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 44JULY 2016 37 Let’s Grow Together Seed & Grain Testing Soil-Borne Disease Analytics DNA Varietal Purity Seed Crop Inspection & more! www.biovision.ca 1-800-952-5407 @seed_testing Sherwood Park, Winnipeg & Grande Prairie ISO 9001:2008 registered INDUSTRY NEWS Designed for seed professionals, Industry News delivers the people, industry, business and product news you need to know. Submissions are welcome. Email us at news@issuesink.com. INDUSTRY NEWS The plant Arabidopsis thaliana has proportionally more genetic variants than humans. This is one of the results revealed by the international “1001 Genome Project” that started in 2008. The study also revealed the continued presence of a small group of individuals that have survived in relative isolation since the last ice age. Led by Detlef Weigel from the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology in Germany and Magnus Nordborg from the Gregor Mendel Institute of Molecular Plant Biology in Austria, the project has recently completed genome sequences of 1,135 individuals collected from all over the world. The study was published June 9 in the journal Cell and not only serves as a foundation for linking genes and adaptation to the environment, but also provides a roadmap for similar efforts in crops. The Western Grains Research Foundation (WGRF) and the University of Saskatchewan Crop Development Centre (CDC) have renewed their longstanding partnership in wheat breeding. During the next five years, WGRF will invest $5.2 million into the CDC’s wheat breeding program. They have had a collaborative agreement for long-term breeding of barley and wheat since 1995. Since then, the CDC has released and commercialized more than 30 varieties of wheat and durum with improved agronomic performance and end-use qualities. In January, the International Wheat Genome Sequencing Consortium (IWGSC) completed the whole genome assembly for bread wheat. Now, having completed quality control, the IWGSC is making this resource available for researchers through its wheat sequence repository at URGI-INRA-Versailles, France. Wheat breeders and scientists around the world will be able to download and use this new resource to accelerate crop improvement programs and wheat genomics research. Financial support for a project that complements the National Bee Health Surveillance Project is making good progress, reports Syngenta Canada. The company committed $80,000 during a four-year period for work that harmonizes virus detection protocols between Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, in partnership with the National Bee Diagnostic Centre in Beaverlodge, Alta., and international reference laboratories in other jurisdictions. In partnership with the Canadian Association of Agri- Retailers, the Canadian Seed Growers’ Association has developed an online program to increase seed retailers’ ability to communicate the benefits of Certified seed to customers. The eLearning tool is designed as a self-administered, 30-minute online program with a multiple-choice questionnaire to obtain half a continuing education unit. A $4.2 million federal investment will go to four new projects that will use genomic technologies to drive innovation and commercialization across sectors. Genome Canada’s Genomic Applications Partnership Program partners academic researchers with users of genomics to address problems identified by the user. The projects, funded over a maximum of three years, are expected to have considerable economic and social impacts. The Western Grains Research Foundation and the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Agricultural, Life & Environmental Sciences have renewed their partnership in wheat breeding. WGRF will invest $811,587 into the wheat breeding program at the University of Alberta during the next five years. The Canadian Grain Commission will adopt primary and export grade determinant tables for the new Canada Northern Hard Red and Canada Western Special Purpose wheat classes Aug. 1, 2016, as recommended by the Western Standards Committee. A national survey led by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has found Verticillium longisporum in six provinces: British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec. V. longisporum is a plant disease that impacts a range of crops including canola. It was first detected in Canada in 2014.