Bundoora, Victoria, Australia
May 3, 2007
Australian researchers are helping
to change the pasture breeding industry’s entire approach to
forage crop improvement.
The research, which focuses on the discovery of genetic markers
in perennial ryegrass and white clover, will receive a A$6
million boost, bringing the total investment to A$11 million.
The Molecular
Plant Breeding Cooperative Research Centre’s CEO Dr Glenn
Tong says the project brings pasture breeding in line with many
of our major food crops such as wheat.
“We have been applying our knowledge of genetics to human food
crops for many years now, but in pastures it has proven more
difficult,” he says.
“Today I am pleased to say that our researchers are starting to
turn this situation around. We now have a good genetic
understanding of quality and disease resistance – both traits of
major importance to industry.”
“Based on this success, we have decided to expand the research
to look at other important traits such as heat tolerance,
improved digestibility and energy content.”
The project, which is supported by Dairy Australia, Meat and
Livestock Australia and the Geoffrey Gardiner Dairy Foundation,
is good news for the $24 billion dairy, lamb and beef
industries.
By producing forages for better animal nutrition the CRC hopes
that large-scale improvements of dairy and meat production will
be possible.
These improvements will also assist the production of high
quality and healthy foods, leading to nutritional and health
benefits for consumers.
In the past, forage breeding programs relied on visual and
chemical characteristics of individual plants to determine
whether they were suitable for breeding.
The introduction of more efficient genetic maker-based breeding
has been slow because, like animals, ryegrass and clover must
breed with another individual; a process known as ‘outcrossing’.
Each time the plant cross-pollinates the genes get jumbled,
making it difficult for breeders to keep track of which genes
are in which plant.
Now, with the assistance of gene technology, researchers can
scan the genome for natural variation between genes, and locate
genetic markers that indicate the presence of key
characteristics.
The process is an extremely efficient and powerful means of
plant selection.
Dr Tong says a thorough knowledge of the ryegrass genome has now
been achieved, and white clover genome research is also
advancing rapidly.
“We already have a proof of concept trial underway and we hope
to see these gene marker tools being used to produce new
varieties within the next four years.”
The research is being conducted at the CRC’s Victorian node at
the Victorian Department of Primary Industries facilities in
Bundoora and Hamilton.
The Molecular Plant Breeding CRC is a Cooperative Research
Centre established under the Australian Government's Cooperative
Research Centres Program. |
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