Purdue-Industry interactions in Plant Breeding/Genetics

1
Purdue-Industry interactions in Plant
Breeding/Genetics Herb Ohm, Dept of
Agronomy With input from faculty plant
breeding/genetics
2
Faculty Plant Genetics/Breeding Research All
Purdue faculty contribute to instruction and/or
extension Anderson, Joe USDA molecular
virology, wht genet Ejeta, Gebisa Sorghum
Breeding/Genetics Jackson, Scott SB
Genetics/Genomics LeRoy, Allen SB
Breeding/Genetics Nielsen, Niels USDA SB molec
biol seed qual, flavor Ohm, Herb Wheat, Oat
Breeding/Genetics Scofield, Steve USDA Plt
molec biol/path signaling Szymanski, Dan Genet
growth/envtl response in plt cells Vermerris,
Wilfred Maize, Sorghum Genet,Cell wall
biosyn Weil, Cliff Maize Genet/Genomics
value-added traits
3
Education/training BS, MS, PhD Graduates
industry, universities, intl Cost for graduate
student (1/2 time assistantship)
assistantshipfee remissionoverheadthesis
research 50,000/year (competitive funding)
(100,000 150,000/student-degree) Project
support personnel (tech, postdoc, RA) most are
supported on competitive funding (res grants)
4
Research Varieties, gp Small grains,
Sorghum, Soybean Mrkrs, Mapg, MAS SB,
Sorghum, Wht, Oat Genetics Corn, SB,
Sorghum, Wht model crops (Arab, M trunc),
Rice Across crops gtg emphasis in basic
genetics Federal competitive fundg (USDA, NSF,
DOE, USAID) Minimize duplicn, but collaborate
with industry Fed. formula funds will lt and/or
change (competitive) US Taxpayer
accountability Faculty salaries Indiana and US
(Hatch) taxpayers accountability
5
So what have/are we accomplishing/contributing/doi
ng? Interactions with seed industry?
6
Purdue Soybean Breeding Program

• Ongoing Program to Develop High Yielding
  Proprietary Varieties with Improved Disease
  Resistance for the Licensed Genetics Market and
  the Non GMO Specialty Grains Market
• Use of Advanced Breeding Methods Have Shorten
  Variety Development Time
• Crossing and Selection Since 2000
• Since 2004 Indiana Seed Companies have been able
  to evaluate in their own systems the best lines
  from the Purdue Breeding program. Ten companies
  in 2005.

7

Defensive Trait Objectives

• Phytophthora Rps1k 3a Resistance
• CystX SCN Resistance
• Rps8 Phytophthora Resistance
• SDS Resistance

Two New High Yielding Varieties Released for
Foundation Seed Production in 2005
Purdue -gt Ag Alumni -gt IN Seedsmen
8
Soybean Variety Development Allen LeRoy Program
funding ISB, Purdue
9
USB-funded projects in Jackson Lab

• Development of physical map for sequencing of
  soybean genome.
• To enable gene cloning and marker development for
  breeding.
• Soybean genomics NSF (2005).
• Molecular cytogenetic analysis of soybean genome
  to elucidate genome structure.
• To enable gene cloning and genetic manipulation
  by focusing on seed related loci.

10
Ohm Wheat and Oat Breeding/genetics Wheat
Indiana, Eastern US, Mid-south 34 cultivars -
earliness doublecropping - cold tolerance
Patterson, Goldfield - 1st YDR from wheatgrass
INW0315, INW0316 - FHBR (INW0304, INW0411,
INW0412) Low incidence 1st to pyramid res from
201R, Gfd, Chinese (MAS) - HFR 1st to pyramid
res genes (MAS) INW0301, INW0303 26 gp lines
plus lines in regl nurseries parents for
others Oats Indiana, upper midwest, Ontario,
NE - YD tol/res CrR Milling qualities,
ß-glucan (Quaker)
11
Ohm Wheat Oat Breeding/Genetics -FHB (var,
mrkrs-mappg) USWBSI -Wht var (BCg, MAS)
USDA-CSREES -NRI CAP (transl genomics - Snb)
-Wht Qual, dis res, white wht,
USDA Hamaker, slow digesting wheat starch -Wht
Breeding, AgAl Seeds/Purdue ARP -Oat Gen/Brdg
(BYDV, CR), Quaker 70s 80s PVI, Purdue,
Quaker, Pio, Misc.
12
Purdue Sorghum ResearchCurrent Research Projects
in support of the US Seed Industry

