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44 I EUROPEAN SEED I EUROPEAN-SEED.COM INDUSTRY NEWS component parts of their immune system on receptors to trick pathogens into binding with them which then triggers defence mechanisms. The discovery comes from Professor Jonathan Jones group at The Sainsbury Laboratory in the United Kingdom published in the high-impact journal Cell with a companion paper on a similar discovery from the Deslandes group in Toulouse. Researchers hope the discovery could lead to bioengineering new receptors carrying decoys to perceive and trigger a defence to virtually any pathogen. The International Bremia Evaluation Board has officially designated a new race of downy mildew in lettuce Bl32. This isolate was already known but has now become much more widespread in Europe according to research by the IBEB into the bremia isolates identified in 2014 and earlier. Most outbreaks of bremia caused by these new isolates have only local consequences. In recent years however Bl32 has been identi f ied i n Fra nce Ger ma ny T he Netherlands the United Kingdom Austria Switzerland and Belgium and it has recently also spread to Portugal and northern Spain. A veterinarian-turned-law yer shared insights about communicating science and technological advancements with the general public during the Breeders Committee meeting at the International Seed Federations 2015 World Seed Congress in Krakw Poland. Seed breeding provokes a conflict in values and faces romanticism said Jan Staman who serves as managing director for the Rathenau Instituut in The Netherlands. The Rathenau Instituut promotes the formation of political and public opinion on science and technology. As part of his presentation he encouraged the seed industry to check how disconnected it is from society. Staman also noted that many new technologies have the ability to make more of a positive impact which outweighs the possible risks posed. From his perspective the industry has done a good job of talking about the benefits of new technologies however it has failed to talk about how these new technologies will totally change society. While in Poland for the International Seed Federations 2015 World Seed Congress Pablo Civetta chair of the National Organising Committee for the Uruguayan Seed Association announced that the 2016 Congress will be held in Punta del Este Uruguay from 15 to 18 May 2016. The theme of the 2016 World Seed Congress will be The Natural Way Forward in Business Life. Civetta explained that the geography of Uruguay makes it well suited to agriculture. Known for its agribusiness about 90 per cent of the land is used for the production of grains beef milk wool wood and citrus. As such agriculture represents more than 8 per cent of Uruguays gross domestic product and 75 per cent of its total exports. In addition to the International Seed Federation the 2016 congress will be co-hosted by the Uruguayan Seed Chamber and the Uruguayan Breeders Association. European researchers and companies concer ned w it h t he pot ato d i sea se phytophthora will work more closely with parties in other parts of the world. The first move was made during the biennial meeting of the European network EuroBlight held in Romania in May. Colleagues from North America South America and Asia were also invited. They are very interested in our approach the way we analyse the genetic variation in the field for example says Huub Schepers phytophthora specialist at Wa gen i n gen Un iver sit y i n T he Netherlands and one of the driving forces behind EuroBlight. Conversely we can learn a lot from them. The more we know about this pathogen the more we can do to devise a comprehensive strategy. International Seed Federation secretary general Michael Keller called for change during his first speech to the delegates of the 2015 World Seed Congress in Krakw Poland on May 25. ISF is changing and we changed a lot this year Keller said. Young and new people arrived but weve also kept the expertise and thats important. He emphasised that its important to be proud of the work done by predecessors throughout the federations 90 years of work. Keller asked participants if they knew what that meant. Its 90 years of life together 90 years of promoting your interests he said. Its about the movement of seed growing cleaning conditioning and marketing. Seed is moving around the world which he illustrated by showing a map that one might initially think of as a global airline flight map. This is not an airline flight map this is a map of seed movement today he explained. Welcome to the 21st century where we have more efficient breeding an increased number of tools increased political decisions as well as trade and market issues Keller said. We have a lot of challenges but the role of ISF is to turn these challenges into opportunities. Keller emphasised the need for a common vision regardless of company size geographic region or seed sector. A team of scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in the United States has identified a set of genes that control stem cell production in tomato. Mutations in these genes explain the origin of mammoth beefsteak tomatoes. More important the research suggests how breeders can fine- tune fruit size in potentially any fruit- bearing crop. The research appears online in Nature Genetics. In its original wild form the tomato plant produces tiny berry-sized fruits yet among the first tomatoes brought to Europe from Mexico by conquistador Hernan Cortez in the early 16th century were the huge beefsteaks. Producing fruits that often weigh in at over a pound this variety has long been understood to be a freak of nature but only now do we know how it came to be. A new study from North Carolina State University and Clemson University finds that the toxin in a widely used genetically modified GM crop is having little impact on the crop pest called corn earworm Helicoverpa zea which is consistent with predictions made almost 20 years ago. The study may be a signal to pay closer attention to warning signs about the development of resistance in agricultural pests to GM crops. At issue is genetically engineered corn that produces a Bacillus thuringiensis Bt protein which in turn produces a toxin called Cry1Ab. This GM corn was originally designed to address a pest called the European corn borer Ostrinia nubilalis and went on the market in 1996. Ragweed is an invasive plant from North America with highly allergenic pollen that is spreading northwards from Central Europe. Currently instances when ragweed pollen loads across the United Kingdom are high enough to result in hay fever symptoms are rare. But can we expect these events to become more frequent and severe in the future in response to climate change Rothamsted Research scientists worked with a large team across Europe as part of project funded by the European Union ATOPICA to predict how the extent and magnitude of the ragweed pollen cloud may change by the middle of the century. Even without climate change a small increased risk from higher pollen loads in Northern Europe was predicted as the plant continues to fill available habitats. The study is published in the journal Nature Climate Change.