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 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 6856 I EUROPEAN SEED I EUROPEAN-SEED.COM INTERNATIONAL NEWS GLOBAL SEED WATCH DEVELOPING “SUPERSTAR” RICE VARIETIES AND UNLOCKING THE SECRETS OF ALFALFA. STATUS CANADA A new University of Toronto study has identified “superstar” varieties of rice that can reduce fertilizer loss and cut down on environmental pollution in the process. T he st udy, aut hored by U of T Scarborough Professor Herbert Kronzucker in collaboration with a team at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, looked at 19 varieties of rice to see which ones were more efficient at using nitrogen. K ronzucker’s study for the first time identifies a novel class of chemicals produced and released by the roots of rice crops that directly influence the metabolism of soil microbes. They found that key microbial reactions that lead to an inefficiency in nitrogen capture can be significantly reduced in certain varieties of rice plants through the action of those specific chemicals released from root cells. One of the main reasons crops waste so much fertilizer is that they were bred that way. In the past fertilizers were relatively inexpensive to produce because fossil fuels were abundant and cheap. As a result, plant geneticists bred crops that responded to high fertilizer use regardless of how efficient they were at using nitrogen. “These inefficiencies used to be of little interest, but now, with fluctuating fuel prices and growing concerns over climate change, it’s a much bigger issue,” says Kronzucker, who is the director of the Canadian Centre for World Hunger Research at U of T Scarborough. There are more than 120,000 varieties of rice stored at the germplasm bank at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the Philippines, but Kronzucker’s team on ly focused on varieties that met important criteria. For one, they concentrated only on Japonica (the rice used in sushi) and Indica, the world’s most popular rice type commonly grown in China, India and Southeast Asia. The varieties also had to be currently grown by farmers, have a high yield potential, be disease and pest-resistant, grow to the right size and have strong enough roots to withstand monsoon-force winds. “They had to be proven in the field as viable options. It’s not practical if a rice farmer isn’t going to touch it,” adds Kronzucker. The hope is for this study to inform rice-growing strategies throughout Asia. One option could be to provide farmers with government incentives like tax credits, to switch to a more nitrogen-friendly variety. Another outcome could be better breeding programs where even better species of crops can be produced. “There’s no reason a crop can’t result in less pollution while also saving farmers money; the two aren’t incompatible,” says Kronzucker. “If we can produce more responsible plants that don’t waste fertilizer needlessly, everyone wins.” Source: University of Toronto STATUS AUSTRALIA A Plant Biosecurity Cooperative Research Centre team is rolling out a plant diagnostic toolkit that can accurately detect plant viruses and viroids in a single test. “By tapping into the plant’s natural defenses we are able to detect nearly every known plant virus with much greater accuracy — giving us a test with a very high level of confidence,” shares Roberto Barrero, project leader from Australia’s Murdoch University. The test is based on next-generation small RNA sequencing technologies and is part of a toolkit that provides comprehensive guidance on the new techniques including sample collection, preparation, operating procedures, the informatics analytical environment and screening tools. The toolkit will primarily be used by post-entry quarantine (PEQ) facilities operated by government quarantine agencies, including the Australian Department of Agriculture and Water Resources, and the New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries. “The new test will significantly reduce the time imported plant material spends in Australia’s quarantine system, while improving accuracy of detection,” adds Mark Whattam, plant pathologist at the new national PEQ facility at Mickleham in Victoria. “The toolkit has many benefits for our operations, including improved sensitivity, reduced screening costs and the reduction of manual screening times which can currently take more than two years. “It means that imported material such as elite cultivars and breeding lines will be available to Australian plant breeders and nurseries as much as 12 months sooner.” The Australian government has already accepted and adopted the technology in the toolkit as the new PEQ standard for the screening of viral pathogens in clonal grasses. Further rollout of the technology includes hands-on and remote workshops for biosecurity professionals, not only providing training in the use of the toolkit but also gathering useful end-user feedback to improve usability. “There is further potential for state agr icu lture depar tments, d iagnostic laboratories and research institutions to use the toolkit, not to mention developing countries that are often highly dependent on agricultural imports and exports,” Barrero says. Due to strong interest in the project, the Board of the Plant Biosecurity CRC approved an extension to the project at its last meeting that will support further engagement with end-users, training workshops on the new system, and the development of supporting material for policymakers. Source: CRC Plant Biosecurity STATUS UNITED STATES Alfalfa, the queen of forages, has held secrets for centuries. Now, those genetic mysteries are being unlocked for plant breeders seeking to make the forage crop hardier and of higher quality. Researchers from the Noble Foundation, University of Minnesota and the National Center for Genome Resources revealed their advancements in sequencing the alfalfa genome July 13 at the North American Alfalfa Improvement Conference in Madison, Wisconsin. Alfalfa, a commonly used food for livestock, is worth more than $8 billion annually. “The alfalfa breeding community has been clamouring for the alfalfa genome, and it has proven to be one of the most complex plant genomes to sequence,” says Maria Monteros, Ph.D, Noble Foundation associate professor in legume breeding. “We have completed most of the alfalfa genome sequence after years of research to advance forage legume genomics with our collaborators.” S c i e n t i s t s u s e s e q u e n c i n g t o determining the order of the four chemical