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Developing ‘Less Thirsty’ Crops : How biotech can help us get more crop per drop

Developing ‘Less Thirsty’ Crops : How biotech can help us get more crop per drop. C. S. Prakash Tuskegee University, Alabama, USA prakash@tuskegee.edu www.agbioworld.org. Drought. Extended period of deficiency in water supply A normal, recurring feature in most parts of the world

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Developing ‘Less Thirsty’ Crops : How biotech can help us get more crop per drop

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  1. Developing ‘Less Thirsty’ Crops: How biotech can help us get more crop per drop C. S. Prakash Tuskegee University, Alabama, USA prakash@tuskegee.edu www.agbioworld.org

  2. Drought • Extended period of deficiency in water supply • A normal, recurring feature in most parts of the world • Linked to many early Hunter-gatherer migrations • Linked to ‘Out of Africa’Exodus • Caused the collapse of Mayan civilization? • 1967 Israel-Palestine conflict? • Spurred Green Revolution in India?

  3. Drought and Farming • Most important environmental stress on farming • Average 50% crop loss • Agriculture - 75% of freshwater withdrawal • Need more “crop per drop”

  4. Recurring droughts Horn of Africa and Southern Africa: • - ecological catastrophes • - massive food shortages Recently, parts of Amazon basin and Australia experienced the worst drought in 100 years

  5. Drought in Southern Africa - Impact on vegetation (Source: NASA)

  6. Consequences of Drought • Diminished crop and livestock production • Dust bowls • Famine due to lack of water for irrigation; • Habitat damage • Malnutrition, dehydration and related diseases • Mass migration, internal displacement and international refugees • Reduced electricity production • Shortages of water for industrial users • Social unrest • War over natural resources, including water and food (Source: Wikipedia)

  7. Palmer Drought Severity Index from 1948 to 2002

  8. Source:www.odec.ca/projects/2005/pete5o0/public_html/Pages/Background.htmlSource:www.odec.ca/projects/2005/pete5o0/public_html/Pages/Background.html

  9. Water Footprint Average national water footprint per capita (m3/cap/yr). 1997-2001. Source: www.waterfootprint.org

  10. Virtual Water • Embedded water or hidden water • Water used in the production of a good or service In the context of trade Source: http://technology.newscientist.com/

  11. Drought and African Agriculture Recorded droughts between 1971 and 2000, and the number of people affected • The WFP spent $0.565B of food emergency to respond to drought in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) in 2003 • Over 95% of cropland in SSA is rain-fed and will remain so in the near future • The risk of drought prevents investment in improved agricultural products • Yield stability is key to unlock the value of basic inputs (Slide source: Dave Songstad, Monsato)

  12. Potential for Drought Tolerant Crops • Drought tolerance technology could help farmers get the most from their inputs and management practices and protect their investments in times of water shortages • Drought-tolerant biotech maize may be available to American farmers after the turn of the decade

  13. Developing drought tolerant crops - strategies Classical breeding - slow but significant progress • Reducing stature • Earlier maturity • Longer stomatal closure • Limited evapotranspiration

  14. Developing drought tolerant crops… Marker-assisted selection • Quantitative trait loci • Polygenic nature of drought tolerance • May help in cloning useful genes (e.g. ERECTA gene for transpiration efficiency)

  15. Effect of Drought on Plants • Series of morphological, physiological, biochemical and molecular changes adversely affecting growth and productivity Cellular response • Stress protiens ( ROS scavenger, chaperone etc.) • Antioxidants • Osmolytes • Metabolites such as ABA

  16. Physiological Traits related to drought • Stomatal conductance • Photosynthetic capacity & Pathway • Stay green • Rooting depth • Osmotic adjustment • Membrance compositon • Stress-related proteins

  17. Arabidopsis • Rice Drought Tolerance • Drought Tolerance Product Concept • Yield improvement through water use efficiency • Yield improvement from water deficit tolerance • Benefits • Yield Benefits and Stability • Flexibility in Water Management • Reduced Water Consumption, Cost Savings • Reduced Pressure on Fresh Water Resources • Reduced Soil Erosion • (Photo courtesy: Monsanto Co.)

