PARTNERSHIP FOR RESEARCH AND EDUCATION IN PLANT BREEDING AND GENETICS AT PURDUE UNIVERSITY

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: TERMINATED
• Funding Source: AFRI COMPETITIVE GRANT
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 0221100
• Grant No.: 2010-85117-20607
• Project No.: IND010856G
• Proposal No.: 2009-04824
• Program Code: 91810
• Project Start Date: Mar 1, 2010
• Project End Date: Feb 28, 2015
• Grant Year: 2010

Project Director
Ohm, H. W.

Recipient Organization
PURDUE UNIVERSITY
(N/A)
WEST LAFAYETTE,IN 47907

Performing Department
Agronomy

Non Technical Summary
There is a critical shortage of students in plant breeding and related sciences with interdisciplinary educational and experiential training to develop successful careers in the 21st century in plant improvement. This program will provide educational opportunities involving partnerships among university, governmental and corporate cooperators to educate and train students who are prepared to solve increasingly complex challenges in crop improvement.

Animal Health Component

(N/A)

Research Effort Categories

Basic

40%

Applied

30%

Developmental

30%

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
201	2499	1081	30%
203	2499	1081	40%
215	2499	1081	30%

Knowledge Area
215 - Biological Control of Pests Affecting Plants; 203 - Plant Biological Efficiency and Abiotic Stresses Affecting Plants; 201 - Plant Genome, Genetics, and Genetic Mechanisms;

Subject Of Investigation
2499 - Plant research, general;

Field Of Science
1081 - Breeding;

Keywords

plant breeding

crop improvement

transdisciplinary

experiential learning

research and outreach

research and extension

univ corporate partnerships

education partnerships

Goals / Objectives
Our goal is to capitalize on unique collaborative relationships among Purdue University researchers in plant breeding and related sciences, education and Extension specialists, and commercial and non-profit partners to both train undergraduate and graduate students in scientifically sound hypothesis-driven research and to provide an educational experience that creates a more broadly knowledgeable cadre of professional plant breeders (Table 1). We will provide a transdisciplinary platform encompassing plant breeding, genetics, genomics, agronomy, bioinformatics, plant pathology, entomology, forestry, horticulture, and business management in coordinated classroom, field and laboratory settings. Education and research training and development will occur in multiple venues; on the West Lafayette campus, at regional university and stakeholder research farms, in community schools and civic centers, and through corporate internship programs. Students will learn to effectively understand and improve plants for complex traits and efficiently communicate research results to various audiences. The tangible scientific outputs of this program are research presentations and publications, Extension bulletins and programs, graduate research dissertations, and recruitment, retention and matriculation of students. More importantly however, will be the multidisciplinary and integrative training to prepare students for leadership roles in production agriculture, government, industry and academia. They will have a greater understanding of the challenges, and likewise possess the required transdisciplinary training, to provide solutions to agricultural sustainability in a changing world. The Research and Education Partnership will "build expertise in plant breeding combined with research focusing on germplasm enhancement" in three priority areas: abiotic environmental stress tolerance, improved nutrient uptake and/or utilization, and biotic stress resistance. Specifically, our research program will seek to: (1) Develop crop plants to mitigate water stress through modification of root system and canopy architecture and plant physiology to enhance water use efficiency and crop performance; (2) Identify and improve plant genotypes with increased nutrient uptake and utilization efficiency; and (3) Identify, map and deploy genes that condition resistance to crop diseases and fungal, viral and insect pests. We anticipate that twenty graduate students, 11 masters and 9 PhDs, will be trained in five cohort groups during the four-year duration of this program.

