Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

Background:
The plant genetic resource (PGR) needs of the North Central Region have been supported for over 60 years through a joint partnership, designated as Multi-State Research Project NC-7, between the USDA, ARS, Plant Introduction Research Unit, Iowa State University and the other members of the North Central States Agricultural Experiment Station. The NC-7 Project has served as a major component of the National Plant Germplasm System, and its activities have significantly contributed to improved crop technology in the North Central Region, the U.S., and abroad, by providing plant genetic resources and associated information to scientists and educators. The Multi-State Research Project meetings serve as an important vehicle for information exchange and feedback between participants, Administrative Advisor and genebank personnel. NCRPIS Accomplishments for 2009:

• The collection totals 50,654 accessions of 1,666 species and 342 genera with 75% available for distribution and 80% backed up at Ft. Collins, CO. About 3,940 accessions were also backed up at the Svalbard Global Germplasm Vault.
• Plant exploration in Tunisia provided new Cucumis melo accessions. Collection trips in the U.S. for ash, wild sunflower, wild Amaranthus sp. and spinach relatives all contributed to increasing the genetic variability of the U.S. collections for use in research, with nearly 200 new accessions of ash in order to respond to the Emerald Ash Borer threat. The first accessions associated with the SMTA of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture were incorporated into the Ames collections.
• Original seed samples of the accessions are stored at -18 C to extend seed longevity, while the working collection is stored at 4 C.
• Viability tests were conducted on 1,786 accessions in the 2008-2009 reporting period, a substantial reduction due to resource constraints. Methods to break dormancy in Actaea, Calendula, and Echinochloa were investigated. Cryopreservation storage methods for ash buds were developed with Ft. Collins, CO ARS investigators (NCGRP).
• A total of 25,985 items representing 12,279 accessions were distributed in 1,388 orders to 991 recipients worldwide. In 2009, these distributions increased by about 4% due to increased request volume. Approximately 2/3 of all distribution are domestic, and approximately 1/2 of these are to NC-7 Region researchers and educators.
• Regeneration efforts in Ames and with collaborators resulted in harvest of 1,146 accessions. Five different insect pollinators were used to assist in pollination of 809 accessions. Use of alfalfa leafcutter bees is now a significant part of the pollination services program, their use comparable to that of honeybees.
• Over 20,919 observations were entered in the GRIN database, including large Daucus and Cichorium descriptor datasets. In addition, 364 digital images were loaded to GRIN. Over 4200 maize accessions were evaluated via NIRS for compositional data.
• A PhD student has started phenotypic evaluation and genetic characterization of the Camelina and Thlaspi (pennycress) accessions. These crops are of interest for biodiesel production.
• The GRIN-Global Project efforts have been underway for 20 months; a Release Candidate for the curator tool will be distributed in December, 2009 for broader testing, and deployed internationally in 2010. The public interface is under development, with a release version anticipated in June, 2010. U.S. migration to the new system from GRIN will likely occur in late 2011 or early 2012.
• The Germplasm Enhancement of Maize Project has released 202 lines from 2001-2008 representing introgression of 25 maize races into elite germplasm. These lines have unique agronomic traits, pest resistance, or value-added grain characteristics and will be used to broaden the genetic diversity of temperate U.S. maize production.

NC-7 Project Participants Research Accomplishments:

