Lubbock, Texas
April 3, 2009
Texas AgriLife
Research, a part of the Texas A&M System, announced today
that it has received the largest private donation of cotton
technology from one of the world's leading agriculture
companies, Monsanto.
The donation, which includes about 4,000 cotton molecular
markers and associated information, will be offered to the
public domain through the globally accessible cotton genome
databases, a move that will benefit research programs and
breeders interested in one of world's key crops.
The gift is expected to not only help scientists further map the
cotton genome, but also has the potential to provide valuable
contributions to cotton farmers and the land they farm.
"Farmers are looking for ways to increase productivity on their
farms to meet growing demand for food, feed and fiber," said
John Purcell, global cotton technology lead for Monsanto.
"Last year, we announced a challenge to double production by
2030, using 2000 as the base. We think that's possible through
our research and by working with others in the industry through
efforts like this. This donation of molecular markers is an
active component of realizing that vision and will help the
cotton community achieve that goal."
Dr. Richard Percy, research leader of the USDA-Agricultural
Research Service's crop germplasm research unit in College
Station, manages the cottonDB database, which will house the
information. He said the donation greatly increases the number
of markers now available to the public.
"The cotton genome is very large and complex compared to other
plants that have already been mapped," Percy said. "This
donation will stimulate research and development in the cotton
industry by providing powerful tools that will ultimately help
cotton farmers get more out of every acre. This information,
once full publication is made in the coming months, will benefit
all breeding programs that use the database."
Scientists often use genetic markers as a flag to identify the
specific location of a genetic trait on a chromosome. By
flagging the desired trait, plant breeders can breed plants more
efficiently and more accurately.
"Molecular markers serve as a key way that plant breeders can
tag genetic traits for fast access the next time, much like you
could mark a useful tip in a cookbook and highlight it," Purcell
said. "Monsanto researchers have found areas of the cotton
genome that, for example, have disease resistance or high yield
potential. Adding markers helps researchers easily find these
and other specific traits where and when they need them. Markers
let us screen a lot of cotton varieties in the lab before even
going to the field. This saves a lot of time and money."
To provide full utility of the marker set, a detailed academic
article has been submitted to the Journal of Cotton Science.
Publication is anticipated this summer.
"Texas A&M University and Texas AgriLife Research have a long
and storied history of developing strong cotton research," said
Bill McCutchen, associate director for AgriLife Research. "We
have numerous projects geared to increased yield, fiber quality,
disease resistance and the like;, so the more information our
faculty have in the form of markers, the faster we can make
improvements to benefit cotton farmers."
Because AgriLife Research is a member of the Texas A&M System,
teaching faculty and students will benefit, as well. Wayne
Smith, professor and associate head of the department of soil
and crop sciences, said, "Cotton breeders and their students
will mine the Monsanto SSR markers to determine their
association with traits of value to the cotton industry. Access
to these markers will enhance our graduate student training by
providing hands-on experience with cutting-edge molecular
tools."
Monsanto scientists screened the company's markers against other
public databases to eliminate any duplication. This was done so
only markers which are truly one-of-a-kind get added to the
database. Monsanto and AgriLife Research will submit the markers
to globally accessible cotton genome databases, specifically
CottonDB and The Cotton Marker Database.
Monsanto Company is a leading global provider of
technology-based solutions and agricultural products that
improve farm productivity and food quality. Monsanto remains
focused on enabling both small-holder and large- scale farmers
to produce more from their land while conserving more of our
world's natural resources such as water and energy.
Texas AgriLife Research is Texas' only public, statewide
agency dedicated to research and development in the areas of
agriculture and environmental and life sciences. Headquartered
in College Station, Texas AgriLife Research employs 1,700
professionals. At 13 research centers across the state and at
Texas A&M University, our scientists work to improve the
productivity, efficiency and profitability of agriculture, while
emphasizing sustainability and environmental stewardship.
The Texas A&M System is one of the largest systems of higher
education in the nation, with a budget of $3.04 billion. Through
a statewide network of nine universities, seven state agencies
and a comprehensive health science center, the A&M System
educates more than 109,000 students and makes more than 15
million additional educational contacts through service and
outreach programs each year. Externally funded research brings
in almost $627 million every year and helps drive the state's
economy. |
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