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| Randall Nelson (center), curator of the USDA Soybean Germplasm Collection at the U of I, Ken Kahlenberg (left) of the Illinois Soybean Checkoff Board, and Xianghua Li (right), visiting Chinese scholar, examine a new shipment of germplasm that arrived from China in Early May. With support from the Soybean Checkoff system, the collection has acuired more than 2,000 new accessions from 19 Chinese provinces since 1992. |
"Prior to this project we had fewer than 350 varieties from those provinces,’ says Randall Nelson, curator of the USDA collection and Associate Professor in the U of I’s Department of Crop Sciences. "With the support of the United Soybean Board, these varieties are being extensively and successfully evaluated for traits that can improve our U.S. varieties. The most promising lines already are being incorporated into variety development programs."
In field evaluations, six new sources of drought tolerance were identified among 600 Chinese accessions that were tested. In two years of testing, these types wilted more slowly than U.S. varieties under severe drought conditions. Detailed examination of these sources of drought tolerance by USDA researcher Tommy Carter of North Carolina State University is underway to verify tolerance and determine their best use in breeding.
In research underway at the National Soybean Laboratory, USDA plant pathologist Glen Hartman has identified seven introductions from China that all have higher levels of resistance to sudden death syndrome (SDS) than the best previous known source of resistance.
"Cecil Nickell, soybean breeder at the NSRL, also has identified accessions that are resistant to all 10 races of phytophthora to which they were tested," Nelson says. "These races include those that attack currently used genes for resistance. No previously identified single gene provides resistance to all of these races."
Nelson notes that the most resistant accessions came from Hubei, Jiangsu, and Sichuan. Nickell also has identified 13 primitive varieties in maturity groups II, III and IV with resistance to brown stem rot. These varieties originated in five provinces, but more than half of them came from Shandong province. Additional varieties from all these provinces were requested and have been received for further research.
Entomologist Charlie Helm of the Illinois Natural History Survey and the U of I’s Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Science has identified five lines from the new Chinese germplasm with useable levels of insect resistance. The level of resistance in these accessions is not as high as in currently used sources, but preliminary research indicates that they may be genetically different from those sources.
In addition, Greg Noel, nematologist with the USDA and the U of I’s Department of Crop Sciences has identified two germplasm lines from northern China that are resistant to soybean cyst nematode race 3. No lines from southern China have been found to be resistant. If these results are confirmed in further screening, it will help to identify the geographical origin of resistance to soybean cyst nematode and assist in focusing future screening efforts.
"Analysis of DNA and biochemical data in collaboration with Reid Palmer and Randy Shoemaker, USDA researchers at Iowa State University, has shown that even primitive varieties from neighboring provinces can be genetically very different," Nelson says. "This indicates the long term genetic isolation of primitive Chinese soybean varieties and has important implications for how germplasm from China will be acquired, managed, and evaluated in the future."
Nelson points out that more than 600 new accessions from the far southern provinces in China that were received in 1996 are now available for evaluation, and the USB will provide funding for this research beginning in the fall of 1998. According to Nelson, these are the first accessions that have ever been available to U.S. scientists from many of these provinces.
Although all of these accessions originated from latitudes equal to Atlanta, Georgia and farther south, they range from maturity group II to maturity group IX. This unusual mix of maturity groups from far southern locations is the result of the complex cropping systems employed in southern China. Soybeans in that part of China are planted in spring, summer, fall, and winter.
"These soybeans have been adapted over centuries of natural and human selection to a wide variety of cropping situations with different climates, soil types, diseases, and insects," Nelson says. "In many ways, this is very unique germplasm with enormous potential to possess diversity not previously available in the U.S."
He adds that 500 seed lots were obtained this spring from the germplasm collection in Beijing, China and planted for the first time in the U.S. This completes the germplasm exchange of the second four-year agreement.
"Based on research on the germplasm received in 1992 and 1994, the germplasm we obtained in 1998 represents specific requests from certain provinces in which useful germplasm had previously been identified," he says. "We hope that this will increase the chances of finding additional useful resistance to our most important soybean diseases and insect pests."
Nelson notes, however, that protecting soybean varieties from diseases and insects with genetic resistance does not help raise the level of yield in the absence of those pests. As a result, researchers are using other varieties recently obtained from China and Japan in an attempt to increase the level of productivity for future soybean varieties.
In cooperation with scientists from the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences in Beijing, researchers from the USDA Soybean Germplasm Collection have successfully identified the primary ancestors of the modern Chinese soybean varieties. Although many of these lines originated in the same Chinese provinces as the ancestral lines of modern U.S. cultivars, comparisons in the laboratory at the DNA level have shown that the Chinese ancestral lines are genetically quite different from the ancestors of U.S. varieties.