Project Methods
The Partnership structure is composed of the Project Director, Herbert Ohm, Distinguished Professor of Agronomy, an external Advisory Committee (Table 2) responsible for defining overall program goals and prioritizing research areas, an internal faculty Management Team responsible for putting into practice the program's research and educational objectives, and the participating government, corporate and university scientists, researchers, and administrators. Quarterly project update meetings will convene students, faculty and industry scientists with adjunct faculty status through face-to-face or IP conference to update research progress and delineate project objectives, progress, milestones and anticipated outcomes. Quarterly progress meetings will help focus the students on planning and completion of research and educational objectives, and develop valuable management skills required for leadership positions in academia and industry. The Annual Symposium and Advisory Committee Meeting will convene administrators, scientists, faculty and students in a common venue to review project updates, assess program operations and goals, and identify and prioritize new avenues of research. Research Priorities: Abiotic Environmental Stress Tolerance (Water and Nutrients): Enhancing the depth and branching of roots and the length of root hairs will increase yield where water is limiting Aim 1 Develop a phenotyping system that allows routine measure of genetic variation for root traits (including root volume, root length, density and length of root hairs, nutrient uptake) in maize, wheat, soybean, and sorghum Aim 2 Conduct studies to determine associations between root traits measured using hydroponic, aeroponic, and sand culture systems with economic traits of interest such as N, P, and H2O uptake in wheat, maize, and sorghum Aim 3 Characterize RIL mapping populations in sorghum, maize, and wheat to identify QTL and underlying genetic mechanisms for variation in root architecture and function Biotic Stress Resistance: Pyramiding host resistance to recurring important diseases, viruses and insect pests significantly increases and stabilizes crop production and product quality Aim 1 Utilize natural genetic diversity in maize and sorghum Aim 2 Dissect resistance to Phytophthora Root Rot in soybean germplasm Aim 3 Reclaim lost resistance: Exploring the wild Solanum germplasm for innate immunity to necrotrophic fungi Aim 4 Develop disease and pest resistance in soft winter wheat Aim 5 Reduce butternut, Juglans cinerea L., decline due to infection by the exotic fungus (Sirococcus clavigignenti-juglandacearum)

Progress 03/01/10 to 02/28/15

Outputs
Target Audience: The Partnership in Plant Breeding and Genetics at Purdue University brings together university and corporate researchers from diverse disciplines to create a platform for preparing graduate students for leadership roles in plant breeding and genetics. The Partnership program represents a comprehensive relationship with our corporate stakeholders through the Partnership Advisory Committee and Advisory Board. The supporting stakeholders include Ag Alumni Seed, AgReliant, Beck's Hybrids, Dow AgroSciences, Pioneer and the Indiana Crop Improvement Association. Of the students that completed the Plant Breeding and Genetics Program at Purdue University in the past six years, sixty-seven percent of them found successful careers in the private seed sector in companies incluing AgReliant Genetics, Chromatin, Dow AgroScience, Dupont Pioneer, Landell Mills Limited (UK), Monsanto, and Specialty Hybrids while many other students chose to pursue careers or additional training in academia. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Outputs of this program include high caliber graduate students, research presentations and publications, extension bulletins and programs, and graduate research dissertations. A highlight was the multidisciplinary and integrative training, across five departments, to prepare students for leadership roles in industry or academia. Perhaps the most tangible example of success has been the active recruitment of our graduate students with many students having one or more job offers prior to finishing their degrees. The undergraduate program in plant breeding is also growing and represents one of the largest majors in the Department of Agronomy at Purdue University. