Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 528 Amap is the greatest of all epic poems — its lines and colours show the realization of great dreams. Gilbert Grosvenor, the first editor of National Geographic, said that. Curtis Pozniak learned the same lesson after helping play a major role in mapping the bread wheat genome, a project that could serve to turn the world of wheat on its head. “I equate it to looking at the sun; it’s such a massive genome, and we’re still in the early stages of analyzing its composition,” says Pozniak, a University of Saskatchewan wheat breeder. “We now have the genetic blueprint. Now comes the real work of deciphering the code to understand how wheat ticks.” Pozniak co-leads the Canadian Triticum Applied Genomics project with Andrew Sharpe of the Global Institute of Food Security. In early 2016, Pozniak and his team worked to ensure the entire genome of the Chinese Spring wheat variety was mapped completely and accurately. Nearly 100 per cent of the genome has been mapped, and is available for download through the International Wheat Genome Sequencing Consortium (IWGSC) wheat sequence repository at URGI-INRA-Versailles, France. North American wheat acreage has declined in favour of corn. Since the corn genome was mapped in 2009, it has enjoyed a renaissance with a multitude of new varieties. The new wheat genome map is a tool that’s going to do for wheat what’s already been done with corn and other crops, says IWGSC executive director Kellye Eversole. “We really need to enable the development of next-generation breeding tools, and to do that you really need a sequence,” she says. Collaboration The IWGSC is made up of researchers from across the globe, and Pozniak has been involved since it was formed in 2005. “At that time, a chromosome-by-chromosome approach was being used and there was a real need to come together as an international community to get the genome mapped. The vision of the IWGSC to focus on a chromosome-based approach meant that the genome could be tackled in 21 indi- vidual pieces,” Pozniak explains. At the time, Canada wasn’t contributing much to the interna- tional wheat genomics effort, and Pozniak saw an opportunity to not only help out, but to ensure Canada played a key role. ExploreaNewWorldofWheat Canadian researcher Curtis Pozniak is at the forefront of helping discover the genetic intricacies of a major global crop. Wheat accounts for more than 20 per cent of all calories con- sumed. The rising global population demands a sustainable and secure source of wheat, pressuring major wheat exporting countries to be at the cutting edge of varietal development. Researchers now have a resource to better identify genes responsible for adaptation, pest resistance, stress response and improved yield. But Pozniak says sequencing the Chinese Spring genome is just the start of an exciting discovery process. “The genome sequence is like a blueprint of all the genes that make up this variety, but the question is, what do each of those genes do?” he asks. “That will require a significant amount of effort to decipher biology around how that genome is organized, how those genes are expressed, and how they relate to performance in a farmer’s field.” It’s not only farmers who will benefit. John Jacobs, a Belgium- based genomics scientist for Bayer, says that the mapping of the wheat genome is extremely valuable for companies. “We want to increase seed potential, introduce disease resistance and stress tolerance, and for that we need to understand the genetic basis of these traits,” says Jacobs who also sits on the IWGSC Committee. Canadian researcher Curtis Pozniak‘s wheat breeding program at the University of Saskatchewan funded the majority of the sequencing and assembly work for the sequence of the Chinese Spring wheat genome.