"This indicates that U.S. and Chinese soybean breeders have been selecting high-yielding varieties from very different gene pools," Nelson says. "By crossing U.S. and modern Chinese varieties that are genetically quite different, we may be able to increase the rate of yield improvement in U.S. varieties. In order to select the best soybean parents from the U.S. and Asia, extensive field and laboratory research has just been completed with support from the United Soybean Board."
With help from soybean breeders at Pioneer Hi-Bred International and Asgrow Seed Company, USDA and university scientists from six states have compared more than 100 recently released soybean varieties from China and Japan with the best varieties from the U.S. Varieties were grouped by maturity and tested for two years at 5 to 8 locations.
"Even though these Asian varieties were not selected to be adapted to our growing conditions, we have identified varieties from both countries that yield more than 80 to 85 percent of the best U.S. varieties," Nelson says. "The results were quickly disseminated to all soybean breeders in the U.S., and seeds were requested by 35 breeders in addition to the more than 20 breeders already involved in the research. This clearly demonstrates the high level of interest by soybean breeders from both private industry and public universities in utilizing this germplasm."
In addition to using yield and other field data to select parents, researchers are attempting to identify those potential parents that are most genetically different. By comparing the modern varieties at the DNA level, they have found that there is more genetic diversity among the varieties from different countries than within the varieties of any one country. Many of the highest yielding Asian varieties were found to be genetically different from the U.S. varieties of the same maturity.
"Mating of high-yielding Asian varieties and U.S. varieties selected on DNA marker diversity should provide a successful strategy to increase the rate of genetic gain for seed yield in the near term," Nelson says. "This will also increase genetic diversity to make yield improvements possible for the long term as well."
He further notes that cooperation with China has made available a wealth of genetic diversity that holds the promise of not only varieties that are more resistant to most important diseases but also varieties with higher yields and more drought tolerance. The exchanges also have provided important knowledge about the distribution of genetic diversity that will allow more effective management of germplasm.
"I greatly appreciate the foresight of the soybean farmers in Illinois and Iowa who, through their checkoff boards, have provided the support that allowed these projects to begin more than six years ago," Nelson said. "There is no doubt that we will be reaping the benefits from this new germplasm for decades to come as it contributes to more productive U.S. soybean varieties."
New Soybean Breeder Boosts Genetics Research at the NSRL
The breeding and genetics program at the National Soybean Research Laboratory has received a major boost with the recent appointment of Brian Diers as associate professor in the Department of Crop Sciences at the University of Illinois.
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| Brian Diers, new soybean breeder in the Deparatment of Crop Sciences at the University of Illinois, checks soybean test plots for signs of white mold infection. His recent appointment through support by the Illinois Soybean Checkoff Board has provided a major boost for the sooybean breeding and genetics program aat the NSRL. |
Diers, who comes to the U of I from Michigan State University, will work with Cecil Nickell, who has headed the successful breeding and genetics program at the NSRL. Current plans call for Diers to take over the program when Nickell retires. Funding for this transition period within the program was provided by the Illinois Soybean Checkoff Board. The Checkoff Board also has provided support for program expansion and "startup"funds to hire a new technician and a post-doctoral researcher and to support graduate students.
Diers will continue his variety and germplasm development research program. He also plans to work on mapping genes that control resistance to major soybean pathogens and agronomic traits such as yield. Much of this effort will focus on screening Chinese material from the USDA’s soybean germplasm collection at the U of I. He also plans to work with Theodore Hymowitz and other U of I researchers on developing improved soybean varieties with genetic material from the wild soybean relatives.
One initial focus of his research will be variety selection for development of soybeans with improved resistance to white mold. He notes that a number of factors such as changes in agronomic practices have contributed to the recent increase in the range and severity of white mold.
"Another factor that may have contributed to more white mold are changes in the genetic background of soybean varieties," he says. "Soybean breeders may have unknowingly brought greater susceptibility into soybean varieties through the use of Williams and its offspring Asgrow A3127 as parents in their variety development. Unfortunately, both those varieties are highly susceptible to the disease, and this susceptibility was likely inherited to their offsprings. As a result, variety selection will play an important part in any white mold control program."
He adds that, even though there are no varieties with complete resistance to the disease, there are many with partial resistance, and these will yield better than susceptible varieties when infections occur.
"There already is a collaborative effort underway to identify better sources of resistance to white mold that involves seed companies, universities, the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service, and Agriculture Canada," Diers says. "As part of this effort, we have tested thousands of soybean lines to determine if any have resistance to white mold. These soybean lines have been collected throughout the world and are maintained by the USDA at the U of I.".
He emphasizes that the new lines from the soybean germplasm collection are especially important because the common soybean varieties in the U.S. were developed from only a few varieties that initially were brought into the country at the turn of the century. Better resistance therefore could well be present in lines from other parts of the world.
