Minneapolis / St. Paul, Minnesota
June 11, 2008
The United States Department
of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
has approved a new state-of-the-art laboratory on the
University of Minnesota's St.
Paul campus to conduct research on plant pathogens. The approval
means that scientists will be allowed to use the Plant Pathology
Research Facility to research pests that cause diseases such as
Asian Soybean Rust, Ug99 stem rust in wheat and Sudden Oak
Death.
Such facilities are rare. Only three universities in the United
States have approval to conduct research on exotic plant
pathogens in a combined laboratory and greenhouse containment
facility. "The University of Minnesota is the only university in
the Midwest with this type of research capability for plant
pathogens," said Robert Bruininks, president of University of
Minnesota. "The University has a long history of excellence in
this field and related disciplines, and these facilities will
serve as a magnet to attract top scientists who are driven to
find the best ways to protect plants from deadly diseases."
The University's Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station and
the Minnesota Department of Agriculture will jointly operate the
facility. "Crop diseases are a constant threat to our
agricultural community, and the state has an important role to
play in helping protect them," said Minnesota Agriculture
Commissioner Gene Hugoson. "This facility is a valuable resource
that will help us cope with these threats for years to come."
Research in the building will focus on plant pathogens that
could damage crops or forests if they were introduced to
Minnesota. Plant pathogens can be inadvertently spread by wind,
travelers, food products or shipping, or deliberately spread to
cause economic, political or human health problems. Special
security and air filtration systems in the new facility will
ensure the pathogens aren't released into the environment.
Two of the pathogens the facility will study are ones that cause
stem rust on cereals and Asian Soybean Rust. Ug99 is a new race
of stem rust damaging wheat crops in Africa and winds usually
carry new races of wheat rust worldwide. Nobel Peace Prize
laureate Norman Borlaug recently warned that Ug99 could reduce
world wheat production by 60 million tons and cause a global
crop failure. Asian Soybean Rust is prevalent in South America
and first showed up in the Southern United States in 2004.
Plant pathologists and plant breeders at the university are
coordinating a major effort together with the USDA Cereal
Disease Lab and Tel Aviv University to identify new sources of
rust resistance and breed new Ug99-resistant wheat varieties.
The effort is a key part of the $26.8 million international
Cornell Durable Rust Resistance Project funded by the Bill and
Melinda Gates Foundation, announced in April.
"This is a great day for Minnesota soybean growers, Minnesota
wheat growers, the state of Minnesota and the university. New
diseases like Ug99 in wheat and Asian soybean rust are spreading
and now researchers have a unique tool to come up with solutions
before these diseases get here," said Larry Muff, New Richland,
Minn., farmer and vice president of the Minnesota Soybean
Growers Association.
Support from Minnesota soybean farmers played a key role in
securing funding from the Minnesota Legislature to build this
facility.
The Plant Pathology Research Facility is the final piece of a
$24 million plant growth facilities project at the U of M that
includes classrooms, 15,000 square feet of growing space in
state-of-the-art greenhouses and the Insect Quarantine Facility.
The Insect Quarantine Facility opened in 2003 and allows
researchers to analyze the potential usefulness of beneficial
insects in the control of soybean aphids, buckthorn, garlic
mustard and other pests.
The University of Minnesota, the Minnesota Department of
Agriculture, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, the
U.S. Department of Agriculture and the USDA Forest Service will
all use the Plant Pathology Research Facility.
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