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Research themes have focused on abiotic environmental stress tolerance, improved nutrient uptake and/or utilization, and biotic stress resistance. Students were trained to understand and improve plants for complex traits and efficiently communicate research results to diverse stakeholders. Graduate students participated in: • Graduate student internships • Monthly meetings with public and private sector researchers to foster professional networks of plant scientists • Training in extension and K-12 student education • Specialized course work in Business and Applied Management Principles, Applied Statistics, and Graduate Teaching Certificate • Professional meetings What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The goal of the Partnership program was to capitalize on unique collaborative relationships among Purdue University researchers in plant breeding and related sciences, education and extension specialists, and commercial and non-profit partners to train graduate students in scientifically-sound, hypothesis-driven research and to provide an educational experience that creates a more broadly knowledgeable cadre of contemporary plant breeders. Research themes have focused on abiotic environmental stress tolerance, improved nutrient uptake and/or utilization, and biotic stress resistance. We have developed a transdisciplinary program encompassing plant breeding, genetics, agronomy, agribusiness management, bioinformatics, biological sciences, economics, education, entomology, forestry, genomics, horticulture, and plant pathology in university and corporate laboratory and field settings. Students are learning to understand and improve plants for complex traits and efficiently communicate research results to diverse stakeholders. The key output of this program includes 21 high caliber graduate students and their mentoring professors that have contributed research presentations and publications, extension bulletins and programs, and graduate research dissertations. A total of 4 Ph.D. in the project completed their degrees in the past year. 10 additional Ph.D. students are still finishing their degrees and have been intimately involved in the deliverables described above. Multidisciplinary and integrative training to prepare students for leadership roles in industry or academia including opportunities for graduate internships in the private sector, formal training in Plant Breeding Education and Outreach, and participation in the Applied Management Principles Program for Graduate Students by Purdue's Krannert School of Management were highlights of the program.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Ciampitti, I. A., & Vyn, T. J. (2014). Nitrogen use efficiency for old versus modern corn hybrids. Better Crops with Plant Food, 98(4), 19-21.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Ciampitti, I. A., & Vyn, T. J. (2014). Understanding Global and Historical Nutrient Use Efficiencies for Closing Maize Yield Gaps. Agronomy Journal,106(6), 2107-2117.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Ciampitti, I. A., & Vyn, T. J. (2014). Nutrient sufficiency concepts for modern corn hybrids: Impacts of management practices and yield levels. Crop Management, 13(1).
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Hauck, A. L., Johnson, G. R., Mikel, M. A., Mahone, G. S., Morales, A. J., Rocheford, T. R., & Bohn, M. O. (2014). Generation Means Analysis of Elite Ex-Plant Variety Protection Commercial Inbreds: A New Public Maize Genetics Resource. Crop Science, 54(1), 174-189.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Ping, J., Liu, Y., Sun, L., Zhao, M., Li, Y., She, M., ... & Ma, J. (2014). Dt2 is a gain-of-functions MADS-domain factor gene that specifies semideterminancy in soybean. Plant Cell
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Smith, J. E., Mengesha, B., Tang, H., Mengiste, T., & Bluhm, B. H. (2014). Resistance to Botrytis cinerea in Solanum lycopersicoides involves widespread transcriptional reprogramming. BMC genomics, 15(1), 334

