GrainGenes

MINUTES OF THE NATIONAL WHEAT IMPROVEMENT COMMITTEE (NWIC) MEETING

13 December, 2006.
Raleigh, NC, USA.

Attendance.

NWIC members and Proxies: Jim Anderson, Joe Anderson, Harold Bockelman, Bob Bowden (proxy Secretary for Bob Graybosch), Kim Campbell, Brett Carver, Xianming Chen, Jose Costa, Benjamin Edge, Elias Elias, David Garvin, Jim Peterson (Chair), Jackie Rudd, and Luther Talbert.

Guests: Daren Coppock, Paul Murphy, Kay Simmons, Dave van Sanford, Olin Anderson, P. Stephen Baenziger, Larry Brown, Marty Carson, Mike Davis, Jane DeMarchi, Ruth Dill-Macky, Floyd Dowell, Ved Malik, Dave Marshall, Dave Matthews, Tom Payne, Scott Redlin, Jay Romsa, and Anne Marie Thro.

 

Approval of minutes.

Minutes from the January 2006 meeting in San Diego, as published in the Annual Wheat Newsletter, were approved without revision.

 

NWIC report, legislative update.

Jim Peterson. Appreciation was expressed to members of several groups that visited or will soon visit many federal agency and Congressional offices to support NWIC legislative priorities. These groups included a broad sample of stakeholders from the small grains industry. Much of the effort was directed toward restoration of small grains programs that were not included in the proposed FY07 federal budget. Another major effort centered on the Cereal Rust Initiative. Research priorities for the NWIC for 2006, 2007, and 2008 are listed at: http://cropandsoil.oregonstate.edu/wheat/reports/NWIC/.

 

NBIC and NOIC reports.

Mike Davis (Chair, National Barley Improvement Committee). This year was frustrating due to confusion about the status of Congressional earmarks and CSREES Special Grants. Progress on several joint legislative priorities was discussed.

Paul Murphy (Chair, National Oat Improvement Committee). NOIC supports re-instatements of earmark terminations. Funding at Aberdeen, Idaho, is a priority . Others priorities are the Rust Initiative, molecular markers, and oat virus research. Need to keep closer contact with ASA Science Policy Director to assure we are not at cross purposes.

 

USDA-ARS update.

Kay Simmons. Discussed several ARS initiatives including the Rust Initiative and a bioenergy initiative. ARS is working to respond to demands for greater accountability from Congress and stakeholders. The U.S. Wheat and Barley Scab Initiative is undertaking a thorough review and re-organization to bring greater focus, efficiency, and accountability.

 

USDA-CSREES update.

Ann Marie Thro. CSREES National Research Initiative funding opportunities were discussed. Funding rates are decreasing due to limited resources and programs are becoming more focused. A portion of NRI funding is being directed to integrative projects with research, education, and extension components. A National Plant Breeding Workshop is planned for Raleigh, NC, for 8-9 February, 2007.

 

NAWG update.

Daren Coppock and Galen Afelt. The National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG), North American Millers Association (NAMA), U.S. Wheat Associates (USW), and Wheat Export Trade Education Committee (WETEC) are working together on a position paper to address the economic competitiveness of wheat in the U.S. NAWG and U.S. Wheat Associates are working together on biotechnology issues. Both organizations are supportive of biotechnology in order to maintain the long-term competitiveness of wheat versus other crops. Reports entitled 'Addressing the Competitiveness Crisis in Wheat' and 'Wheat Summit Report' are both posted at http://cropandsoil.oregonstate.edu/wheat/reports/NWIC/.

 

NAMA update.

Jane DeMarchi. The North American Millers Association supports a cošrdinated national research agenda. It is important for NWIC to keep NAMA and the American Baking Association informed of issues.

 

CIMMYT update.

Tom Payne. Several staff changes and transfers at CIMMYT were discussed. Hans Braun relocated to El Batan as Director of the Global Wheat Program. Yann Manes is a new wheat breeder based in Mexico. Etienne Duveiller is the Head of Wheat Pathology, based in Mexico. Rick Ward is based in Mexico and is directing the Global Rust Initiative. There is continuing concern about cuts in funding to CGIAR centers.

 

USDA-APHIS update on regulations impacting germ plasm introduction and exchange.

Scott Redlin. Issues surrounding deregulation of flag smut were discussed. Efforts toward Karnal bunt deregulation also were discussed, including recognition of KB-free areas in Mexico. The NWIC conveyed desire to streamline inspection requirements for seed shipments to avoid costly delays.

Wheat CAP.

Jim Anderson. The Wheat Coordinated Agricultural Project (CAP) has been active for less than one year. It looks like milestones will be met for the first year. Jamie Sherman is coördinating the educational portion of CAP. Shiaoman Chao is managing the wheat marker database used to document progress.

CREATE-21.

Mike Mullen (by phone). CREATE-21 is designed to increase the funding for agricultural research for both competitive and intramural capacity programs. Another goal is to streamline programs and avoid duplication. Management would be closer to the NIH or NSF model. Proposed legislative language is being drafted. Concern was expressed regarding the proposed merger and reorganization of ARS and CSREES and the increased focus on competitive grants over core funding for ag research.

 

NWIC subcommittee on genomics.

