Manhattan, Kansas, USA
June 7, 2011

Kansas State University has long been known for its wheat research and that work is enhanced by K-State’s Wheat Genetic and Genomic Resources Center, a Kansas State University plant pathology researcher told participants at the university’s 2011 Wheat Field Day.

Bikram Gill, distinguished professor of plant pathology and director of the WGGRC talked about the role and economic importance of the center. He explained that the WGGRC has five main missions to assure future advances in wheat breeding:

• Genetic Resources. The WGGRC maintains a gene bank, along with evaluation and passport data, including 13,250 wheat species accessions, cytogenetic stocks, and mapping populations.
• Germplasm. The center has developed and registered 54 improved wheat germplasms containing genes protecting the wheat plant from leaf and stem rust; tan spot; Fusarium head blight; soilborne, wheat streak, and Triticum mosaic viruses; septoria leaf blotch; powdery mildew; Hessian fly; greenbug; and Russian wheat aphid.
• Genetic Analysis. For any plant trait, genetic analysis is mandatory before it can be exploited in breeding. The WGGRC is developing trait-specific eternal mapping and mutant populations for initial genetic analysis and for adding value to the trait through biotechnology.
• Genomics. The WGGRC provided the critical stocks to the Wheat Genome Sequencing Consortium (IWGSC) that enabled a “divide and conquer” strategy for mapping the 17Gb wheat, the “Mount Everest” of crop plant genomes. Gill serves as co-chair of the IWGSC.
• Graduate training. The center research and training opportunities to undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and visiting scientists. WGGRC alumni occupy prominent positions in academia, the government, and industry in the U.S. and the world.

Since 1984, the WGGRC has led a global effort in conserving and researching more than two dozen wild wheat and goatgrass species, including more than 12,000 strains, Gill said.

“More than 30,000 samples from the collection of wild wheat relatives, genetic stocks, and improved genetic resources have been distributed to scientists in 45 countries and 39 states in the U.S. These lines are free of costs and intellectual property claims,” he said.

The innovations developed and provided by the WGGRC have contributed hundreds of millions of dollars to the U.S. and world economies, and protected the environment from pesticides that otherwise would be needed to protect genetically susceptible crops, Gill added.
 

Website: http://www.ksu.edu

Published: June 7, 2011