  18. Candidate Genes for Drought Regulatory Genes • Transcription factors (AP2-ERF; leucine-zipper, zinc-finger ) • Signaling factors (Protein kinases; calcium sensors, ABA sensor Functional Genes • Osmolytes (Fructan, trehalose, glycine betaine, mannitol, polyamines, proline) • Protective proteins (Chaperone) • Heat shock proteins (LEA) • Cold shock proteins (CSPa, CSPb) • ROS-Scavenger • ABA biosynthesis

  19. Functionl Genomics • NF - YB Transcription factor (AtNF-YB1) • Discovered by Monsanto and Mendel Biotech Scientists in Arabidopsis • Similar gene later identified in Corn (Nelson et al. 2007; PNAS)

  20. Drought Tolerant Corn Photo: Monsanto Co.

  21. Genes from “resurrection plant”  drought tolerant crops (from Prof. Jennifer Thomson, Univ of Cape Town) Hydrated Dehydrated

  22. Rootworm-resistant corn Control Transgenic With insecticide Source: Monsanto Co

  23. Rootworm-resistant corn under drought conditions Source: Monsanto co

  24. Water Efficient Maize For Africa (WEMA) Joint effort of • AATF • CIMMYT • Gates Foundation • Monsanto • NARS

  25. To Successfully Deliver WEMA PROJECT COMBINES 4 PARTNERS AND 3 PLANT TECHNOLOGY DISCIPLINES • THE PARTNERS • AATF is leading the project • CIMMYT and Monsanto will bring best in global maize germplasm, testing and breeding methods, and biotech. • NARS participation is a crucial part of testing products and bringing WEMA to Sub-Saharan African farmers.Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Mozambique & S. Africa • THE TECHNOLOGY • Best global germplasm to combine new sources of drought tolerance and African adaptation • More rapid gains in conventional drought tolerance through molecular breeding • Additional drought tolerance obtained through state-of-the-art biotechnology

  26. WEMA Aims to Increase Yield in Drought-Stressed Conditions NEBRASKA FIELD TRIALS – 2007 CONTROL HYBRID(76 BU/AC) WITH GENE(94 BU/AC) CONSISTENT YIELD AND BUFFERING AGAINST DROUGHT • Best hybrid today under moderate drought conditions will yield 3.0t/ha (48 bu/ac) • Marker Aided Breeding will contribute 1.5% yield increase per year under moderate drought • Additional 8-10% yield improvement through biotechnology • Goal: • In 10 years increase hybrid yield in moderate drought by 25% (~3.8t/ha) • Yield stability enables increased adoption of hybrid seed and fertilizer and crop diversification Discovery Phase 1 Proof of Concept Phase 2 Early Development Phase 3 Ad dev Phase 4 Pre-Launch Launch (Slide source: Dave Songstad, Monsato)

  27. Biotech in the African Maize Project Germplasm Drought tolerance germplasm from global breeding programs. Introduce novel sources of drought tolerance to African germplasm as well as increase germplasm diversity. Markers Marker aided breeding platform to develop new African hybrids that are higher yielding under moderate drought conditions. DNA markers identified for drought tolerance and disease resistance available for global public use. Biotech. Up to four commercial track drought tolerance events from Monsanto (Slide source: Dave Songstad, Monsato)

  28. Water Efficient Maize for AfricaTechnical Timeline FIRST 5 YEARS ARE RESEARCH, THE NEXT 5 ARE PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT BREEDING DEVELOPMENT PERIOD TRAIT INTEGRATION AND EXTENSIVE FIELD TESTING BIOTECHNOLOGY TRAIT DEVELOPMENT PERIOD WEMADELIVERED EXPECTED TO BE AN EIGHT- TO TEN-YEAR DEVELOPMENT TIMEFRAME (Slide source: Dave Songstad, Monsato)

  29. Water Efficient Maize for Africa 10-15 drought tolerant white maize lines for use in Sub-Saharan Africa; Adapted for agronomic traits Lines licensed to seed companies No royalty charged

  30. Future research on drought tolerance • Functional genomics • Transcriptome analysis • Proteomics • Metabolomics • Mini-chromosome transfer

  31. Keeping Biotech Crops Out of Poor Countries • Regulatory environment (Precautionary Principle) • Trade barriers (European pressure) • Orchestrated public perception • Imported environmental activism • Negative media portrayal • Food industry and retailers • Organic food industry

  32. How Can Biotech Help Third World Agriculture? • Improve Food and Nutritional Security • Increase Crop Productivity • Enhance Production Efficiency • Reduce Crop Damage& Food Loss • Promote Sustainable Agriculture • Reduce Environmental Impact • Empower the Rural Sector • Reduce Economic Inequity

  33. www.agbioworld.org

  34. Thank you!

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