New research could help Canada develop a new generation of high pigment durum varieties to strengthen its position in top world markets.

A study at the University of Saskatchewan's Crop Development Centre aims to pinpoint the genes responsible for bright yellow pigment in durum, a trait that is desired by foreign markets. The three-year study is funded in part by the Endowment Fund, which is administered by Western Grains Research Foundation (WGRF).

"This study will help ensure that Canadian durum wheat producers remain competitive with other wheat producing nations, such as Australia," says lead researcher Dr. Curtis Pozniak, a durum breeder. "The high pigment cultivars AC Navigator and AC Avonlea have demonstrated the market opportunities for this type of material in the U.S. and Venezuela."

Pozniak plans to identify the genes contributing to yellow pigment in durum, develop molecular markers to track them and then build tests so breeding programs can produce varieties that help Canadian producers keep their stronghold on world durum markets.

Canada currently holds about 60 percent of world trade in durum. By 2008, that will decrease, according to the Canadian Wheat Board, by 10 percent, largely due to the emergence of Australia as a major force in durum breeding and biotechnology.

The high yellow pigmentation of durum translates commercially to bright yellow pasta. Understanding the genes that do this will speed the development of new varieties and keep Western Canadian farmers on top.

To date, little work has been focused in this area. However in previous research, the study's co-researcher, Dr. Ron Knox, has located the chromosome regions where genes for yellow pigment can be found.

Pozniak says finding the chromosome region is like finding the town the genes live in. With this information, his team can now go into the town, find the genes and confirm that they are responsible for high pigmentation.

He also says that because the gene sequences for yellow pigmentation have already been characterized in rice and maize, there is an available DNA library to compare with. "Rice is a model species for grass species like wheat and barley in terms of genome organization and structure," he says.

Once the genes are found on the chromosome, Pozniak's team will compare two lines on each end of the pigment spectrum to develop markers, which are segments of DNA that indicate the desired genes are nearby. Varieties W9262-260D3 (low-medium pigment) and Kofa (high pigment) will be used as the endpoints.

Following that, the markers will then be used to build a multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) strategy. This will allow breeders to select the desired pigment genes in one step.

More information on the durum pigment project is available in the March edition of Western Grains Research Magazine, now on the Western Grains Research Foundation (WGRF) Web site, www.westerngrains.com. Western Canadian wheat and barley growers are major investors in breeding research through the Wheat and Barley Check-off Funds, administered by WGRF. The Research Magazine offers "Ideas and issues for farmer research investors."

The Endowment Fund, the original core fund of WGRF, has supported over 200 research projects since 1983. Research Reports on many of these projects are available on the WGRF Web site, www.westerngrains.com.