OSU Wheat research part of national effort

Oklahoma

Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station Wheat researchers working to advance technology that identifies genes that may produce higher quality Wheat adapted to Oklahoma conditions got $162,750 worth of good news on Feb. 16.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns announced that a consortium of public Wheat breeders and scientists at 18 universities, including Oklahoma State University, would be collectively awarded more than $5 million in USDA research funds.

The statewide Experiment Station system is the research arm of OSU's Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources.

"Wheat is unique among the major crops in that public-sector researchers are largely responsible for providing new, improved plant varieties to our nation's farmers," said Brett Carver, OSU Regents Professor of Wheat genetics and breeding.

Varieties developed by researchers at public institutions such as OSU accounted for 78 percent of the 2001-2003 Wheat production in the United States, which represents an average of 38 million metric tons per year, valued at more than $5 billion.

"The main objective of this project is to incorporate modern selection technologies to increase the competitiveness of public Wheat breeding programs," Carver said. "Most of the new genomic information for Wheat is publicly available. That means international competitiveness is determined by the speed of implementation of new and better technologies."

Carver said the central technology that will be incorporated in the project is called Marker Assisted Selection (MAS).

"Think of molecular markers as mile markers on a highway," Carver said. "Not every mile marker is equally important. It depends on the location and what is nearby. The only real difference is molecular markers may not be spaced equally along the 'chromosome highway.'"

Molecular markers on chromosome maps can be used to detect the presence of, or monitor the transfer of, specific chromosome segments known to carry useful and desired traits.

"Breeders use these molecular markers to increase the precision of selection for the best Wheat trait combinations," Carver said.

For example, a researcher might mark a combination of genes known to optimize the timing of first-hollow-stem development of dual-purpose Wheat or improve pre-harvest sprouting resistance of white wheat, thereby preserving selected quality traits important to the state's milling and baking industries.

"In Oklahoma, the majority of our Wheat producers take advantage of the forage and grain from a single crop," Carver said. "This dual-purpose system is beneficial for raising livestock and still provides a Wheat crop that can be sold for human consumption."

Wheat varieties developed by MAS are not considered genetically modified organisms (GMOs) because genes are transferred from the same species by normal crossing between Wheat parent lines. This makes the varieties developed acceptable by all local and international Wheat markets.

Of special interest to Oklahoma producers, protocols are being used to deploy targeted genes for acid soil tolerance into thousands of breeding lines, an effort made possible by the USDA genotyping laboratory in Manhattan, Kan.

"The division is looking to enhance what is happening in Manhattan by staffing a MAS laboratory in Stillwater that will provide OSU's Wheat Improvement Team with the needed technology," Carver said.

Carver said the USDA-funded project is highly integrated.

"This project will provide lasting benefits to the nation through the development of improved Wheat varieties, as well as enhancing the ability of Wheat breeding programs to capitalize on technological advances in genomics," Carver said.

Key elements of the USDA-funded project include an extensive outreach component to share information about the advantages and limitations of MAS and an educational program to attract and train graduate and undergraduate students in modern and traditional breeding techniques.

Robert L. Westerman, interim associate director of OAES, said the development of new Wheat varieties is one of several key areas of emphasis in the division's Second Century Initiative.

"Thanks to legislative funding through the initiative, we are in the process of filling a critically needed position in our Wheat Improvement Team that will take full advantage of the funding made available through this USDA-supported project," Westerman said.

"Complementary to that, the division has committed funds from our Centennial Scholars Program to support a doctoral degree graduate student to work with the incoming Wheat molecular geneticist and Wheat breeder," he said.

Date: 2/23/06