Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

Full State Reports will be found on the project Homepage under "Additional Documents" in the future when the new NIMSS system goes online.

This project, an important part of the UDSA National Plant Germplasm System, manages a diverse collection of important agricultural crop genetic resources and associated information and makes them accessible to plant breeders around the world to develop new cultivars with improved quality and increased productivity, which are critical for feeding the expanding world population. Crop genetic resources are also used by scientists in basic research to increase our knowledge of plant sciences. This project continues to provide information on newly acquired accessions and data collected from characterization and evaluation experiments to the GRIN (Germplasm Resources Information Network) database, which the global user community can access via the Internet. Last year, 33,536 packets of high quality seed samples were distributed to 1,269 requesters residing in 45 different countries as well as each of the 50 States. The distributed samples are being used in a wide range of research and education projects such as adaptability testing, genome sequencing, DNA marker development, and crop improvement.

Our curators and scientists successfully acquired 1,698 new accessions including 1,403 native plant accessions from the SOS (Seeds of Success) project, 43 accessions from the country Georgia and 85 accessions of Amur silver grass (Miscanthus sacchariflorus L.) received as live plants. As of July 24, 2015, the Western Regional Plant Introduction Station (WRPIS) collection included 96,739 accessions belonging to 1,100 genera and more than 5,000 species. We packed and stored 1,280 newly regenerated/harvested inventories of a broad range of plant species. We determined seed quantities of 15,043 inventories. We continued the evaluation and characterization of priority crop germplasm over the past year. Our curators uploaded to the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN) database a total of 65,164 observation data points on 24,816 accessions for 157 established descriptors of 18 different crop species. We shipped 3,020 seed inventories to the National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation, Fort Collins, Colorado and 451 inventories to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway for secured backup.

The Phaseolus bean curator, in collaboration with the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, analyzed several nutritional components of nuña beans (Peruvian “Popping” bean) in comparison with a sample of common beans from eight market classes. These beans have been selected and raised among the Andean natives in the high mountains for millennia and have the unique characteristic of bursting when subjected to heat, making them a high protein food in conditions where boiling would consume scarce fuel. This property also makes these beans a potential nutritious snack food, both in and of itself, as well as in the form of an extruded product. We analyzed the molecular diversity of 35 nuña and 8 common dry bean accessions and compared a range of nutritional factors, including protein, starch, sugars, phytate, and antioxidant activity. Genetic analysis using AFLP markers showed nuñas were distinct from the common dry beans analyzed, and there were two distinct groups within the nuñas. There was a similar wide range of nutritional characteristics within both the common dry beans and the nuñas. Values for nuñas and common bean respectively were: protein (18-25 and 17-27%), extractable polyphenols (50-350 and 50-450 mg GAE/100g), non-extractable polyphenols (50-220 and 70-175 mg GAE/100g), phytate (0.45-1.2 and 0.6-1.0%), and total antioxidant activity (8-52 and 7-48 mgTE). There is enough genetic variation in both nuña and common dry beans to breed popping beans adapted to a temperate, long-day environment.

The Research Agronomist completed the study on Basin wildrye seed zones for ecological restoration. Basin wildrye is a widely distributed native grass useful for grazing and wildlife habitat. It is the largest native grass found in the arid to semiarid intermountain West region and exists in hexaploid and octoploid forms. Its large size makes it particularly effective for wildlife cover and as a potential bio-fuel in semiarid regions. Upon statistical analysis of the widespread genetic variation in phenology, morphology and production traits in both ploidy types, adaptive traits were correlated to seed source climate variables to develop a comprehensive seed zone map, which covers 673,258 square kilometers in the intermountain West. This map will be useful to guide germplasm selection for restoration projects and in situ conservation.

Verticillium wilt, caused by the soilborne fungus, Verticillium alfalfae, is one of the most serious diseases of alfalfa worldwide. The Research Geneticist at Prosser, WA (who was reassigned to WRPIS) identified molecular markers associated with resistance to Verticillium wilt in alfalfa. The study was conducted with two alfalfa populations segregating for Verticillium wilt resistance in collaboration with researchers at DuPont Pioneer and Alforex Seeds companies. Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping was performed using high resolution melting analysis. Polymorphic SNPs were identified based on melting profiles with up to five clusters representing the various allelic combinations in tetraploid alfalfa. Manual inoculation of the pathogen to replicated cloned plants of each individual was performed and disease severity was scored using a standard scale. Marker-trait association was identified by TASSEL using the general and mixed linear models. Eleven markers were significantly associated with Verticillium wilt resistance and they were located on three chromosomal regions in the alfalfa genome. Six significant markers on chromosome 8 could explain 40% of the total phenotypic variation and represent novel loci associated with Verticillium wilt resistance. Additional markers associated with Verticillium wilt resistance were identified on chromosomes 2 and 7, and they co-located with regions of Verticillium wilt resistance loci reported in M. truncatula. This study highlights the value of SNP genotyping to identify disease resistance loci in tetraploid alfalfa. A research paper titled “Identification of molecular markers associated with Verticillium wilt resistance in alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) using high-resolution melting analysis” has been published in PLoS ONE. This is the first report on the identification of molecular markers associated with Verticillium wilt resistance in alfalfa. The markers identified in this study are useful for improving resistance to Verticillium wilt in alfalfa breeding programs.

Bacterial leaf spot (BLS) of lettuce is a serious foliar disease, particularly in the warm humid production region. In collaboration with University of Florida, the ARS Research Geneticist at Pullman, WA conducted a genome-wide association analysis for resistance to bacterial leaf spot of lettuce with SNP markers. PI 358001-1 was identified as almost immune to the Florida isolate of BLS. This germplasm line is from the recently formed special pure-line collection based on 322 SNP marker genotypes. Our result indicated that the resistance gene is most likely on lettuce linkage group 2 since the phenotype has significant association with a mapped SNP QGB19C20.yg-1-OP5. This information will lead to a rapid development of user-friendly markers for marker-assisted selection for this valuable trait in lettuce.

Faba bean is one of the oldest domesticated crops and a potential new pulse crop in the Pacific Northwest. Although less known to North America, this versatile crop is cultivated worldwide and used as food (dry grain and fresh vegetable), feed and green manure. The ARS Research Geneticist at Pullman, WA released four enhanced winter hardy faba bean germplasm lines that were developed through field selection in five consecutive winter seasons in the Palouse. These released lines are useful for pulse and cover crop development. Prior to public release, several Material Transfer Agreements were signed, including one with the Lundberg Family Farm, a leader in organic rice farming in California, which is looking for suitable legume crops to fit into their sustainable organic farming systems; and another with Weaver Seed of Oregon, which produces and sells both organic and conventional seeds for forage, cover crop and no-till farming systems.

New crop diseases pose management challenges. The Research Plant Pathologist at Pullman, WA, identified a pathogen causing a problematic and novel disease of pome fruit crops in Washington State, and published research results jointly with a researcher at Washington State University and an ARS Research Plant Pathologist at Parlier, California. Pathogens causing Ascochyta blight and chocolate spot were isolated for the first time in Washington State from faba bean. Identification and taxonomic placement of disease agents is critical for the formulation of new disease management strategies or adaption of existing strategies.