NDSU, UM Take Part in USDA Wheat Genome Research Grant

North Dakota State University and the University of Minnesota were recently named as two of 18 universities to receive funding from a $5 million USDA grant to advance technology in order to rapidly identify genes that may produce higher quality, disease-resistant wheat. USDA’s Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service administers the award through the National Research Initiative.

James Anderson, associate professor in the U of M Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics, said the U of M would receive $201,875 over a four-year period.

“This money will fund graduate students to carry out projects to identify DNA markers for genes that affect preharvest sprouting and leaf rust resistance in wheat,” Anderson says. “The grant also will be used to help us select for new wheat varieties that are resistant to diseases such as scab and leaf rust by using DNA markers.”

Useful quality and production traits on the wheat genome will be marked with DNA markers. The genomic traits, once marked, are called molecular markers and are landmarks in the chromosome maps that help plant scientists identify specific chromosome segments. Breeders use these markers to increase their precision in selecting the best trait combinations for specific varieties.

“Selecting first with markers for certain genes that you know will have a beneficial effect increases your chances of finding an improved variety after field-based selection for other important traits such as grain yield,” Anderson says.  “The genetic materials we produce from this project will be made available to other wheat breeders in the U.S. who can use it as parents in their breeding programs.” Anderson notes that South Dakota State University will be helping collect data from some of the mapping populations.

Grant to help NDSU Improve Wheat Quality and Disease Resistance

The federal grant will assist four NDSU wheat breeders and geneticists to improve wheat quality and disease resistance. 

“All of the wheat breeding programs (durum, hard red spring wheat and white spring wheat) at NDSU will be involved in the grant,” says Shahryar Kianian, associate professor in the Department of Plant Sciences. “The genetic information we gather will be stored in national databases, which then can be used to assist wheat breeders and researchers nationwide. We will be able to focus more quickly on genetic traits that are most important to producers.”

Other NDSU research scientists involved in the project from the Plant Sciences Department are Mohamed Mergoum, William Berzonsky and Elias Elias. NDSU will receive more than $360,000 during the four-year period.

Once molecular markers are identified and inserted in a wheat variety, testing can begin shortly after the plants emerge instead of having to grow them for months, as in conventional tests.

“The goal is to produce better wheat varieties so we can better compete in the global marketplace,” Kianian says. “We do that by combining our efforts to produce varieties that yield better, are more disease resistance and have better end use milling and baking qualities.”

As an example, the NDSU research scientists will look at wheat traits, through molecular markers, that are important to North Dakota wheat producers, such as resistance to fusarium head blight. FHB or scab was again a major economic problem for producers in 2005. Total losses in N.D. due to scab in hard red spring wheat, durum and barley were estimated at more than $162 million in 2005.