Progress 02/28/13 to 02/27/14

Outputs
Target Audience: Seed industry and academic community related to plant Science. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Community Resources Generated: • Improved Germplasm for the HarvestPlus / CIMMYT breeding program for higher provitamin A for subsaharan Africa. These materials are freely sent to Africa, as this is a humanitarian project. Along with this there is information on favorable alleles of genes that enhance levels of provitamin A, and the color orange which is important for acceptance in Africa (Rocheford) • New high yielding germplasm for public research developed from ex-Plant Variety Protection inbreds that were former very important commercial inbreds used in extensive hybrid seed production. This makes our research more relevant. This material is accessible with a Materials Transfer Agreement (Rocheford) • New microsatellite markers and next-generation sequence data for Juglans cinerea (Woeste/LaBonte) Training: A total of 7 Ph.D. and 3 M.S. students in the project completed their degrees in the past year. 18 additional Ph.D. students are still receiving funding under this project. These graduate students have been intimately involved in the deliverables describedabove. A total of 10 different part time undergraduates were supported, they helped the graduate students do their research. Several other undergraduate students, while not directly supported by the project, were trained by or became exposed to plant breeding research through interactions with the graduate students. Two postdocs, three Ph.D. students, oneM.S. student and one technician benefited from working with graduate students working on this project, and/or received training from students working in this project. Dr. Neil Knoblauch’s YDAE group established new interactions with six public schools as sites for graduate students to integrate plant science knowledge and activities into K-12 classrooms. Lastly, one M.S. student in the project (Nicholas LaBonte) taught basic genetics at two children’s science outreach days at Purdue University, and gave a presentation on trees at Thomas Carr Community High School in Indianapolis. Collaborations: Jianxin Ma: Teresa Hughes, USDA-ARS Plant Pathologist – Rps gene discovery Katy Rainey, Soybean Breeder, Purdue University – Pyramiding of Rps genes into elite cultivars Torbert Rocheford: Dow AgroSciences – Existing collaborations strengthened and expended HarvestPlus/CIMMYT – Existing collaborations strengthened and expended, leading to preliminary data for an NSF grant Mitchell Tuinstra: Dow AgroSciences – Existing collaborations strengthened and expended USAID/CIMMYT – Existing collaborations strengthened leading to a funded Global Development Alliance project on “Heat Tolerant Maize for Asia” Christie Williams: Jesse Poland – Genotype by Sequencing, two projects Lingrang Kong – FHB mapping data How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Through conferences and journal publications. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Continue to meet the goals and objectives of this project.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The goal of the Global Partnership program is to capitalize on unique collaborative relationships among Purdue University researchers in plant breeding and related sciences, education and extension specialists, and commercial and non-profit partners to train graduate students in scientifically-sound, hypothesis-driven research and to provide an educational experience that creates a more broadly knowledgeable cadre of contemporary plant breeders. Research themes have focused on abiotic environmental stress tolerance, improved nutrient uptake and/or utilization, and biotic stress resistance. We have developed a transdisciplinary program encompassing plant breeding, genetics, agronomy, agribusiness management, bioinformatics, biological sciences, economics, education, entomology, forestry, genomics, horticulture, and plant pathology in university and corporate laboratory and field settings. Students are learning to understand and improve plants for complex traits and efficiently communicate research results to diverse stakeholders. Graduate students participate in: • Graduate student internships • Monthly meetings with public and private sector researchers to foster professional networks of plant scientists • Training in extension and K-12 student education • Specialized course work in Business and Applied Management Principles, Applied Statistics, and Graduate Teaching Certificate • Professional meetings Outputs of this program include high caliber graduate students, research presentations and publications, extension bulletins and programs, and graduate research dissertations. Multidisciplinary and integrative training to prepare students for leadership roles in industry or academia including opportunities for graduate internships in the private sector, formal training in Plant Breeding Education and Outreach, and participation in the Applied Management Principles Program for Graduate Students by Purdue’s Krannert School of Management are highlights of the program. A key metric for quantifying success has been the active recruitment of our graduate students with most students having one or more job offers 6-12 months before finishing their degrees.

