See original news release: University of Illinois researchers identify gene with resistance to soybean aphids

By Jim Paul, The Associated Press via Checkbiotech

University of Illinois researchers have found a soybean gene that makes the plant resistant to aphids, a discovery that soon could provide a natural alternative to the application of expensive insecticide.

Soybean seed carrying the genetic trait could be available within five years, researchers say.

"It's a very, very important discovery for the soybean farmers in the U.S.," said Bryan Hieser, a Minier farmer who serves on the United Soybean Board, which helped pay for the research. "Last year, the top half of Illinois suffered economic aphid damage up to 15 bushels per acre."

The discovery could help farmers save thousands of dollars spent on chemicals. It costs $12 to $15 per acre to buy and apply insecticide to kill plant-eating aphids, said Ken Dalenberg, who farms near Mansfield and serves on the Illinois Soybean Checkoff Board, which also put money into the research.

Aphids have not bothered farmers this summer, but last year they were so prevalent that millions of acres of cropland were sprayed, said Glen Hartman, the lead researcher and a plant pathologist at the USDA's National Soybean Research Laboratory on the Illinois campus. The genetic resistance "may reduce insecticide use significantly," he said.

The gene was found among more than 16,000 lines of soybean germplasm stored in U.S. Department of Agriculture's Soybean Germplasm Collection at the university, said Curtis Hill, a senior research associate.

"We screened all the commercial (varieties) grown in this area and found nothing resistant," he said. "The next step was to look at the ancestors for the current cultivars."

After checking hundreds of varieties, the researchers found two old lines that were grown in the South but haven't been commercially available for 30 or 40 years, Hill said. Both had strong resistance to aphids.

"They have a strong antibiotic effect on aphid biology that prevents development of aphids on the plant," Hill said.

The gene occurs naturally and crossbreeding does not involve artificial genetic engineering, he said. "This has had nothing to do with biotechnology at all," Hill said. Further testing revealed the resistance was coming from a single dominant gene, and the researchers developed molecular markers that help locate the gene, Hartman said. That makes the trait easy to quickly breed into commercial soybeans.

"This is one that can be fast-tracked into our current varieties with payback in a real short period of time," Dalenberg said.

Seed companies are evaluating the technology and the effectiveness of the resistance in soybeans grown in the heartland, said Virgil Sparks, director of soybean breeding at the Garst Seed Co.

"There's a lot of work to do to get that gene into varieties that are grown in the Midwest," he said.

John Soper, soybean research director for Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc., called the research "an exciting find." The company is determining whether the technology can be integrated into its own research program, he said.

The researchers have applied to patent the method for determining whether the gene is present, and seed companies wishing to breed the trait will first have to obtain a license from the university.

"It prevents a single company from taking advantage of getting that single gene and using it on their own," Hartman said.

On the Net:
National Soybean Research Laboratory: http://www.nsrl.uiuc.edu
Aphid-resistant soybean gene: http://www.otm.uiuc.edu/techs/techdetail.asp?id267

© 2004 The Associated Press