Farm Talk

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December 29, 2009

Wheat researchers unlock genetic power

The tried-and-true methods of traditional plant breeding have created hundreds of improved wheat varieties for Kansas wheat farmers over the years.

New developments in plant breeding, however, have scientists at Kansas State University and USDA's Agricultural Research Service excited about new transgenic lines that help solve some of wheat producers' toughest challenges.

K-State Plant Pathologist Harold Trick has teamed up with ARS researcher John Fellers, for example, to "silence" genes as a method of controlling Wheat Streak Mosaic Virus. This work is part of a larger project that received $52,000 from the Kansas Wheat Commission in FY 2009.

Essentially, Trick, Fellers and their colleagues have dissected the Wheat Streak Mosaic Virus genome, isolating several proteins within, and are attempting to engineer wheat plants to shut off the genes.

"If you can switch off any of the genes, there is a good chance you can prevent the virus from replicating," Trick says. Thus, the virus could be pre-empted before it ever starts within these lines of wheat.

The work is tedious, time-consuming and difficult. But the potential rewards to wheat farmers are vast.

"This could give us a new source of resistance to Wheat Streak Mosaic Virus," says Trick, who adds that preliminary experiments are showing good levels of resistance. K-State and ARS researchers are working on other genetic enhancements for wheat, including, including scab resistance, rust resistance and better grain filling during hot weather.

There is a catch, however: currently, genetically modified wheat has not gained acceptance by the federal regulatory agencies that monitor such activity. Furthermore, approval by the USDA, FDA and EPA is many years and several million dollars away for federal regulatory compliance.

As the world's most widely consumed commodity— and one whose consumption has outstripped supply seven of the last 10 years— wheat is perfectly poised to capitalize on genetic engineering, Trick says. In recent months, several agriculture technology firms have announced intentions to bring genetic enhancements in wheat to the marketplace within the next 10 years and as early as 2015. In the meantime, research from Trick, Fellers and their colleagues continues.

"This is necessary research. Once transgenic wheat is widely accepted, we want to be ready to put traits into elite lines. The concept alone doesn't cut it. We need to show the traits we are working on will be beneficial to both producers and consumers."

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