• University of California - Davis researchers have found that plant relatedness (phylogenetic distance) to natives is important for predicting herbivory in sagebrush. Cues that plants use to 'up-regulate' induced responses were studied, and data suggest that these plants rely on volatile cues, although the precise nature of these cues is still unknown. Similarity of defenses was important for predicting herbivory by chewing insects, but not by mining insects. Traits matter without reference to native status - maturation, evergreen-ness, etc. Using oaks and Ceanothus velutinus, research suggests that a possible benefit of deciduousness is herbivory, as deciduous habit was associated with reduced losses to herbivores. The natural variation of the small grains collection has been used to analyze natural varion of candidate genes and determine associations between different haplotypes and observed phenotypes. This strategy has resulted in the successful positional cloning of several valuable agronomic genes, including the slow-rusting gene Yr36 cloned this year.
• University of Connecticut researchers have investigated properties associated with invasive potential of barberry and winged euonymus. Aronia (red and black chokeberry) is a native plant that is easy to grow, requires minimal cultivation, and has high anti-oxidant and anti-cancer potential, as well as ornamental value. Aronia germplasm is being utilized in processed juice and other berry food products, and its breeding potential is being investigated.
• University of Delaware researchers have studied the relative results from and relative benefits of using modified single seed descent, doubled haploid, or conventional breeding methods to introgress exotic maize germplasm with elite germplasm.
• Iowa State University researchers are using diverse maize and other grass genetic resources for biomass investigations, development of double haploid lines from exotic germplasm, SNP discovery, and for testing hypotheses regarding the domestication of maize. ISU scientists representing the Center for Research on Botanical Dietary Supplements (CRBDS) and ARS genebank colleagues are screening 180 different germplasm accessions of St. John's wort for biologically active compounds. These compounds may be worth further clinical trial evaluation for combating viral infections, reducing inflammation or improving digestive health. Agronomy Department researchers are investigating the feasibility of intercropping Melilotus sp. with biofuel crops, which would reduce the need for nitrogen inputs and increase crop diversity, and investigating the genomics of wood formation and cellulose biomass traits in sunflower.
• Kansas State University researchers evaluated the Brassica napus germplasm collection for potential for winter canola variety development for the southern Great Plains. Some cultivars are in the final stages of yield testing and are well-adapted to the environmental conditions of the southern Great Plains. Variety 'Kiowa', derived from a cross between 'Wichita' and PI470056 was released in 2008 and will be available to producers in 2010. Kiowa has higher winter survival over Wichita, one of the most widely grown winter canola cultivars in the U.S. Evaluations of winter-type B. napus identified 16-24 accessions that were more resistant than Wichita to the turnip aphid, Lipaphis erysimi, which causes significant economic damage to winter canola in the southern Great Plains. Ten different woody plant accessions are evaluated annually by the John C. Pair Horticultural Center. This program has greatly increased the diversity of woody plants evaluated for suitability to south-central Kansas, and is currently establishing a provenance evaluation of the native Kentucky Coffeetree.
• Michigan State University sour cherry researchers have identified sources of germplasm with improved cold hardiness, tolerance to late season frosts which are very damaging to fruit set and yield, better growth or fruiting habits, improved rootstocks, fruit color and flavor, and resistance to cherry leaf spot. The collection, developed over 20 years of effort to acquire, evaluate and utilize wild species and cultivars, is being used to investigate meiotic irregularities, genetic self-incompatibility, and trait improvement. A self-compatible mutant allele has been identified from a Hungarian sour cherry cultivar.
• University of Missouri researchers and collaborators have used plant genetic resources extensively for a very wide range of purposes. Maize-teosinte introgression libraries have been created and are being used to investigate aspects of genetic diversity and how levels of diversity affect our understanding of the genes that control agronomic traits, and were selected during domestication. Investigations of the underlying mechanisms of cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) and how fertility can be restored uses germplasm to provide an array of restoring alleles from several lines. A somatic karyotype for many maize accessions is being developed, including for maize relatives, in order to provide information about the diversity of chromosome structure and its evolution. Researchers are using macro-syntenic chromosomal block system using FISH techniques to allow Brassicaceae researchers to localize genes and visualize chromosomal events. Soybean geneticists have released improved maturity group IV and V soy lines derived from 25-100% of plant introductions as background with improved yield potential. A salt tolerance gene was named and reported from a wild soybean accession, of value for improved production in areas where salt stress occurs. Three accessions have been identified that recover better than other genotypes from severe soil waterlogging.
• North Dakota State University and USDA-ARS researchers have evaluated pennycress (Thlaspi arvense), a winter annual, for suitability as a new crop for biodiesel production. This crop has a very short time to flowering and the plants are highly determinant. If sown in the fall, it may be feasible for double-cropping in portions of the Midwest. Research suggests that pennycress meal produced following crushing for oil extraction, may also be of value as a soil biofumigant. In addition, NDSU researchers are currently evaluating Camelina and peanut as well as winter Brassica oilseed species for new crop potential, evaluating weed germplasm for mutations that result in herbicide resistance, and evaluating B. napus and B. rapa for genes that will enhance black leg resistance. A new pulse breeding program is using field pea, chickpea and lentil accessions to identify genetic sources of resistance to Ascochyta and white mold for incorporation into new cultivars.
• South Dakota State University researchers are evaluating alfalfa, sweetclover, red clover, and meadow foxtail accessions from the NPGS for general adaption, genetic various, and potential for development of cultivars for agronomic and conservation purposes. They are also using NPGS wheat accessions to increase genetic variation for various traits in the cultivar development programs.
• Texas A&M and Texas Agri-Life researchers have acquired peanut germplasm to replace accessions lost from their wild peanut germplasm collection, and have release new peanut cultivars and five germplasm lines. Of 21 releases, 20 had parentage rooted in NPGS germplasm, and have had a large impact on peanut production in TX. Cotton researchers released eight germplasm lines with the extra long staple trait in 2009, a trait resulting from a unique combination of alleles for fiber quality derived by decades of breeding and contributions from several U.S. breeding programs. USDA-ARS researchers used accessions of Teramnus labialis, a wild relative of soybean, for analysis of mineral content. This wild relative is used as a food source by tribal populations in Asia. Values for several minerals, including P, IK, Na, Fe, Cu, Mn, and Zn fell in the range of published values for several cultivated grain legumes, including soybeans, while Ca and Mg were higher in the wild relative. Maize germplasm is being utilized to improve traits such as grain mold resistance (Aspergillus flavus) and increased biomass production.
• University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers are using NPGS maize germplasm to exploid the natural genetic variation observed in corn for identification of important genomic regions related to the utilization of corn as a source of feedstock for biofuel production.

Financial Situation:
Significant accomplishments continue to be achieved at the NCRPIS; financial resources for this project are becoming a major concern. Since 2004, NC-7 funded ISU positions have decreased from 12 to 9; another position reduction was necessary in FY2009. Hatch funding has remained stable at $522,980 but its purchasing power has eroded somewhat over the past decade. ARS funding is essentially at the same level as 2003 funding at $2,066,297. Reductions provided technical support for germplasm distribution, field activities, and oilseeds curation. On the USDA-ARS side, fewer students have been hired in order to maintain financial resources for operations, and resources from complementary projects have been leveraged. Regenerations have been reduced for major crops with extensive labor requirements, such as maize, oilseeds, and vegetables. NC-7 Budget Request:
Given the tough economic circumstances for all of the Agricultural Experiment Stations, no increase in NC-7 Project funding was requested for FY2010; the budget request remains at $522,980. Action Requested: Approval of NC-7 FY2010 Budget Request.
Action Taken: Budget was recommended for approval at $522,980 level for FY2010.