Stephen Baenziger and Jim Anderson. The goal of the subcommittee is to facilitate communication, assess needs, develop strategies, and organize research efforts on wheat genomics. A set of by-laws for the subcommittee was proposed and discussed. An annual report to the NWIC was requested of the committee by Jim Peterson. Jose Costa moved that the subcommittee be approved with the provision that the by-laws be revised as Jim Peterson requested. Joe Anderson seconded. The motion was approved unanimously.

The 2007 National Wheat Genomics Conference sponsored by the subcommittee will take place 30 November-2 December, 2007 preceding the USWBSI National Head Blight Forum. See the following website for details: http://wheat.pw.usda.gov/NWIC/NWG07meet.html.

Graingenes update.

Dave Matthews. Graingenes 2.0 is up and running and has many new features, maps, markers, and QTL in the database. The Graingenes Liaison Committee is helping to define the future development priorities for Graingenes.

Rust – status and updates.

Stem rust. Marty Carson and Yue Jin (by phone), Kay Simmons. The CIMMYT/Kenya agreement with the USDA-ARS for stem rust nurseries has been renewed. There were some problems with vernalization in the Kenyan nursery this past year. A list of effective genes for the Ug99 strain was presented. Virulence to Sr24 appears to have appeared in Ug99. This is troubling because Sr24 was one of the few undefeated genes available in North America. Sr36 may be the best short-term source of resistance for many U.S. programs, especially soft red winter wheats. Much more effort is needed on stem rust resistance screening, gene discovery, introgression. An international stem rust nursery set has been established and distributed. Concern was expressed about re‘stablishment of barberries in the U.S. Malik indicated that fungicides would be fast-tracked if needed in an emergency situation. Phenotyping, prebreeding, and germ plasm exchange are top priorities.

Stripe rust. Xianming Chen. Stripe rust levels across the USA were lower than average in 2006. This made screening for field resistance difficult and highlighted the need for more phenotyping capacity. FY06 Stripe Rust Initiative funds were allocated according to recommendations of NWIC, the Stripe Rust working group, and ARS national program staff.

Leaf rust. Robert Bowden. Leaf rust remains the most important rust disease across the U.S. Race shifts continue to erode the resistance of commercial cultivars. Durable resistance from CIMMYT germ plasm is being introgressed in many programs.

Prioritization of needs.

Participants were asked by Jim Peterson to prioritize various needs for cereal rust research. Results are posted at this website: http://cropandsoil.oregonstate.edu/wheat/reports/NWIC/.

 

Wheat quality initiative.

Jim Peterson and Floyd Dowell. A strategic rewrite of the NWIC Wheat Quality Initiative was presented and discussed. The need to more effectively position and promote the Wheat Quality Initiative was discussed in light of federal budget constraints. Input and political support of the milling and baking industries will be critical if we are to increase federal funding of regional quality labs. The revised Initiative highlights the need for additional research on measures of functional quality and need to coordinate research with needs of USDA-FGIS.

 

Annual Wheat Newsletter.

Brett Carver. The AWN volume 52 was published in August 2006. There were 1 corporate, 19 country, and 9 U.S. State contributions. Fifty hard copies and 68 CDs were produced and distributed. Both HTML and PDF files are available for viewing on Graingenes. Monetary contributions were down this year.

 

Regional reports.

Pacific Northwest region. Kim Garland Campbell. Kelly Richardson joined the Wheat Genetics, Quality Physiology and Disease Research Unit in Pullman as a CAT4 Scientist for stripe rust. Deven See joined the same unit as a CAT4 Scientist in the molecular genotyping lab. The vice-Souza position at the University of Idaho will be refilled. Scot Hulbert joined Washington State University at Pullman in cropping systems research. Eric Jackson was hired for barley and oat molecular genetics at USDA-ARS in Aberdeen, ID.

Hard winter wheat region. Jackie Rudd and Floyd Dowell. Don Koeltzow recently retired as Center Director, GMPRC, Manhattan. His successor is Tom Shanower. Texas A&M will hire a new wheat breeder at College Station. Monica Menz, Texas A&M, departed for Syngenta.

Spring wheat region. Jim Anderson and Shiaoman Chao. Vice-Stack position being refilled at NDSU is in interviewing stage. The CAT3 Scientist position in the genotyping lab is vacant. An Illumina SNP detection system was purchased primarily for barley work.

Eastern soft wheat region. Joe Anderson. Michigan State University will refill the vice-Ward position.

Research priorities.

The NWIC voted to endorse, in order of preference, the following research priority areas. Increased emphasis and funding for these areas is encouraged.

a. Maintain existing USDA funding
b. Cereal Rust Disease Initiative
c. Regional Small Grains Molecular Genotyping Labs
d. Wheat Quality, Competitiveness, and Security Initiative
e. Small Grains Germplasm Enhancement, Aberdeen, ID

The NWIC also voted to encourage the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development to increase support for CGIAR, including CIMMYT and ICARDA.

Upcoming events.

a. National Plant Breeding Workshop, Raleigh, NC, 8-9 February, 2007.
b. North American Wheat Workers Workshop, Saskatoon, 12-14 March, 2007.
c. The 2007 National Wheat Genomics Conference will take place 30 November-2 December, 2007 preceeding the USWBSI National Head Blight Forum.
d. The next NWIC annual meeting will be held 5 December, 2007, in Kansas City, KS, after the USWBSI National Head Blight Forum.

 

Prepared by R.L. Bowden, proxy for Bob Graybosch, Secretary, National Wheat Improvement Committee.