Spotlight on AWC-funded

Transcription

1 Spotlight on AWC-funded October, 2018 Genetics and improvement of earliness in Canadian spring wheat An efficient system to identify virulence patterns of stripe rust in Canada An integrated approach for enhancing FHB resistance in durum Revisiting the value of early fungicide applications in wheat Nitrogen fixation in triticale and wheat

2 CONTENTS 1 Genetics and improvement of earliness in Canadian spring wheat 3 An efficient system to identify virulence patterns of stripe rust in Canada 5 An integrated approach for enhancing fhb resistance in durum 7 Revisiting the value of early fungicide applications in wheat 9 Nitrogen fixation in tritical and wheat Investing in wheat research projects that maximize crop performance and increase farmers access to high performing varieties. As a major funder of strategic wheat research, the Alberta Wheat Commission (AWC) makes it a priority to invest in projects that will result in better returns for farmers. Our research investments promote maximum crop performance and consistent access to new, premium varieties. We prioritize farmers needs through improved genetics, pest management and technology advancements that support better efficiency. AWC is proud to have built a research portfolio valued at more than $2 million annually. Our research program is highly collaborative with the intent of leveraging additional producer-focused investment through our funding partners. AWC typically invests in projects in the areas of crop establishment and growth, integrated pest management, genetics and omics, quality and processing, and winter wheat. Throughout this publication, you ll find AWC-funded projects that highlight several of these areas and demonstrate the valuable work happening in our research community. More information on AWC s research program, as well as descriptions of projects we ve invested in, can be found at albertawheat.com Photographer: Anne Pratt Genetics and improvement of earliness in Canadian spring wheat DR. DEAN SPANER With the information extracted there will be a better understanding of maturity that will help ensure better quality wheat yields for producers and consumers. Spring wheat remains the most significant crop in western Canada. A large amount of bread wheat grown in the northern prairies is downgraded because it becomes frost damaged before maturity. This damage results in a loss of profit for farmers not to mention challenges to harvest. Therefore, incorporation of early maturity traits into spring wheat is very important. 1 Spotlight on AWC-funded Research

3 A project led by Dr. Dean Spaner of the University of Alberta, will screen uncharacterized Canadian spring wheat for major genes that can reduce the length of time CWRS wheat needs to mature. Spaner s goal is to develop high performing early varieties without compromising both high yield potential and good bread-making quality. Spaner and his team will screen approximately Canadian spring wheat lines for the presence of vernalization (Vrn) genes, photoperiod response genes, and earliness per se genes. These three genes help regulate flowering time and time to maturation of wheat. This project will help farmers in regions with short growing seasons avoid frost damage and other harvest and post-harvest problems. This research will provide useful tools for breeding in the form of robust markers for the selection of earliness traits. With the information extracted there will be a better understanding of maturity that will help ensure better quality wheat yields for producers and consumers. Spaner and his research team, including his long-time research associate Mohammed Iqbal, have already developed a number of varieties through this program. In 2018, five varieties were approved for registration. One variety, Parata, is four days earlier then AC Carberry and is viewed as a potential replacement for AAC Redwater. With current funding, Dr. Spaner hopes to continue to deliver new early maturing genetics to producers in the future. This project will help farmers in regions with short growing seasons to avoid frost damage and other harvest and post-harvest problems. ABOUT DR. DEAN SPANER Dr. Dean Spaner is a Professor in plant breeding and agronomy at the University of Alberta. He has over 20 years of experience in wheat breeding, genetics and agronomy. He also supervised over 40 graduate students; he served on the supervisory committee of more than 30 additional students. Spaner and his team have developed and registered five early maturing Canadian Western Red Spring wheat varieties with more varieties in the pipeline. He has made significant contributions in wheat breeding, genetics and agronomy through publications in peer reviewed journals and conferences. He has also been the principal breeder for two rutabaga lines in Newfoundland serving as parents to clubroot resistant canola germplasm in western Canada and on maize line still being sold in the Caribbean. Did you know? This project aims to screen approximately Canadian spring wheat lines for the presence of vernalization (Vrn) genes, photoperiod response genes, and earliness per se genes. These three genes help regulate flowering time and time to maturation of wheat. Spotlight on AWC-funded Research 2