Publications

• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2013 Citation: Williams, C.E., X. Xiao, and H. Ohm. 2013. Determining the Augmentation Effect of Two FHB Resistance Genes in Wheat. Fusarium Head Blight Forum, Milwaukee, WI, Dec 3-5, 2013.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2014 Citation: Williams, C.E., X. Xiao, and H. Ohm. 2014. Utilization of Wheatgrasses in Breeding Elite Wheat Lines with Improved Disease Resistance. Plant and Animal Genomes, San Diego, CA, Jan 11-15, 2014.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Chandler, K., A.E. Lipka, B.F. Owens, H. Li, E.S. Buckler, T. Rocheford, and M.A. Gore. 2013. Genetic Analysis of Visually Scored Orange Kernel Color in Maize. Crop Science 53(1): 189-200 http://doi:10.2135/cropsci2012.02.0129
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Ciampitti, I.A., and T.J. Vyn. 2013. Grain nitrogen sources over time in maize: A review. Crop Science 53(2): 366-377. http://doi:10.2135/cropsci2012.07.0439
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Ciampitti, I.A., S.T. Murrell, J.J. Camberato, M. Tuinstra, Y. Xia, P. Friedemann, and T.J. Vyn. 2013. Physiological dynamics of maize nitrogen uptake and partitioning in response to plant density and nitrogen stress factors: I. Vegetative phase. Crop Science, 53(6): 2588-2602. http://doi:10.2135/cropsci2013.01.0041
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Ciampitti, I.A., S.T. Murrell, J.J. Camberato, M. Tuinstra, Y. Xia, P. Friedemann, and T.J. Vyn. 2013. Physiological dynamics of maize nitrogen uptake and partitioning in response to plant density and nitrogen stress factors: II. Reproductive phase. Crop Science, 53(6): 2588-2602. http://doi:10.2135/cropsci2013.01.0041
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Lin F., M. Zhao, D.D. Baumann, J. Ping, L. Sun, Y. Liu, B. Zhang, Z. Tang, E. Hughes, R.W. Doerge, T.J. Hughes, and J. Ma. 2014. Molecular response to the pathogen Phytophthora sojae among ten soybean near isogenic lines revealed by comparative transcriptomics. BMC Genomics. doi: 10.1186/1471-2164-15-18.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Lin, F., M. Zhao, J. Ping, A. Johnson, B. Zhang, T.S. Abney, T.J. Hughes, and J. Ma. 2013. Molecular mapping of two genes conferring resistance to Phytophthora sojae in a soybean landrace PI 567139B. Theor. Appl. Genet. 126: 2177-2185.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Smith, J.E., B. Mengesha, H. Tang, T. Mengiste and B.H. Bluhm. Resistance to Botrytis cinerea in Solanum lycopersicoides involves widespread transcriptional reprogramming. Submitted to BMC Genomics.
• Type: Book Chapters Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Renaud AL, Tuinstra MR. 2013. Role of Engineering Plants for Abiotic Stresses. pp 51-55. In D. Niyogi (ed.) Climate Vulnerability. Elsevier Limited, Oxford, UK.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2014 Citation: Brown, A. and K. Hudson. Identification of Senescence Associated Genes in Glycine max (soybean) Cotyledons and Leaves. 2014. Plant and Animal Genomes, San Diego, CA, Jan 11-15, 2014.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2013 Citation: LaBonte, N. 2013. Oral presentation. Walnut Council National Meeting, Morgantown, WV, July 21-24, 2013.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2013 Citation: LaBonte, N. 2013. Oral presentation. North American Forest Ecology Workshop, Bloomington, IN, June 16-20, 2013.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2013 Citation: Lau K., and C. Weil. 2013. The Clumped Tassel1 Gene and its Modifiers. Maize Genetics Conference, St. Charles, IL, Mar 14-17, 2013.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2013 Citation: Lin, F., M. Zhao, J. Ping, A. Johnson, B. Zhang, T.S. Abney, T.J Hughes, and J. Ma. 2013. Molecular Mapping of Two Genes Conferring Resistance to Phytophthora sojae in a Soybean Landrace PI 567139B. Soybean Breeder's Workshop, St. Louis, MO, Feb 10-13, 2013 (Excellent Poster Award, 2nd place).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2013 Citation: Morales, J. 2013. Genomic Approaches for Improving Grain Yield in Maize Using Formerly Plant Variety Protected Germplasm (Oral presentation). NCCC167 Corn Breeders Meeting, Chicago, 13 Mar 2013.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2013 Citation: Owens, B.F., A.E. Lipka, T. Tiede, C.H. Diepenbrock, M. Magallanes-Lundback, M.A. Gore, D. DellaPenna, and T. Rocheford. 2013. Genome-Wide Association Mapping of Carotenoid Loci and Assessment of Genomic Prediction Models for Potential Breeding Applications. Corn Breeding Research Meeting, Chicago, IL, Dec 9-10, 2013.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2013 Citation: Owens, B.F., A.E. Lipka, T. Tiede, C.H. Diepenbrock, M. Magallanes-Lundback, M.A. Gore, D. DellaPenna, and T. Rocheford. 2013. Genome-Wide Association Mapping of Carotenoid Loci and Assessment of Genomic Prediction Models for Potential Breeding Applications. American Seed Trade Association Corn, Soybean and Sorghum Seed Research Conference, Chicago, IL, Dec 10-13, 2013.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2013 Citation: Skelton JL, Tuinstra MR. 2013. EMS Induced Mutants In Dhurrin Production and Effects On Growth and Development Of Sorghum Bicolor (L.) Moench. Abstract 234-4. ASACSSA-SSSA Annual Meetings, 3-6 November, Tampa, FL.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2013 Citation: Welsh, M.L., A.V. Brown, E. Svedin, and N.A. Knobloch. 2013. High School Students Learn about GMOs Using an Inquiry-driven Case Study (Oral presentation). North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture Annual Meeting, Virginia Tech University, Blacksburg, VA, June 25-28, 2013.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2013 Citation: Welsh, L. M., and N.A. Knobloch. 2013. Plant Science Graduate Students Reflection Ratings of Learner-Centered Teaching After Teaching a K-12 Audience. American Association for Agricultural Education National Conference, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, May 21-24, 2013.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2013 Citation: Williams, C.E., J. Sun, and H. Ohm. 2013. Mapping and Combining Genes for FHB Resistance in Wheat. Fusarium Head Blight Forum, Milwaukee, WI, Dec 3-5, 2013.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2014 Citation: Williams, C.E., J. Sun, and H. Ohm. 2014. Mapping Type I and Combining Type I and Type II Fusarium Head Blight Resistance. Plant and Animal Genomes, San Diego, CA, Jan 11-15, 2014.

