Kansas State receives grant for wheat genome work

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  Kansas State University has received a three-year, $1.6 million grant to develop a better understanding of the wheat genome.

  From WATTAgNet:
  The National Science Foundation’s Plant Genome Program has awarded researchers at Kansas State University a three-year, $1.6 million grant to develop a better understanding of the wheat genome.
  The project, “GPF-PG: Genome Structure and Diversity of Wheat and Its Wild Relatives," will focus on ways to improve the current wheat genome assembly by using genetic information.
  Kansas Wheat supports the project, which also will partner with the Kansas Foundation for Ag in the Classroom.
  In July, NRGene said it had mapped the complete Emmer wheat genome in one month, significantly accelerating global research into crop improvement.
  “The repercussions of the mapping will be felt around the world,” said Assaf Distelfeld, PhD, of Tel Aviv University (TAU), a renowned wheat geneticist and the primary researcher on the project. “Scientists will now be able to identify key genes in the Emmer wheat and introduce them into commercial wheat via classical breeding, creating hardier varieties across environmental conditions, ultimately increasing the global food supply.”
  The combination of Distelfeld’s work and NRGene’s DeNovoMAGICTM assembler has created long genome sequences (N90>1 million bp) covering 90 percent of the genome and anchored to an ultra-dense genetic map of Emmer wheat, producing a genome map equivalent of four human genomes or 30 rice genomes. DeNovoMAGICTM delivers accurate, high quality de novo assembly of reference genomes for any crop or organism, quickly and cost effectively.

NRGene maps complete Emmer wheat genome

NRGene has mapped the complete Emmer wheat genome in one month, significantly accelerating global research into crop improvement.
“The repercussions of the mapping will be felt around the world,” said Assaf Distelfeld, PhD, of Tel Aviv University (TAU), a renowned wheat geneticist and the primary researcher on the project. “Scientists will now be able to identify key genes in the Emmer wheat and introduce them into commercial wheat via classical breeding, creating hardier varieties across environmental conditions, ultimately increasing the global food supply.”
The combination of Distelfeld’s work and NRGene’s DeNovoMAGICTM assembler has created long genome sequences (N90>1 million bp) covering 90 percent of the genome and anchored to an ultra-dense genetic map of Emmer wheat, producing a genome map equivalent of four human genomes or 30 rice genomes. DeNovoMAGICTM delivers accurate, high quality de novo assembly of reference genomes for any crop or organism, quickly and cost effectively.
“Mapping Emmer wheat is critical to global wheat research as it is the direct ancestor of cultivated wheat,” said Distelfeld. With a genome map of Emmer wheat, scientists at universities, global seed research centers, and the major seed companies will be able to breed seeds with higher yields, better disease resistance, and more adaptability to extreme growing environments, such as drought or extreme heat conditions.
“NRGene’s technology accelerates food research, shifting the focus from the tidy work of genome assembly to the more applicative work of gene discovery to improve yields,” said Dr. Gil Ronen, CEO NRGene. “Since the first maize was mapped in 2009, it has already boosted breeding practices and increased the global food supply significantly. We expect the Emmer wheat genome map to have an even greater effect, as the complexity of the wheat genome makes a full map a critical tool for breeding.”
Researchers participating in the program represent leading universities in Israel and across the globe, including Tel Aviv University, Hebrew University, Weizmann Institute of Science, University of Haifa, Ben Gurion University, and the Volcani Institute for Agricultural Research in Israel; University of California, Davis; Sabanci University in Turkey; and IPK and MIPS research institutes in Germany.
NRGene is a Ness Ziona, Israel-based genomic big data company that develops software and algorithms to reveal the complexity and diversity of plants and animals for advanced computational breeding.

Cobb, Roslin Institute get UK grant for genome project

A joint project by Cobb Europe and the Roslin Institute in Scotland has been awarded a grant of almost GBP650,000 (US$1.07 million) from the UK’ s innovation agency, Innovate UK, for genome biobanking to optimize valuable broiler genetic stocks.
The award, under its Agri-Tech Catalyst program, will fund cryopreservation and cutting-edge sequencing technologies to address food security and production efficiency. New stem-cell preservation technology will be used to enable biobanking of pure lines to ensure these current genetic resources are available in the future.
The project is projected to cost GBP815,904 (US$1.35 million). Most of that is being provided by the Innovate UK grant. The work will also further mine the genome of Cobb poultry resources to understand the genetic drivers of key economic traits and exploit existing genetic variation to drive significant improvements in commercial performance for emerging markets.
The award is made in the context of a need to double global poultry production in the next 25 years to meet growing demand for animal protein in the developing world. Traditional commercial genetic resources will need to have the genetic potential to meet local environmental conditions, which include severe climate and disease challenge pressures.
“Our investment and collaboration with the Roslin Institute represents a major initiative to address the genetic basis for improved breeder and broiler performance in an era of changing management programs and an ever-growing demand for animal protein,” said Dr Mitch Abrahamsen, Cobb-Vantress vice president of research and development.
“The awarding of funding from the UK government to support our collaboration is a significant recognition of the quality of the researchers involved and validation of our research strategies to assure food security and improving production efficiency.”
Earlier this year, it was announced that Cobb-Vantress is putting more than GBP600,000 (US$1 million) in a three-year joint research programme with the Roslin Institute facilitating collaboration on avian disease resistance, genome analysis and genome preservation.
Catalysts are run jointly by Innovate UK and the Research Councils. A Catalyst is a form of research and development funding which focuses on a specific priority area and aims to help take projects from research to as close to commercial viability as possible. The Catalyst model supports projects in priority areas where the UK research base has a leading position and where there is clear commercial potential. Current Catalysts include: Biomedical Catalyst, Agri-tech Catalyst and the Industrial Biotechnology Catalyst.

Genomics to help meet future world food needs

More than two-thirds of the extra food needed to feed the world's expanding population will need to come through advances in technology, Jerry Moye, president of Cobb-Vantress, told leaders of the UK farming industry. Speaking at the Oxford Farming Conference, he said to meet the doubling in food supply estimated to be required in 2050 improved efficiency would have to contribute some 70 percent along with additional farmland and increased cropping.
The poultry industry has an important role to play through increasing the efficiency of broiler production.  "Broiler genetics have made great strides and still have huge potential for improvement," he said.
Moye took the example of improved feed conversion. Over the 10 years to 2010 the improvement of 0.145 meant that 17.4 million metric tons less feed are now required to produce the 60 billion broilers consumed around the world each year.
With maize making up 55 percent of the diet, 9.57 million fewer metric tons are needed each year - equivalent to cropping 2.66 million fewer acres (1.08 fewer hectares) of maize.
"Everyone in agriculture has a responsibility to produce safe food," said Moye. "Animal breeding must develop animals that are fit for use in agriculture. Genetics and agriculture must develop products that meet the needs of all consumers.
"Consumer interest movements should be broadminded enough to understand their potential impact outside of their respective market places."
Moye said that use of a genomic strategy in continuing the advances in poultry breeding would help sustainable intensification through increasing food production from existing farmland while minimizing pressure on the environment.
"We are serving our customers through use of innovative research and technology to make protein healthy and affordable for everyone," he said.