• Grain Forage Quality and Bio-fuel
• Brown mid-rib, low lignin mutations, sweet
  sorghums
• High Digestible grains
• B-carotene and other micronutrients
• Drought Tolerance
• pre- and post-flowering drought tolerance
• stay-green trait associations
• identification validation of QTL
• Cold Tolerance
• Development of lab techniques
• Identification and validation of QTL
• Marker Assisted Introgression
• Disease Resistance
• Leaf rust, anthracnose, and grain mold
• Sources of resistance from cultivated and wild
  sorghums

13
Purdue Sorghum ResearchNon-research activities
in support of the seed industry

• Germplasm Conservation and Enhancement
• Introduce, characterize, enhance, and conserve
• Assessment of Gene Flow Among Sorghums
• Pollen mediated gene flow/risk assessment
• Catalyze Seed Industry Development in Africa
• Part of a regional effort to develop a functional
  seed program.
• Training of Plant Breeders

14
Purdue Sorghum ResearchInbred Lines Released to
the US Seed Industry

• 40 Food Grain Seed Parents
• 14 Drought Tolerant Pollinators
• 7 Grain Mold Resistant Seed Parents
• 6 Stay Green (Drought tolerant) Inbreds
• 2 Early Maturity Drought Tolerant Inbreds
• 1 Forage Quality Inbred Seed Parent

15
Wilfred Vermerris

• Modifying lignin composition to enhance ethanol
  production
• Funded by Consortium for Plant Biotechnology
  Research, Inc. and Dow AgroSciences
• Defining cell wall properties that improve the
  yield of fermentable sugars from maize stover
• Breeding of maize inbred lines with enhanced
  bio-processing characteristics
• Identification and characterization of cell wall
  mutants by Fourier transform and near infrared
  spectroscopies
• Funded by NSF Plant Genome Program
• Identification of maize mutants with altered
  cell wall properties based on a high-throughput
  spectroscopic screen
• Approxmately 50 novel mutants have been
  identified. No apparent visual phenotype, but
  altered spectral features.

16

• Cliff Weil
• Agronomy Dept.
• Whistler Center for Carbohydrate Research
• Targeting Induced Limited Lesions IN Genomes
  (TILLING) in maize
• Making, and then screening large, mutant
  populations for single base changes in any
  specified gene in the genome (NSF-funded)
• The Genetics of Genetics Genes that control
  meiotic recombination in maize (NSF-funded)
• Corn is a model of human immune disease Repair
  of DNA hairpins
• An unusual DNA structure is formed when the maize
  transposon Ac moves, ALSO forms while vertebrate
  animals make immune receptor genes.
• Key factors for repairing these structures,
  required in humans, are absent in plants and
  yeast, yet all these organisms repair DNA
  hairpins very effectively. We are studying how
  this happens. (BARD-funded, NSF and NIH to be
  submitted shortly)
• Maize genes that control starch digestibility
  (joint project with the Whistler Center for
  Carbohydrate Research at Purdue) (PRF and
  ARP-funded)

17
Dan Szymanski Understanding how plant cells use
actin filament polymerization during growth In
developing cells of the seed and germinating
seedling, the polymerization of the actin
cytoskeleton drives organelle biogenesis during
cell growth. We are studying actin-dependent
processes in order to manipulate the transport,
metabolism, and storage of lipids. The actin
related protein (Arp) 2/3 complex is an
evolutionarily conserved group of proteins that
efficiently nucleate new actin filament polymers.
The grants below focus on different functional
aspects of the Actin-related protein (Arp) 2/3
complex using the model plant Arabidopsis. NSF
-Mechanisms of plant cell morphogenesis ARP2/3
function and trichome distortion in
Arabidopsis Objective To determine which
organelles are controlled by the Arp2/3 complex
during growth. DOE - The Arabidopsis WAVE
Complex mechanisms of localized actin
polymerization and growth Objective To
understand how the plant WAVE proteins control
the activity of the Arp2/3 complex. Hughes
Graduate Student Fellowship 2003-2007 Regulation
of the lipid content of soybean Objective To
understand how post-germination phospholipid
trafficking in the cotyledon is regulated
18
Education/Engagement BS internships, work
experiences Graduate degrees -need to
expand experiences/intns with industry Research/E
ngagement Res will continue to be supported by
compet fundg Expand intns/collab w industry
basic?applied -strength stability in broad
base support Hire individuals who have
appreciation for agric, land-grant mission,
tchg/res/engagement