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U of G Corn Research Receives Funding
More food, feed and fuels expected to come from U of G plant studies supported by Ontario Research Fund
BY ANDREW VOWLES
Helping to feed more people around the world in more efficient and green-friendly ways is the goal of a U of G research project that has received $2.8 million in provincial funding this year.
Along with support from Syngenta, a leading agricultural biotech company, and from the University, the four-year project will receive a total of $9.12 million that will help strengthen Ontario agriculture and make Guelph an international biotechnology hub, says Prof. Steven Rothstein, Molecular and Cellular Biology.
The team received $2.8 million from the research excellence program of the Ontario Research Fund, intended to undertake major research projects, hire research teams and cover other operational costs.
Researchers from Rothstein's department and the Department of Plant Agriculture will seek new ways to increase the yield of Ontario's corn crop, worth almost $1 billion a year. Corn is one of the world's most important food crops and the foundation of a new “green” economy based on renewable corn-based ethanol and industrial polymers, says Rothstein.
Under the project, called “Genes to Fields: Corn Biotechnology Capacity for Ontario,” U of G faculty will use the funding to hire students and researchers. Besides taking on university students, the collaborators hope to inspire young plant researchers by hiring local high school students interested in science for summer jobs.
“We plan to combine molecular genetics with experts in plant breeding and whole-plant physiology to develop a unique research program,” says Rothstein, who holds a University research chair. “We believe no other publicly funded institution has the same capability. This funding will allow us to bring that expertise together and bring things to fruition that wouldn't otherwise happen.”
The Guelph researchers hope to learn more about genes to enhance breeding and use biotechnology to improve crop yields and help farmers grow corn in more efficient and sustainable ways.
Rothstein says researchers will test how various genes affect plant development and will hunt down genes responsible for desired traits. For example, he studies genes that help crop plants use nitrogen more efficiently. That may help reduce fertilizer pollution of ground and surface water and lower emissions of nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas.
“Nitrogen fertilizers are the No. 1 cost for farmers and the No. 1 source of pollution from crop agriculture,” says Rothstein.
At the same time, farmers need to double yields over the next 30 to 40 years to meet expected demand for crops used for food, animal feed and ethanol-based fuels, he says.
The researchers expect their work will yield candidate genes for other scientists and the private sector to use in developing enhanced plant lines.
“We are very pleased to enhance our collaboration with Prof. Rothstein's group by supporting this new research endeavour,” says Roger Kemble, Syngenta's global head of crop genetics research. “Having the absolute best products for our customers is a key corporate goal for Syngenta, and the insights provided by the University of Guelph team will contribute greatly to that mission.”
Other U of G scientists involved in the project are Prof. Joseph Colasanti and project manager Yong-Mei Bi of the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology and Profs. Manish Raizada, Elizabeth Lee and Matthijs Tollenaar of the Department of Plant Agriculture.
“This project will allow us to explore innovative ways of alteringcorn to take better advantage ofsoil nutrients,” says Raizada, who studies genes involved in plant regeneration. “We must save water and fertilizer and reduce growercosts while buffering agricultural systems from changes in climate.”
This year U of G researchers received a total of almost $10 million from the research excellence program of the Ontario Research Fund for the “Genes to Fields” project and for projects in DNA bar-coding and biodiversity and in the use of renewable resources for making car parts.