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National Science Foundation funds ISU's $2.1 million soybean disease projectIowa Identifying genes essential for the soybean plant's defense against three major diseases will be the aim of a new $2.1 million research project led by Iowa State University. "We expect that information resulting from the research will help improve soybean cultivars for disease resistance by accelerating plant breeding programs and by enabling the engineering of new disease resistance traits," said Steve Whitham, associate professor of plant pathology. Whitham leads the four-year project that earned a $2.1 million National Science Foundation grant. The research is important for the state of Iowa, which leads the nation in soybean production. Nationally, soybean yield losses linked to diseases are estimated to cost farmers more than 400 million bushels every year. Even though soybean is the nation's second most economically important crop (behind corn), scientists know little about specific genes in charge of defending the soybean plant against diseases. The ISU project will focus on genetic resistance against three important soybean pathogens: soybean mosaic virus, Asian soybean rust and soybean cyst nematode. Whitham's co-investigators are ISU plant pathologists John Hill and Thomas Baum; Melissa Mitchum, a plant scientist at the University of Missouri; Michelle Graham, a USDA research geneticist and assistant professor in ISU's Department of Agronomy; Kerry Pedley, a USDA researcher at Fort Detrick, Md.; and Ricardo Abdelnoor of Embrapa Soya, the soybean research unit of the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation. To help study gene function, the scientists will use an approach called virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS). The technology uses a virus equiped with a small segment of genetic material matching a soybean gene of interest. When the virus infects the soybean plant, the plant recognizes the invader and begins defending itself. In the process, the plant is tricked into destroying its own genetic material, but only the part that matches what is carried by the virus. This prevents the gene of interest from making its intended product--in effect, silencing it. When a gene is silenced, scientists can see how well the plant fares against a certain disease without the gene's help. "Besides its effectiveness, the technology can help evaluate high volumes of genes -- a good thing, considering the soybean genome is estimated to contain over 60,000 genes," said Whitham. VIGS was customized for use in soybeans by Hill and Whitham through an ISU Plant Sciences Institute Innovative Grant award in 2006. Whitham said the success of the National Science Foundation grant application also was rooted in results of earlier studies supported by commodity groups including the Iowa Soybean Association and the United Soybean Board. The soybean rust component of the project was initiated by Baum and Whitham in 2005 as one of five research initiatives supported by ISU's Plant Sciences Institute. "The project has become an outstanding example of Iowa State's ability to rapidly mobilize resources to combat an emerging disease, and to move forward such projects to the level where they can expand in scope, attracting prestigious national funding awards," said Stephen Howell, director of the Plant Sciences Institute. Whitham said the project also will help train ISU students and may encourage them to consider careers in the biological sciences. It also will improve scientific ties to Embrapa Soja, an important partner in addressing Asian soybean rust problems. 9/29/08 Date: 9/23/08 Advertisement
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