4 Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Lethbridge, aims to better understand virulence patterns of stripe rust. DR. REEM ABOUKHADDOUR An efficient system to identify virulence patterns of stripe rust in Canada Stripe rust, or yellow rust, is a disease that affects cool climates such as Alberta and poses serious risk to wheat and barley production in Western Canada. Overall, stripe rust is responsible for approximately nine per cent of yield losses across Canada, totaling about $450 million in lost farm revenue every year. A project led by Dr. Reem Aboukhaddour, based out of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Lethbridge, aims to better understand virulence patterns of stripe rust. New information gained from this project could be extremely beneficial to producers through the development of new, evolved solutions for the disease. Aboukhaddour s three-year project will look for new sources for resistance to effectively manage stripe rust. Many resistance sources get overlooked, and this project will work on investigating ignored sources to help producers combat stripe rust. Caused by a fungus called Puccinia striiformis, the stripe rust pathogen can change in virulence over a short period of time; therefore, it is crucial to find non-defeated resistance sources. This research will help support breeding programs by enabling the selection of genotypes that offer a high level of resistance and good yield. We relied mainly on the information released by the U.S. to predict changes in the pathogen. It will be of great value to know what exactly is going on in Canada and communicate that with the rest of the world. 3 Spotlight on AWC-funded Research

5 Canadian farmers rely heavily on fungicides to control the disease; however, this is not only an expensive approach but it also presents environmental and health risks. Deployment of genetic resistance is the best management strategy to prevent rust outbreaks. Yet, the ability of stripe rust to change its virulence and defeat plant resistance in a short time is very challenging. Aboukhaddour says her goal is to build a Canadian capacity to stand on both feet and put us on the global stage for rust research, noting that previously, the focus on stripe rust in Canada was limited. Canada has had long-standing and significant contributions in stem and leaf rust, but research into stripe rust is far more recent, compared to Europe, Australia, USA and China, where the pathogen has been a threat for many years. Rust has been and will always be a global issue. It can cross thousands of miles with no respect for boarders or geography. It is an uninvited enemy, says Aboukhaddour. Stripe rust incidence has become more common in Canada after 2000 and continues to pose a significant threat. Aboukhaddour s main goal is to establish the base to enable a routine and yearly phenotyping capacity to determine what virulence exists in current stripe rust populations and what its relevance is for breeding and disease management. Phenotyping is like the language we use globally to understand this complicated beast, it also the base for any research aimed at understanding the molecular base of rust-wheat interaction. Although the project funded by AWC began in April 2018, work started in April Since then, there have been over 100 isolates of the pathogen characterized into races. This process of identifying virulence patterns of stripe rust has huge benefits to Alberta wheat producers, as this information can be used in breeding programs and included in the development of new, enhanced genetics. Within Canada, we need to build a strong capacity to facilitate credible research collaborations with partners who have long-standing, significant experience. If we look at the example of stem rust, over 20,000 isolates have already been characterized into races over the last 95 years. Research in stripe rust in Canada, in comparison, is still in its infancy. ABOUT DR. REEM ABOUKHADDOUR Dr. Reem Aboukhaddour is a Research Scientist in cereal plant pathology with AAFC-Lethbridge. She has 12 years of experience in fungal pathogens of wheat, host specificity and plant-pathogen interactions. She is leading the priority disease nurseries for stripe rust and common bunt, for winter and spring wheat, at AAFC-Lethbridge. Did you know? Canada has had long-standing and significant contributions in stem and leaf rust, but research into stripe rust is far more recent, compared to Europe, Australia, USA and China, where the pathogen has been a threat for many years. Spotlight on AWC-funded Research 4

6 There are different methods of checking for toxin levels and each varies in cost and accuracy, but all require harvesting and processing grain exposed to the disease. DR. RON KNOX An integrated approach for enhancing FHB resistance in durum Fusarium Head Blight (FHB) is a fungal disease of cereal crops that spreads through wind and water droplets and is favoured by high humidity. FHB affects kernel development, decreases levels of germination and seedling vigor, and causes a loss in grain quality. FHB also produces mycotoxins such as deoxynivalenol (DON), contaminating the grain and making it unsafe for consumption by both humans and livestock. Farmers have lost millions of dollars in revenue due to FHB, approximately $50 million to $300 million annually since the early 1990s. Canada Western Amber Durum is the second largest class of wheat grown in Canada and is highly susceptible to FHB because the durum germplasm lacks resistance sources compared to spring wheat. Dr. Curtis Pozniak of the Crop Development Centre at the University of Saskatchewan, and Dr. Ron Knox, research scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, are investigating FHB resistance in durum and are working toward making direct selections that could result in new durum varieties that are more viable for farmers. Knox and Pozniak will conduct a thorough evaluation of breeding lines, looking not only at the incidence and severity of FHB infection, but also at DON levels in the grain. Although traditionally assessed by visual symptoms on the spike and kernel damage, it has been found that toxin levels, which are measured through chemical analysis, are highly important when it comes to assessing the impact of the disease as part of the selection process. 5 Spotlight on AWC-funded Research

