Fayetteville, Arkansas
June 30, 2008
Crop varieties can be improved
through the study of genomics without creating genetically
transformed varieties. That is the mission of a multi-state
research project led by the
University of Arkansas System's Division of Agriculture.
RiceCAP, or Rice Coordinated Agricultural Project, is funded by
a $5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Jim
Correll, a Division of Agriculture professor of plant pathology,
coordinates projects by 25 principal investigators in 12 states,
the International Rice Research Institute in The Philippines and
the International Center for Tropical Agriculture in Columbia.
"Genomics is the study of the coded information about an
organism stored in its DNA," Correll says. "The RiceCAP project
is conducting genomics research to develop news tools for
conventional plant breeders."
RiceCAP also has an educational and outreach mission, and has
produced a five-minute video podcast that provides an overview
of the project. The podcast is on the RiceCAP Web site at
http://www.ricecap.uark.edu/outreach_downloads.htm.
Plant breeding, as practiced since the 19th century, is the
process of crossbreeding plants to develop an improved variety.
The process can take seven to 10 years from the first cross of
parent plants to the release of an improved variety. The U of A
Division of Agriculture has one of the nation's leading rice
breeding programs based at the Rice Research and Extension
Center near Stuttgart.
Breeders now use genetic markers identified through genomics
research to speed up the process. Markers reveal the presence of
genetic material linked to a particular genetic trait, which
allows breeders to more efficiently screen plants for
crossbreeding.
"Markers are genomic tools, but that doesn't mean we are
developing genetically engineered rice varieties," Correll says.
That point is important, because many export customers for
Arkansas rice will not accept genetically engineered rice, he
says.
RiceCAP is focused on two genetic traits that have been
difficult for breeders to improve -- resistance of rice plants
to the fungal disease sheath blight and milling yield, or the
portion of rice kernels that remain whole after milling. Both
are difficult problems because they are controlled by
environmental factors as well as genetics and because they
involve multiple genes, Correll says.
As they identify new markers for use by plant breeders, RiceCAP
scientists are also increasing the understanding of the genomics
of rice in general and sheath blight resistance and milling
yield in particular, Correll says. |
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