Progress 02/29/12 to 02/27/13

Outputs
Target Audience: Seed industry and academic community related to plant Science. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Extension activities (6); K-12 activities (6); internships (4). Community Resources Generated: LH51 x PHG35 F2:3 mapping population – QTL results from testcrosses of this maize population will be published for future use in research and breeding. LH51 x PHG35 Reciprocal Advanced Backcross Maize population - QTL results from testcrosses of this population will be published for future use in research and breeding and high yielding backcross lines derived from this population will be made publicly available through USDA-ARS GRIN. Training:All the personnel trained under this program are MS and Ph.D. students and in parenthesis employment for those graduated or soon to graduate. MS: Benjamin Campbell (PhD degree at the University of Minnesota, Kristin Chandler (Pioneer Hi-Bred- Senior Research Associate), Kirsten Thomas, Melissa McDonald Rachel Foley, Nicholas Labonte. Ph.D.: Trulie Campbell (Dow AgroSciences), Ignacio Ciampitti, Ani Elias, Joshua Fitzgerald, , Kin Lau, Amanda Leafgren, Raymond Lindsey, Bemnet Mengesha, Jason Morales (Dow AgroSciences), Brenda Owens, Jieqing Ping, Mike Popelka (AgReliant Genetics), Alex Renaud, Martha Patricia, Romero Luna, Marla Sandeep, Hannah Schneider, Jenae Skelton, Jin Sun, Rima Thapa, Tyler Tiede, Melissa Welch, Shaylyn Wiarda, Yanbing Xia, Xiangye Xiao, Siming Xu. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Through conferences and journal publications. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Continue to meet the goals and objectives of this project.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The primary objective of the Partnership for Research & Education in Plant Breeding and Genetics at Purdue University is to educate/train 20 graduate students (MS/PhD) to prepare them for successful careers in Plant Breeding and Genetics. Areas of thesis/dissertation research focus on genetics and crop germplasm enhancement for abiotic environmental stress tolerance, improved nutrient uptake and/utilization, and biotic stress resistance. Additional corporate/Purdue commitments for student support enabled the admittance into the program of additional students in fall semester 2011. Support from industry partners in this grant (AgAlumni Seeds, AgReliant Genetics, ConAgraFoods, Dow Agrosciences, Indiana Crop Improvement Association, KWS Seed Company, Pioneer Hi-Bred, United Soybean Board, and the China Scholarship Council) allowed us to provide competitive research assistantships. To-date there are a total of six MS students (two have completed their MS degrees) and 26 PhD students in the program. Fourteen faculty in five departments serve as major or co-major advisor for the 31 students in the program. There are corporate PhD scientists on several of the student advisory committees, the graduate advisory committees are multidisciplinary with disciplines represented as appropriate for the interests of the respective student and thesis research project. Students participate in classroom education as well as out-of-classroom learning activities, such as presenting posters and oral presentations at regional and national professional meetings as well as presenting thesis research plans and progress in the form of posters once each semester at the recently organized monthly Purdue Plant Science Socials, at which several plant breeding corporate representatives participate, and some complete an internship activity in a corporate setting. Students also participate in Extension meetings/activities with crop and seed producers, interact with K-12 students in secondary school and Purdue campus settings, as requirements of a new course, YDAE591, developed to extend students’ communications experiences beyond the classroom (Extension and K-12 activities). Furthermore, a direct consequence of the investment in graduate education has been a significant increase in undergraduate students majoring in Plant Breeding, Genetics and Biotechnology.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Ciampitti, IA., and Vyn, TJ. 2012. Physiological perspectives of changes over time in maize yield dependency on nitrogen uptake and associated nitrogen efficiencies: A review. Field Crops Res. 133:4867