7 There are different methods of checking for toxin levels and each varies in cost and accuracy, but all require harvesting and processing grain exposed to the disease. According to Knox, it s a lengthy process because the research team must generate special disease nurseries, harvest, thresh, clean and grind the grain from each of the many breeding lines and check them individually for DON. Knox says that his goal right now is to make the DON resistance selection process as inexpensive as possible. There are different methods to eliminate lines that perform poorly, for example by application of near-infrared light spectroscopy. Based on standards of known amount of toxin, a spectrum can be developed to determine quantities of DON in a grain sample. The method is rapid and inexpensive but lacks accuracy, although, would be good to discard the many breeding lines with high levels of DON. Knox is also looking at refining DNA markers through mapping of genetic material. Improved marker resolution of FHB resistance, which is controlled by small effect genes, requires testing of many wheat lines in multiple environments. Markers will help us make better selections; however, markers are also difficult to create says Knox. Enhancing FHB resistance is crucial for the future success of durum production. Knox says he knows many farmers that have stopped growing Durum in Saskatchewan because of the high level of damage caused by FHB. Chemical control will help but it is not an answer by itself; managing FHB requires multiple approaches. His goal is to achieve moderate resistance (MR rating) that can reduce down grading for farmers at times of severe epidemics. ABOUT DR. RON KNOX ABOUT DR. CURTIS POZNIAK Dr. Ron Knox, AAFC, has 32 years of cereal research experience (30 years on wheat) working in the area of molecular genetics, genetics and germplasm development. He supervises fullyequipped molecular genetics and doubled haploid labs at SCRDC (Swift Current Research and Development Centre) for performing marker development research and marker assisted selection for the durum and hexaploid wheat breeding programs, along with doubled haploid production. He has been involved in genetic mapping of wheat, has developed or co-developed several genetic markers, and has contributed to the development of over 65 registered cultivars and germplasm lines. Dr. Curtis Pozniak, University of Saskatchewan, CDC, has been employed since January 2003 as the lead scientist responsible for the durum and high yielding spring wheat breeding programs. His main responsibilities as a durum wheat breeder is being responsible for a large breeding program aimed at the development of field-ready cultivars. He and his colleagues have developed 12 wheat varieties since 2004 and have published over 70 manuscripts, including two publications in Science. In 2010 he was named the Outstanding Young Researcher at the University of Saskatchewan and was bestowed the honor of Outstanding Young Agronomist by the Canadian Society of Agronomy. Did you know? Improved marker resolution of FHB resistance which is controlled by small effect genes requires testing of many wheat lines in multiple environments. Spotlight on AWC-funded Research 6

8 Fungicide use is a very typical practice to help manage these challenges, but it requires best management practices to ensure crop viability. DR. SHERI STRYDHORST Revisiting the value of early fungicide applications in wheat Leaf diseases and fusarium head blight (FHB) are becoming serious constraints to Alberta wheat growers productivity and profitability. Fungicide use is a very typical practice to help manage these challenges, but it requires best management practices to ensure crop viability. Dr. Sheri Strydhorst is leading a new project, Revisiting the value of early fungicide application in wheat, that aims to answer questions surrounding early fungicide use and promote good stewardship principles. Recently published, peer-reviewed studies generally agree that, while fungicide applications at herbicide timings may reduce disease levels on older leaves, they do not protect upper canopy leaves that emerge later, and thus rarely result in any yield protection or economic benefit. 7 Spotlight on AWC-funded Research

9 Unnecessary use over time can lead to fungicide resistance, preventing these important agronomic tools from being effective and leaving wheat vulnerable to devastating yield and quality losses. To further complicate fungicide use, many cereal growers continue to apply a sub-lethal rate of fungicide, tank mixed with herbicide, at early cereal growth stages. This practice has been attractive to cereal producers because it is a convenient, reduced cost, one-pass operation for both weed and disease management. However, recently published, peer-reviewed studies generally agree that while fungicide applications at herbicide timings may reduce disease levels on older leaves, they do not protect upper canopy leaves that emerge later and thus rarely result in any yield protection or economic benefit. Field research trials for Strydhorst s research began in 2018 at four locations throughout Alberta to evaluate thirteen fungicide treatments and testing application rates, active ingredients, application timings, number of applications, and various combinations of these factors, compared with an untreated control on AAC Brandon and AAC Viewfield CWRS wheat. A number of different variables are being measured such as leaf disease progression throughout the growing season, pathogens found infecting the leaves, maturity, yield, test weight, protein, fusarium damaged kernels, DON levels and an economic analysis is also being done. Strydhorst, along with her team at Alberta Agriculture and Forestry, Syngenta, and a MSc. student, Mahnoor Asif, from the University of Alberta, will identify the yield and/or quality protection resulting from the fungicide treatments. They will deliver extension messaging in an effort to slow the development of fungicide resistance and promote holistic disease management. This focused research will provide science-based evidence that will promote beneficial fungicide application practices and provide timely, valuable messages to growers aimed at maximizing economic returns, and preventing fungicide resistance. ABOUT DR. SHERI STRYDHORST Dr. Sheri Strydhorst is a cereal agronomic research scientist with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry, based out of Barrhead, AB. Strydhorst joined Alberta Agriculture in January Her research program centers on maximizing the genetic potential of cultivars by using cultivar specific agronomic management. Strydhorst was raised in St. Albert, Alberta, but now farms with her husband, Shane in Neerlandia, Alberta. Strydhorst focuses on extension of her applied research so that it can be implemented on-farm. She has strong partnerships with industry and is also an adjunct professor at the University of Alberta. Did you know? Field research trials for Dr. Strydhorst began in 2018 at four locations throughout Alberta to evaluate thirteen fungicide treatments and testing application rates, active ingredients, application timings, number of applications, and various combinations of these factors, compared with an untreated control on AAC Brandon and AAC Viewfield CWRS wheat. Spotlight on AWC-funded Research 8