"This evaluation started in 1995, when we field-tested nearly 5,000 lines that ranged from maturity groups 0 to III," Diers says. "Based on results from 1995, we retested the most resistant lines. By 1997, we had eliminated all but 26 lines from maturity group 0, 23 lines from maturity group I, 6 lines from maturity group II, and 8 lines from maturity group III."
He adds that these lines are being further evaluated at more than 20 locations in the U.S. and Canada during 1998.
"We hope that this year of testing will confirm which lines have high levels of resistance so that breeders can use them in the development of new resistant varieties," he says. "The use of these lines in breeding programs could result in new varieties with better resistance to white mold than is currently available in cultivars."
Another approach that is being explored is development of resistance to white mold through genetic engineering techniques that can introduce genes from one species into another.
"Studies of the pathogen that causes white mold have shown that it produces oxalic acid during the infection of the plant," Diers says. "The oxalic acid aids the fungus in spreading though the plant tissue, and it has been shown that if the pathogen does produce oxalic acid it cannot infect plants."
Diers is working with Richard Allison at Michigan State University, who has taken a gene from barley that breaks down oxalic acid and transferred it into the soybean plant.
"The expression of this gene in the soybean could slow or stop the fungus from infecting soybean tissue," Diers says. "Preliminary results from lab tests have shown that the gene reduces fungal infection of leaves. Field tests are in progress this summer. We are really on the edge of being able to do amazing things with the soybean that we could not do a few years ago."
Illinois and Iowa Form New Soybean Research Consortium
With the establishment of a new consortium, the land grant universities in Illinois and Iowa will work in tandem with producer groups to expand opportunities for soybean research. A memorandum of understanding between the College of Agriculture at Iowa State University and the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois was signed in April 1998 by Dean David Topel of ISU and Dean David Chicoine of the U of I.
"By providing a formal structure for cooperation, we have made an explicit commitment to strategically coordinate Illinois and Iowa resources," Chicoine says. "Also the agreement creates a structure that involves the soybean industry of both states in a meaningful process of priority setting to focus research on the most important problems."
The formal arrangement officially went into effect on May 1. The decision-making structure for the consortium involves a steering committee with members from both universities, as well as representatives from the soybean industry in both states.
"The overall goal is to improve productivity and increase the world competitiveness of the U.S. soybean industry," Topel says. "This cooperative venture also will help our researchers make the most effective use of producer checkoff funds."
Soybean industry representatives encouraged the alliance and helped identify the initial research and development initiatives, which focus on precision agriculture, genomics and germplasm, and functional foods and soy utilization.
"We’re very excited about this agreement," says Kirk Leeds, executive director of the Iowa Soybean Promotion Board. "It’s a mutual progression of the partnership we’ve already seen between our producer boards and universities."
Through the checkoff, soybean producers have invested millions of dollars in marketing and research efforts aimed at keeping the industry competitive in a global marketplace. Some of this money has sponsored research at land grant universities.
"This coalition is an important indication of the commitment between Illinois and Iowa soybean farmers and our public universities to prevent duplication of research," says Ken Elmore, chairman of the Illinois Soybean Checkoff Board. "We are working toward a combined effort to move efficiently among private and public universities."
The U of I and ISU are already cooperating on projects funded by soybean producers. One joint project is studying how various stresses, such as diseases or pests, interact to affect soybean yields. The goal is to develop practical guidelines for producers so that they can increase yields by minimizing the impacts of these stresses.
Bacterial Parasite Could Help Control Soybean Cyst Nematodes
The soybean cyst nematode ranks as the most economically damaging pathogen of soybeans in the United States with annual production losses in the north central region alone estimated at more than $275 million. Major crop losses have continued year after year despite improved management practices and the widespread introduction of resistant soybean varieties.
But, growers may soon have a new weapon in their battle against the soybean cyst nematode as the result of research underway at the University of Illinois on a bacterial parasite known as Pasteuria.
"Results from small-scale field trials indicate that Pasteuria has the potential to keep soybean cyst nematodes below economically damaging thresholds," says Greg Noel, nematologist with the USDA’s Crop Protection Research Unit at the U of I. "This parasite attacks the nematode and uses it to complete its own life cycle, killing the nematode in the process and thus reducing damage to the soybeans."
In fact, Noel’s research indicates that the soybean cyst nematode is essential for the bacterium to complete its life cycle. Pasteuria reproduces by means of spores that attach to juvenile nematodes. The spores germinate and infect the nematodes, eventually killing the female nematodes so that no eggs are produced.
Noel and U of I researcher B.A. Stanger first identified infections of soybean cyst nematodes by Pasteuria in several research microplots during 1994.
