By Sharon Omahen
University of Georgia
A group of public wheat breeders and scientists from the
Southeast have been awarded $5 million from the U.S. Department
of Agriculture. The funds are earmarked to make using DNA
technology a routine part of wheat breeding nationwide.
The project involves wheat scientists from Georgia, Kentucky,
Maryland, North Carolina and Virginia.
Mapping traits
“This grant gives us the opportunity to map a lot of very
important wheat traits that aren’t available at the present
time,” said Jerry Johnson, head of the small grains breeding
program in the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and
Environmental Sciences. “The DNA markers will allow us to develop
wheat cultivars much more efficiently and quickly.”
Using traditional breeding methods, it can be up to 10 years from
the time a researcher begins crossbreeding plants before a farmer
can plant the new variety.
“With a lot of traits, we have to wait until we’ve grown out
several plant generations to truly verify that we have the trait
in the new cross,” Johnson said.
“Having DNA markers will allow us to verify these traits earlier
and will greatly improve breeding efficiency,” he said. “It will
also allow us to combine pest resistance more effectively to
improve new varieties.”
Built-in resistance
For the project, the research team will focus on identifying
wheat genes that resist diseases like powdery mildew, leaf rust,
stripe rust and fusarium head blight. All of these diseases
affect wheat in the Southeast. Powdery mildew alone causes annual
crop losses of 10 percent to 30 percent in this region.
As a result of the grant project, U.S. wheat breeders will have
access to more than 80,000 DNA analyses per year. Breeders can
then use these markers to precisely select genes that improve
quality or provide resistance to pathogens and pests.
USDA genotyping labs will provide the molecular analysis required
to deploy the targeted genes into breeding lines. The genetic
information will then be stored in national databases. Seed
stocks will be deposited in the USDA Small Grain Collection.
This will provide long-term, public access to the genetic
information for wheat breeders and researchers worldwide, Johnson
said.
For the sake of pizza and cookies
The wheat research team will also work to identify genes known to
produce wheat with superior milling and baking qualities.
“The continuous improvement of U.S. varieties is essential to
produce better bread, cookies and pasta products,” Johnson said.
“New releases also help U.S.-grown wheat compete
internationally.”
UGA wheat breeders have released more than 35 new varieties
geared to help growers fight pests and produce high-quality,
high-yield wheat. Johnson’s breeding program at UGA released two
new varieties last year and will release two more this year.
Besides the DNA technology, the project also includes an outreach
effort. Information about the new DNA marker technology will be
shared with growers and the public. An educational program will
be geared to attract students to agriculture.
“We will train the students in molecular and traditional breeding
technologies,” Johnson said. “Hopefully, their interest will be
sparked and they’ll become our nation’s future wheat breeders.”