10 The objective of this project is the generation of doubled-haploid triticale plants with N-fixation trait and the evaluation of crop performance in various Canadian Environments, as well as the transfer of the trait from triticale to wheat. DR. ALICJA ZIEMIENOWICZ Nitrogen fixation in triticale and wheat It s well known that a lack of nitrogen availability limits crop growth and has long been overcome through synthetic Nitrogen (N) fertilizer application. A project led by Dr. Alicja Ziemienowicz, based at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada s Lethbridge Research Centre, aims to generate N-fixing wheat plants that may no longer require synthetic N fertilizer application, or at least require considerably less. If successful, the development of these plants would result in significant cost savings and would reduce farmers environmental footprint. N is the primary nutrient required for plant growth. Even though the earth s atmosphere is made up of 80 per cent N, the gaseous form of N cannot be used by the majority of plants. Because atmospheric N is accessible only to a small group of microorganisms capable of biological nitrogen fixation, only plants able to interact with these microorganisms, for example legume-rhizobium symbiosis, grow well in N deficient soil. The current way to overcome this deficiency in wheat is by using synthetic fertilizers. However, fertilizer is costly and does not always result in the right outputs. Additionally, fertilizers produce emissions that negatively impact the environment. Ziemienowicz s project will involve developing plants that originate from engineered triticale plants containing a mitochondrial genome enriched with nitrogen fixation (nif) genes. These triticale plants are actually the result of Ziemienowicz s work that was started four years ago that ultimately proved it s possible to transfer N fixation genes into a plant. We wanted something more efficient and well established, and triticale was the best tool as it s easier to transfer triticale traits to wheat then to deliver genes into wheat, says Ziemienowicz. Since wheat and other cereals cannot currently fix N on their own, Ziemienowicz has considered three different approaches for enabling N-fixation in wheat. The first two approaches try to modify wheat and bacteria which have N-fixation capability so that they can either form interactions similar to the one known in legume plants or to improve the existing interactions, while the third approach aims to engineer plants that can fix nitrogen on their own. Bacteria have special genes which code for the production of enzymes that convert N for plants and allows for N fixation. In order to create a plant which can fix its own N, the transfer of bacterial genes into the plants is required. 9 Spotlight on AWC-funded Research

11 Ziemienowicz says that the other stages of this project will include testing for these N-fixation traits by doing the preliminary stage tests and working on the transfer of genes. For N-fixation, bacteria needs 20 genes. This poses a problem, as in the biotechnology procedure only two to three genes can be transferred. For this project, it s been a challenge to transfer so many genes; thus, Ziemienowicz s team is working on the solution and developing new technology to transfer 10 times more genes. Additionally, another challenge in the project is regenerating single cells into a plant that can be grown. The process of nitrogen fixation is complex; therefore, introduction of this trait requires time and study. Ziemienowicz says the nitrogen-fixing enzyme is very sensitive to oxygen, so it is important to find an optimal place for its activity. The objective of this project is the generation of doubledhaploid triticale plants with N-fixation trait and the evaluation of crop performance in various Canadian environments, as well as the transfer of the trait from triticale to wheat. Due to the long and complex process, Ziemienowicz says that the project will take several years before introduction of the improved wheat as a new crop into Canadian agriculture will be possible but looks forward to providing updates to growers as they become available. ABOUT DR. ALICJA ZIEMIENOWICZ Dr. Alicja Ziemienowicz is a scientist at the Lethbridge Research and Development Centre with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC). She holds a strong proficiency in plant biotechnology, molecular genetics and protein biochemistry. She manages a cell culture and genetic engineering laboratory with a mandate to develop new enabling technologies and new traits in cereal crops. In addition her skills include work with triticale and wheat, plant cell and tissue culture, in vitro embryogenesis, genetic engineering and nucleo-protein biochemistry, as well as development of new technologies. We wanted something more efficient and well established, and triticale was the best tool as it s easier to transfer triticale traits to wheat then to deliver genes into wheat, says Ziemienowicz. Spotlight on AWC-funded Research 10

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