Canada
April 29, 2009
A study at the
University of Saskatchewan's
Crop Development Centre has identified two critical genes
responsible for the bright yellow pigment in durum grain, a
trait desired by foreign markets. The three-year study was a
collaborative effort with the CDC durum program and the
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada durum breeding program at Swift
Current. It was funded in part by the Endowment Fund, which is
administered by Western
Grains Research Foundation (WGRF).
"In durum wheat, the yellow color of the endosperm is highly
desirable in the international markets. It produces a bright
yellow pasta product, which our customers appreciate, so there's
an international demand for elevating the levels of yellow
pigment in the durum endosperm," says Dr. Curtis Pozniak,
professor at the U of S and a durum wheat breeder at the Crop
Development Centre.
"This project was designed to develop tools that Canadian
breeders could use to select more efficiently for higher yellow
pigment types, and to some extent understand the genetics behind
pigment accumulation in the grain."
"Once you understand the genes involved, you can develop some
appropriate selection strategies to elevate pigment and to
identify breeding and germplasm lines that can be used in
crossing."
Contact with corn researchers provided hints to what genes might
be used in pigment accumulation. Pozniak sequenced those genes,
in search of genetic differences between high and low pigment
durum lines.
"The first step was finding the genes and then finding
differences in those genes between high and low pigment
accumulators. When we had that information, we were able to
develop and validate DNA-based markers for selection of elevated
yellow pigment," he says.
Pozniak sequenced two genes and was able to show those genes
were associated with pigment accumulation in durum.
"That told us these markers and genes were involved. Once we had
that solved, we evaluated these markers in a set of durum
breeding lines and were able to show a reasonable correlation
between different forms of this gene and pigment accumulation.
That suggested these could be a target for markers when
selecting durum wheat," says Pozniak.
These markers are available to both programs and by using them
in his current program, Pozniak says he has already seen
examples of yellow pigments at higher levels than the current
standards AC Navigator and Commander.
Graham Worden, senior manager, technical services with the
Canadian Wheat Board in Winnipeg, says for yellow color, AC
Navigator raised the bar to an extremely high level.
"It has one of the best bright yellow pigment values of any
durum variety around the world. We have definitely improved the
yellow pigment color of Canadian durum over the last few
decades. But so has the competition. As we make improvements, so
do they."
Worden says Canada dominates the export market for durum wheat.
The total annual world production of durum wheat is around 35
million tonnes and Canadian production is 4.5 to 5 million
tonnes. But with most of that total available for export, Canada
holds close to 60 percent of the world durum trade, typically
around 8 million tonnes each year.
Pozniak has published three manuscripts in international
journals, with a fourth on the way. He was invited to make a
presentation at a prestigious international durum wheat
symposium in Italy in 2008.
"The Western Grains Research Foundation has been a great partner
with our breeding program. The dollars invested from the
Endowment Fund has allowed us to focus on more upstream research
that can then be applied to our breeding program. An important
part of any plant breeding program is developing new and useful
tools that can make the breeding process more efficient," he
says.
The Endowment Fund, the original core fund of WGRF, has
supported more than 200 research projects since 1983. For more
information on the project check the WGRF Web site at
www.westerngrains.com.
This is the first in a series of press releases from WGRF that
will look back at past Endowment Fund projects and examine their
lasting impact on agriculture. |
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