"Most likely the southern Illinois population of cyst nematodes used in the microplots had already been infected by the bacterium," Noel says. "Our research clearly indicates that this is a different species from the Pasteuria bacterium known to infect soybean cyst nematodes in Japan."
Recent research has focused on better understanding the life cycle and population dynamics of the parasite.
"My graduate assistant, Ndeme Atibalentja, has just competed a three-year study of the impact of Pasteuria on soybean cyst nematode populations and its potential as a biological control agent," Noel says. "The results demonstrate that the bacterium is capable of maintaining populations of this pest at equilibrium densities that are below the threshold for damage reported from field studies."
Noel points out that the parasitic bacterium is specific only to soybean cyst nematode and other closely related species, making it nearly ideal as a biological control agent.
"Results from our study indicate that, given sufficient time following introduction into a field, Pasteuria can increase to levels that would be effective as one component in an integrated pest management program to control soybean cyst nematode," he says.
Future work is aimed at determining whether the level of control in these small-plot field studies can be duplicated in commercial soybean fields.
Readers of the NSRL Bulletin are invited to help shape the future of the soybean industry by attending Global Soy Forum ‘99, scheduled for Chicago, Illinois from August 4 to 7, 1999. Participants in this groundbreaking event will work together to strengthen the role of the soybean industry in the world’s economy, create new marketing opportunities, and plan tomorrow’s supply system. Those in attendance will learn about the latest progress in soybean research and gain insights into future trends that will affect the industry. They also will have access to industry leaders and senior policy makers from around the world, providing a unique opportunity to create partnerships for the future.
Global Soy Forum ‘99 is being organized by the Soybean Research and Development Council in partnership with the National Soybean Research Laboratory at the University of Illinois. Additional details about the event are available at the Global Soy Forum website: http://www.gsf99.uiuc.edu.
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| Director of the NSRL and the Soybean Industry Chair for Agricultural Strategy, Steven T. Sonka. |
This issue of the NSRL Bulletin features articles that reaffirm the value of long-term, programmatic commitments to research. The articles focused on Chinese germplasm and bacterial controls for soybean cyst nematodes illustrate the benefits of such approaches. Those describing the initiation of the Iowa and Illinois Soybean Consortium and the recruitment of another outstanding scholar to boost genetic research at the NSRL point to continuation of those commitments.
Historically, one of the strengths of U.S. agriculture has been the highly effective coupling of the USDA/Land Grant research system and the Extension delivery system. Indeed, it is somewhat ironic that the popular business press today extols the new-found virtue of knowledge creation in firms and industries. Yet, agriculture has benefitted from such a knowledge-creating system throughout much of this century.
But, we who are interested in agricultural research in general and soybean research in particular cannot expect our past approaches to guarantee future success. The sector's short-run price and pest challenges and its long-run responsibility to contribute to affordable, safe, and greatly expanded food supplies while enhancing the natural environment are daunting.
And, of course, we are moving forward to craft new systems that will respond to our current and future challenges. One example of such an effort is the Soybean Research Priorities Workshop that was held in June of this year. This important event was sponsored by the United Soybean Board in conjunction with the American Soybean Association and the American Soybean Industry Council. I was pleased to participate along with several other NSRL-related researchers and with stakeholders from Illinois.
One key aspect of that workshop was consideration of the differing but complementary roles of research funding by the public sector, commodity groups, and the private sector. Today, agricultural research dollars are scarce relative to the business and societal needs we face. Realistically, we must strive to enhance the effectiveness of our total research system by efficiently using each dollar that is available and capturing synergies wherever possible. Tomorrow's knowledge-creating system, that evolves in response to this new environment, will undoubtedly value long-term commitments but will likely differ from the current system in other respects.
One of our responsibilities at the NSRL is to help shape the evolution of the changes that are needed in the research system, It no longer is sufficient to be just a research participant in dynamic times, such as agriculture faces today. Our historically successful agricultural research system was crafted and molded by researchers, as well as by producers and the public. Our future knowledge-creating system will require similar leadership from the research community.
Steven Sonka
NSRL Director and Soybean Industry Chair in Agricultural Strategy
The NSRL Bulletin is published three times a year by the National Soybean Research Laboratory at the University of Illinois, 170 Environmental and Agricultural Sciences Building, 1101 W. Peabody Drive, Urbana, IL 61801; telephone (217)244-1706; e-mail nsrl@uiuc.edu; FAX (217)244-1707. Steven T. Sonka, director; Robert J. Wynstra, editor; Tina Prow and Lisa Sheppard, contributing editors; David Riecks, photographer; Lynn Hawkinson Smith, graphic designer.
Unless otherwise stated, articles may be reproduced or quoted if credit is given to the NSRL Bulletin. The National Soybean Research Laboratory at the University of Illinois is an affirmative action and equal opportunity institution.
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