DECEMBER 2017 SEEDWORLD.COM / 45 duced a “methylome” — a list of genes and genetic elements that have been switched on or off through a natural process called DNA methylation. A methylome provides important clues for biotechnology firms that want to adapt crops through epigenetic modification. “Knowing how the methylome changed during evolution and domestica- tion will help bring this technology one step closer to reality,” Chen says. Poppies on the Prairies In Alberta, Canada, University of Lethbridge Department of Biological Sciences researcher Igor Kovalchuk has gained the reputation as a world leader in epigenetics. His goal: to produce hardier crops that are increasingly resistant to stress and even able to detect pollution. This capability, in turn, will help to improve the efficiency, profitability and overall success of farms. Thanks to Kovalchuk, in fact, the Canadian Prairies could one day be dotted with fields of medicinal poppies. but unlike their traditional counterparts, cannot easily be converted into heroin. Kovalchuk is also a driving force behind the establishment of the Alberta Epigenetics Network, the first epigenetic network in Canada. “Plants have an amazing capacity to respond immediately to stress and to propagate this response so future genera- tions can be better prepared,” he says. One of the ways plants do this, of course, is via epigenetic changes. For van Lookeren Campagne, the doors yet to be unlocked by epigenet- ics are many, and he’s excited as new research initiatives are undertaken to bring epigenetic technologies to market. “We now understand the machinery that epigenetic changes are related to, and we’re able to tune that machinery. Now we have to find the applications we can deploy this toward. It holds a lot of potential and promise.” SW —with files from Marc Airhart (University of Texas at Austin), Justin Raikes (Epicrop Technologies), Dana Yates (University of Lethbridge) “Knowing how the methylome changed during evolution and domestication will help bring this technology one step closer to reality.” — Z. Jeffrey Chen He is currently working with a Canadian biotech company that plans to develop a market for the high thebaine poppy industry in Canada. A significant cash crop opportunity, high thebaine poppies are used to create valuable medicines,