Fargo, North Dakota
March 2, 2006
Four
North Dakota State
University wheat breeders and geneticists are joining other
scientists in 17 states to improve U.S. wheat quality and
disease resistance.
The four-year, $5 million, effort seeks to implement new
molecular technologies called marker assisted selection. Markers
are genes or DNA segments that serve as signposts, pinpointing a
specific spot on wheat's genetic map. Breeders use the markers
to increase their precision in selecting the best trait
combinations for specific wheat varieties.
"All of the wheat breeding programs (durum, hard red spring
wheat and white spring wheat) at NDSU will be involved in the
grant,"
says Shahryar Kianian, associate professor in the Department of
Plant Sciences. "The genetic information we gather will be
stored in national databases, which then can be used to assist
wheat breeders and researchers nationwide. We will be able to
focus more quickly on genetic traits that are most important to
producers."
Other NDSU research scientists involved in the project from the
Plant Sciences Department are Mohamed Mergoum, William Berzonsky
and Elias Elias. NDSU will receive more than $360,000 during the
four-year period.
Once molecular markers are identified and inserted in a wheat
variety, testing can begin shortly after the plants emerge
instead of having to grow them for months, as in conventional
tests.
"The goal is to produce better wheat varieties so we can better
compete in the global marketplace," Kianian says. "We do that by
combining our efforts to produce varieties that yield better,
are more disease resistance and have better end use milling and
baking qualities."
As an example, the NDSU research scientists will look at wheat
traits, through molecular markers, that are important to North
Dakota wheat producers, such as resistance to fusarium head
blight. Fusarium head blight, or scab, was again a major
economic problem for North Dakota producers in 2005. Total
losses due to scab in hard red spring wheat, durum and barley
were more than
$162 million in 2005.
The project includes an extensive outreach component to share
information about these new technologies with the public, and an
educational program to attract new students to agriculture and
train them in modern and traditional breeding techniques.
The $5 million grant is funded through the USDA's Cooperative
State Research, Education, and Extension Service and
administered through its National Research Initiative. The
initiative supports research, education and Extension grants
that address key problems of national, regional and multistate
importance in sustaining all components of agriculture. |