Clemson, South Carolina
April 3, 2009
Clemson University will share in the bounty of cotton
genetic information donated by the
Monsanto Company. The St.
Louis-based biotechnology leader announced a gift of 5,000
molecular markers to Texas AgriLife Research of the Texas A&M
System. The gift will help scientists map the cotton genome, a
pathway to new products for consumers and profits for the
industry.
Cotton Marker Database (CMD) Web site, hosted by the Clemson
University Genomics Institute — CUGI for short — will receive
copies of the genetic information given to Texas AgriLife
Research. The Clemson-maintained database, supported by the
trade organization Cotton Inc., offers centralized access to all
publicly available major types of cotton molecular markers. CUGI
provides Web hosting, access and data storage for the Cotton
Marker Database project.
“The Cotton Marker Database project has been funded by Cotton
Inc. through Clemson University since 2004,” said Anna Blenda,
leader of the Cotton Marker Database project and research
assistant professor in the genetics and biochemistry department.
“Through those years Clemson received $320,000 of grant money
from Cotton Inc. for the development and maintenance of the CMD.
According to a 2008 survey, CMD was the most-used cotton
database among cotton researchers surveyed. Release of the
Monsanto cotton marker data to the public sources, including the
Clemson-based Cotton Marker Database, will have tremendous
benefit for the research community.”
Another genetic research resource is the federal Cotton Genome
Database (CottonDB). Started in 1995, CottonDB is located at
College Station, Texas, and directed by Richard Percy of the
USDA Agricultural Research Service. CottonDB contains genomic,
genetic and taxonomic information for cotton. The database helps
cotton researchers access large amounts of cotton biological and
descriptive data. The Monsanto gift opens new doors to
scientific discoveries that ultimately will move from laboratory
bench to crop rows.
“Farmers are looking for ways to increase productivity on their
farms to meet growing demand for food, feed and fiber,” said
John Purcell, global cotton technology lead for Monsanto. “Last
year, we announced a challenge to double production by 2030,
using 2000 as the base. We think that’s possible through our
research and by working with others in the industry through
efforts like this. This donation of molecular markers is an
active component of realizing vision and will help us achieve
that goal.”
A molecular marker is “a way to tag genetic traits for fast
access the next time, much like you could mark a useful tip in a
cookbook and highlight it,” Purcell said. “Molecular markers
work the same way. Monsanto researchers have found areas of the
cotton genome that, for example, have disease-resistance or high
yield potential. Adding markers helps researchers easily find
these and other specific traits where and when they need them.
Markers let us screen a lot of cotton varieties in the lab
before even going to the field. This saves a lot of time and
money.”
Transgenic cotton is developed in the lab and tightly controlled
field studies using genetic material from another variety. The
best-known example is cotton biotechnologically engineered to
resist certain insects or herbicides. In 2008, 94 percent of the
U.S. upland crop was planted in transgenic varieties resistant
to worms, herbicides or both.
Globally, China is the largest grower, averaging approximately
36 million bales of cotton. India is second, with a 23 million
bales average. The U.S. ranks third, averaging 17 million bales.
Cotton is grown in 17 states, ranging from Virginia to
California, covering more than 12 million acres. Texas is the
top U.S. upland cotton producer, averaging more than six million
bales of cotton per year, according to National Cotton Council
data. South Carolina ranks 13th nationally, generating
approximately $80 million in cotton revenue in 2008. The U.S.
cotton industry accounts for more than $25 billion in products
and services annually and more than 400,000 jobs.
Aside from fabric uses, cotton is processed as food and fuel
from cottonseed accompanying the fiber. More than nine billion
pounds of whole cottonseed and cottonseed meal are used in feed
for livestock, dairy cattle and poultry. More than 154 million
gallons of cottonseed oil are used for food products, ranging
from margarine to salad dressing.
Research is leading to new uses of cottonseed. Clemson
biosystems engineer Terry Walker recently received $12,000 from
Cotton Inc. to research using cottonseed oil as a diesel
substitute. At Texas A&M, plant biotechnologist Keerti Rathore
and his colleagues have created a new cotton variety that has no
gossypol in the seed. Cotton plants produce gossypol to retard
reproduction in insects that eat cotton bolls and seeds, but the
compound also reduces reproduction and potassium levels in
mammals. Removing gossypol holds promise to increase cotton’s
potential as a global food resource. |
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