The Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) is looking to speed up variety improvements through a more effective link with international breeders. Mounting concern about a slowing of the development of major advances in new wheat varieties is one of the reasons behind the GRDC move to strengthen its research alliance with the world's premier cereals institute - the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT).

The development and adoption of 'better varieties, faster' is a major plank of the GRDC's new strategic plan, but there is concern that local breeding programs are not fully utilising genetic advances coming from global research institutes such as the Mexico-based CIMMYT.

GRDC's Project Manager for Pre- Breeding, Dr John de Majnik, says that CIMMYT has a vast gene bank that remains largely untapped by Australian breeders. He says that a recent visit by himself and GRDC managing director, Peter Reading, confirmed the enormous genetic potential at CIMMYT that could help Australia develop the varieties it needs to overcome production constraints and pursue new markets: "Its scientists are linking the fields of plant physiology, molecular biology and breeding, and significantly, are motivated to work together to create an impact in ensuring food security in developing countries," says Dr de Majnik. He says that a more strategic alliance between Australia's R&D agenda with CIMMYT's core competencies is needed to keep both breeders and growers in Australia better informed about ongoing developments at CIMMYT, and also about traits held within CIMMYT's germplasm bank.

Dr de Majnik and Mr Reading visited CIMMYT to assess current research and to secure more direct lines of communication for the Australian grains industry.

Dr de Majnik, a former research scientist with CSIRO Plant Industry, says the visit was an eye-opener: "The genetic diversity on show was extraordinary."

"You look out across a field of plots and see a vast mosaic of colour, shape and size among the wheats being grown. Limitless possibilities are staring you in the face - possibilities that growers and breeders here need to become more aware of."

Dr de Majnik and Mr Reading were shown the work of Dr Matthew Reynolds, who recently broke the record for the harvest index (the quantity of harvestable grain per unittotal of biomass) for the first time since Nobel Laureate Dr Norman Borlaug in the 1960s.

"These new lines are all head, very little stem, and carrying large grains. In practical terms these plants would have problems growing under Australian conditions, but it shows the potential," says Dr de Majnik.

"It opens the door for the next step-change in new high-performance wheat varieties suitable for a much wider range of circumstances."

Dr de Majnik says he would also like to see Australia fully use CIMMYT's 'shuttle breeding' program in which wheat is selected successively at drought sites and disease sites within the same year. This halves the time it takes to develop a set of drought- and disease-tolerant traits.

Other important work at CIMMYT with potential significance for Australia is the development of synthetic wheats - the re-working of evolution. Durum wheat is crossed with a biologically-related ancestor species, such as a goat grass, to create a 'synthetic' wheat which is enough like a modern wheat to cross with existing varieties, so ancient traits of interest can be introduced into today's breeding programs.

Also, CIMMYT's global reach might also help Australian breeders better target quality traits in markets such as Middle Eastern flat breads and sweet and sour breads in Asia.

"It's not about breeding wheat for Australia's familiar daily loaf of bread, but for the bread of far-off cultures, customs and tastes. This is a big challenge. How do you get it right for so many different dough types? It's a big question that needs to be answered, and the genetic material needed to answers these questions won't come from our own backyard."

Dr de Majnik says the task is to find ways to establish a more effective link with CIMMYT's pre-breeding work so that a whole suite of desirable traits can be incorporated more quickly into Australian breeding programs.

"We know CIMMYT has an extensive gene bank. But how do we tap into it? How do we mine through the enormous genetic variability that CIMMYT has, to find material that will advance the Australian grains industry? That's the question we have to answer.

"The starting point is to make breeders and growers more aware of the traits available at CIMMYT and also to better understand what our markets want, and what our growers need to meet those markets."

"It means providing an efficient deliverymechanism that pulls together pre-breeding, breeding and marketing and looking at ways to halve the lead-time for new varieties from 20 years to no more than 10 years. That's the job ahead of us," he says.

By Brad Collis, Ground Cover, Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC)