Seed Today - Q3 2008 - (Page 30)

Applied Biotechnology USDA researchers are using biotechnology in their search for better crops The Maize Diversity Project With support from USDA and the National Science Foundation, ARS maize geneticists and breeders are exploring the vast variability in maize worldwide to enhance the genetic base of the U.S. corn crop. throughout the United States? Researchers throughout the world use these accessions in a wide array of research and development programs. To make the stored germplasm as useful as possible, scientists at the USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) have developed an ambitious long-term goal: create National Genetic Trait Index (NGTI). When complete, the index will contain a detailed description of the useful genetic variations contained in the entire ARS collection of plant germplasm. germplasm accession and several DNA markers associated with different aluminum-tolerance genes in wheat. Marking Genes for Better Soyeans About $1 billion worth of soybean production is estimated to be lost to soybean cyst nematodes each year in the United States. Farmers plant resistant cultivars, but the pests eventually overcome them by evolving into virulent new forms. For geneticist David L. Hyten, with Wheat Pathogens and Stress The ARS has established four regional small grains genotyping laboratories to assess and improve wheat varieties grown in different environments. This genomics research lets wheat breeders “stack” traits for increased resistance to pathogens and stress. It also enables rapid screening of seeds and seedlings for useful characteristics. At one of the genotyping laboratories in Manhattan, KS molecular geneticist Guihua Bai oversees molecular wheat-breeding efforts. “A major concern for wheat breeders and producers in this region is aluminum toxicity caused by acid soils,” Bai explains. “This lab has identified a new tolerance gene from a Chinese Maize specimens from the ARS germplasm collection. (USDA photo) They are creating genomics-assisted breeding techniques to help incorporate these genetic traits into the U.S. maize gene pool. ARS Biologist Doreen Ware and colleagues have produced Panzea, an online bioinformatics resource on maize diversity. Panzea contains millions of data points, providing access to genotype, phenotype, and polymorphism data. “This resource is vital to distinguishing functional trait differences, such as flowering time and number of kernel rows on a corn cob,” says plant geneticist Dave Marshall in Raleigh, North Carolina. Panzea can be accessed at www. panzea.org. SNP markers to find pest-resistance genes What to Do With Genebank Accessions What is the best use of nearly 500,000 accessions stored in gene banks Wheat DNA markers labeled with fluorescent dyes. (USDA photo) ARS’s Soybean Genomics and Improvement Laboratory, in Beltsville, MD, the arms race takes place along stretches of DNA within soybean’s 20 chromosomes. Since the 1990s, Cregan has delineated these DNA stretches with simple sequence repeats (SSRs) and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to flag the chromosomal whereabouts of desirable genes and their alleles. With new high-throughput SNP marker technology, hundreds of SNP markers can be analyzed in three days on 192 plants of a population resulting from the mating of a disease-resistant soybean with a susceptible one. This process significantly increases the speed and accuracy of discovering DNA signposts closely associated with resistance genes. 30 Third Quarter 2008 http://www.panzea.org http://www.panzea.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Seed Today - Q3 2008

Seed Today - Q3 2008 Contents Editor’s Notes Cover Feature Fred Miller, Ph.D., MMR Genetics Crosbyton Seed Company AOSCA Greg Lowry Floyd Hansmeirer AOSA/SCST According to ASTA Seedsellers, Inc. BinMaster Blake Sieker Ad Index

Seed Today - Q3 2008

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