1. A multi-state, multi-institution project, funded by USDA/CSREES dedicated to the genetic improvement of US wheat through research, education and extension US wheat breeders face increasing demands for improvements in quality, yield, and disease and pest resistance to remain competitive in domestic and international markets A few facts about wheat Most of the wheat varieties grown in the US (78%) are developed by public wheat breeding programs. These breeding programs develop varieties for 10 different wheat market classes, aimed at different end- products, such as bread, pasta and cookies. Today, the combined use of traditional breeding with genomics, genetics, and bioinformatics opens a window of opportunity to accelerate the development of new wheat cultivars with enhanced yield, quality and disease resistance. Traditional selection and Marker Assisted Selection Step 1. Infect Plants Step 2. Eliminate Susceptible Plants. R= Resistant S= Susceptible Traditional breeding methods include visual selection followed by quality and resistance tests to select the best combinations of targeted traits. In the example to the right, a large team is required to hand inoculate a field with virus to select for resistant lines. Traditional Selection S R R R S R S Marker Assisted Selection (MAS) Now, selections can be made more efficiently with a process called Marker Assisted Selection (MAS) where molecular markers close to genes of interest are used to assist breeders in selecting the best gene combinations. Hundreds of seedlings can be selected by a single person utilizing MAS The arrow shows a diagnostic band that is used to differentiate between lines with and without the virus resistance gene The Wheat CAP Project Project Components ● Applied - implement Marker Assisted Selection (MAS) in public wheat breeding programs ● Research - identify new traits and develop new markers ● Education – prepare future scientists ● Outreach – inform the public including growers, end-users and extension Abiotic stress and Agronomic Aluminum Tolerance Drought Tolerance Dwarfing Genes Grain Shattering Growth Habit Herbicide Resistance Quality Gluten Strength Grain Protein Grain Texture Pre-harvest Sprouting Pasta Color Starch Quality Nutritional Value Disease and Pest Resistance Insects Hessian Fly Wheat Sawfly Greenbug Orange Wheat Blossom Midge Russian Wheat Aphid Viruses Wheat Streak Mosaic Virus Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus Fungal diseases Stripe Rust Leaf and stem Rust Fusarium Head Blight Septoria Blotch Eyespot, Tan Spot Powdery Mildew Glume Blotch ✔ The application of MAS and genomics to improve wheat yield, quality and enhance disease and pest resistance will keep US wheat competitive in the global economy ✔ Informing the general public about the importance of agriculture in daily life and economy is necessary to maintain the vitality of the sector ✔ Educating a new generation of breeders will ensure the long-term impact of our current efforts The benefits we expect... http://maswheat.ucdavis.edu Organization of the Wheat CAP project Genotyping laboratory CO This project includes a large consortium formed by: 4 USDA-ARS genotyping laboratories 25 public wheat breeding programs, GrainGenes database. SNP mapping by fluorescent polarization Traits selected for MAS Wheat CAP members are using MAS to improve yield, quality, disease and pest resistance concentrating on traits selected by growers and industry: Objective 1: Establish MAS in public wheat breeding programs During the 1 st year of the project: ● Genotyping laboratories and breeding programs performed more than 120,000 DNA analyses to implement MAS in all wheat growing regions of the US. ● A database was created in collaboration with GrainGenes to deposit and query the data. ● 39 wheat germplasm were released ● 14 papers on MAS were published, including an article in SCIENCE. Objective 2. Create genetic maps to discover new genes that improve wheat yield, quality and disease resistance Wheat CAP members created 18 different mapping populations. The ND Genotyping laboratory screened parental lines for polymorphisms generating 47,400 datapoints. The mapping laboratories used those polymorphisms to generate 265,000 mapping datapoints and map an average of 94 markers per population. Mapping populations were evaluated in over 50 different environments for the traits selected by growers and industry. Objective 3. Explore SNP technology in wheat and develop 50 polymorphic markers in 12 selected populations. We tested 406 genome specific primers and developed SNP assays for 255 of them 147 polymorphic SNP loci were detected resulting in an average of 43 polymorphisms per population Polymorphic SNPs were mapped in one of the targeted populations. Objective 4. Education Attract students to Agriculture Objective 5 Extension. Inform growers and general public about the impact of biotechnology Our consortium is committed to train the next generation of Plant Breeders. Students are actively involved in research and breeding activities. Combine to Kitchen experiential field trips encourage students to understand growers and end-users perspectives. Three educational trips were completed in 2006 During the 1 st year we have trained 21 high-school interns 38 undergraduate students 31 graduate students A dedicated Education Coordinator Prepared educational materials Made presentations to FAA NAAE Tribal colleges Interactions with growers and end- users are mutually beneficial. We provide information about MAS technology and they provide feedback to keep us focused on relevant issues. During the 1 st year we delivered: More than 40 field days and industry meetings MAS workshops A booth at Big Iron Farm Show A MAS symposium at the CSSA meeting (> 120 people) Eight International lectures heterozygous homozygous