.icgeb.trieste.it/MEETINGS/CRS06/15_19maggio.pdf
or contact courses@icgeb.org for more information.
* 28 to 30 June
2006. EUCARPIA Meeting on Rye Genetics and Breeding, Rostock,
Germany.
Further information about the meeting can be found at http://www.eucarpia.org.
* 2-6 July
2006. IX International Conference on Grape Genetics and Breeding, Udine
(Italy), under the auspices of the ISHS Section Viticulture and the OIV. Info:
Prof. Enrico Peterlunger, University of Udine, Dip. di Scienze Agrarie e
Ambientale, Via delle Scienze 208, 33100 Udine, Italy. Phone: (39)0432558629,
Fax: (39)0432558603, email: peterlunger@uniud.it
* 23-28 July
2006. The 9th International Pollination Symposium, Iowa State University.
The official theme is: "Host-Pollinator Biology Relationships - Diversity in
Action." For more information please visit www.ucs.iastate.edu/PlantBee
*
13-19 August 2006: XXVII International Horticultural Congress, Seoul
(Korea) web: www.ihc2006.org
*
20-25 August 2006. The International Plant Breeding Symposium, Sheraton “Centro Historico” Hotel, Mexico City.
Presentations by invited speakers
will be published in a proceedings by Crop Science. More information is
available at www.intlplantbreeding.com. If you are unable to register
online please send an e-mail to: intlplantbreeding@cgiar.org.
* 9-14
September 2007. The World Cotton Research Conference-4, Lubbock, Texas,
USA (http://www.icac.org). There is no cost
of pre-registration and if you pre-register you will receive all the up-coming
information on WCRC-4.171 researchers from over 20 countries have pre-registered
as of today.
* 10-14 September 2006. First Symposium on Sunflower
Industrial Uses. Udine University, Udine Province, Friuli Venezia Giulia
Region, Italy.
http://www.sunflowersymposium.org/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1
http://www.isa.cetiom.fr/1st%20ann%20Symposium%20Udine.htm
Sponsored
by the International Sunflower Association (ISA)
* 11-15 September
2006. XXII International EUCARPIA Symposium - Section Ornamentals: Breeding
for Beauty, San Remo (Italy). Info: Dr. Tito Shiva or Dr. Antonio
Mercuri, CRA Istituto Sperimentale per la Floricoltura, Corso degli Inglesi 508,
18038 San Remo (IM), Italy. Phone: (39)0184694846, Fax: (39)0184694856, email:
a.mercuri@istflori.it web: www.istflori.it
* 17-21 September 2006. Cucurbitaceae 2006, Grove Park Inn Resort
and Spa in Asheville, North Carolina, USA (in the scenic Blue Ridge
Mountains).
Contact: Dr. Gerald Holmes, Department of Plant Pathology,
North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-7616, 919-515-9779 (gerald_holmes@ncsu.edu)
Conference
website: http://www.ncsu.edu/cucurbit2006
* 18-20 September 2006.The International Cotton Genome Initiative
(ICGI) 2006 Research Conference, Blue Tree Park Hotel (
http://www.bluetree.com.br/index_ing.asp) Brasília, D.F., Brazil. Details of
the ICGI 2006 Research Conference will be posted on the ICGI website (http://icgi.tamu.edu ) as they
become available.
*14 - 18 October 2006. The 6th New Crops Symposium:
Creating Markets for Economic Development of New Crops and New Uses,
University Center for New Crops and Plant Products,The Hilton Gaslamp Quarter
Hotel, San Diego, CA
Sponsored by: Association for the Advancement of
Industrial Crops and Purdue www.aaic.org or www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop
* 9-12 November
2006. 7th Australasian Plant Virology Workshop. Rottnest Island, Perth,
Western Australia.
For further information contact: Prof Mike Jones,
Murdoch University, Perth m.jones@murdoch.edu.au
* 1-5 December 2006:
The First International Meeting on Cassava Plant Breeding and
Biotechnology, to be held in Brasilia, Brazil. For more details, email Dr.
Nagib Nassar of the University of Brasilia at nagnassa@rudah.com.br
or visit the meeting website at http://www.geneconserve.pro.br/meeting/.
(Return to Contents)
=======================
7. EDITOR'S NOTES
Plant Breeding News is an
electronic forum for the exchange of information and ideas about applied plant
breeding and related fields. It is published every four to six weeks throughout
the year.
The newsletter is managed by the editor and an advisory group
consisting of Elcio Guimaraes (elcio.guimaraes@fao.org), Margaret Smith
(mes25@cornell.edu), and Anne Marie Thro (athro@reeusda.gov). The editor will
advise subscribers one to two weeks ahead of each edition, in order to set
deadlines for contributions.
REVIEW PAST NEWSLETTERS ON THE WEB: Past
issues of the Plant Breeding Newsletter are now available on the web. The
address is: http://www.fao.org/WAICENT/FAOINFO/AGRICULT/AGP/AGPC/doc/services/pbn.html
Please note that you may have to copy and paste this address to your
web browser, since the link can be corrupted in some e-mail applications. We
will continue to improve the organization of archival issues of the newsletter.
Readers who have suggestions about features they wish to see should contact the
editor at chh23@cornell.edu.
Subscribers are encouraged to take an active
part in making the newsletter a useful communications tool. Contributions may be
in such areas as: technical communications on key plant breeding issues;
announcements of meetings, courses and electronic conferences; book
announcements and reviews; web sites of special relevance to plant breeding;
announcements of funding opportunities; requests to other readers for
information and collaboration; and feature articles or discussion issues brought
by subscribers. Suggestions on format and content are always welcome by the
editor, at pbn-l@mailserv.fao.org. We would especially like to see a broad
participation from developing country programs and from those working on species
outside the major food crops.
Messages with attached files are not
distributed on PBN-L for two important reasons. The first is that computer
viruses and worms can be distributed in this manner. The second reason is that
attached files cause problems for some e-mail systems.
PLEASE NOTE: Every
month many newsletters are returned because they are undeliverable, for any one
of a number of reasons. We try to keep the mailing list up to date, and also to
avoid deleting addresses that are only temporarily inaccessible. If you miss a
newsletter, write to me at chh23@cornell.edu and I will re-send it.
To
subscribe to PBN-L: Send an e-mail message to: mailserv@mailserv.fao.org. Leave
the subject line blank and write SUBSCRIBE PBN-L (Important: use ALL CAPS). To
unsubscribe: Send an e-mail message as above with the message UNSUBSCRIBE PBN-L.
Lists of potential new subscribers are welcome. The editor will contact these
persons; no one will be subscribed without their explicit permission.
(Return to Contents)