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Ciampitti, IA., Zhang, H., Friedemann, P., and Vyn, TJ. 2012. Potential Physiological Frameworks for Mid-Season Field Phenotyping of Final Plant Nitrogen Uptake, Nitrogen Use Efficiency, and Grain Yield in Maize. Crop Sci. 52:27282742.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Under Review Year Published: 2012 Citation: Ciampitti IA, Murrell T, Camberato J, Tuinstra MR, Friedemann P, Vyn T. (2012  in review). Physiological processes governing nitrogen uptake dynamics of maize plant components in response to plant density and N stress factors: I. Vegetative phase. Field Crop Res.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Under Review Year Published: 2012 Citation: Ciampitti IA, Murrell T, Camberato J, Tuinstra MR, Friedemann P, Vyn T. (2012  in review). Physiological processes governing nitrogen uptake dynamics of maize plant components in response to plant density and N stress factors: II. Reproductive phase. Field Crop Res.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2012 Citation: Renaud AL, Tuinstra MR. (2012-in press) Role of Engineering Plants for Abiotic Stresses. In D Niyogi (ed.) Climate Vulnerability. Elsevier Limited, Oxford, UK.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Robles, M., Ciampitti, IA, and Vyn, TJ. 2012. Responses of Maize Hybrids to Twin-Row Spatial Arrangement at Multiple Plant Densities. Agron. J. 104: 17471756.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Elias AA, Robbins KR, Niyogi D, Camberato JJ, Doerge RW, and Tuinstra MR. Estimation of genotype by environment interactions from multi-location trials using continuously changing environmental variables. Conference on Applied Statistics in Agriculture. Kansas State University. April 29 -May 1, 2012.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Elias AA, Robbins KR, Niyogi D, Camberato JJ, Doerge RW, and Tuinstra MR. 2012. Estimation of influence of continuously changing environmental variables on hybrid maize performance across the United States Corn Belt. Maize Genetics Conference Abstracts. 54:P173.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Elias AA, Robbins KR, Niyogi D, Camberato JJ, Doerge RW, and Tuinstra MR. 2012. Random Regression Models: Incorporating weather and soil information for predicting genotype by environment interactions. Plant and Animal Genome XX Abstracts. P0903
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Foley RC, Tuinstra MR, Dilkes BP, Craig BA, Micklebart MV. 2012. Genetic diversity of water use efficiency and carbon isotope discrimination in maize. Maize Genetics Conference Abstracts. 54:P186.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: LaBonte, N. Woeste, K. E. Microsatellite Discovery using 454 Sequencing in an Endangered North American Hardwood Tree- Plant and Animal Genome XXI Conference, 2013
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Larsson SJ, Holland JB, Pioneer HyBred/MMP Collaboration, Flint-Garcia SA, Ersoz E, Tuinstra, MR, Buckler E. 2012. Hybrid vigor in the Maize Nested Association Mapping Population Maize Genetics Conference Abstracts. 54:P196.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Morales AJ, Koehler KL, Tuinstra MR, Rocheford TR. 2012. Identification of Genetic Loci in ex-PVP Maize Inbreds Contributing to Agronomic Performance. Maize Genetics Conference Abstracts. 54:P201.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Morales, J., Rocheford, T.R., Koehler, K.L. Analysis of Genetic Loci Associated with Improved Performance in Ex-Plant Variety Protected Commercial Germplasm, 2012 NCCC167 Corn Breeders Meeting, Portland, 14 Mar 2012
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Morales, J., Rocheford, T.R., Koehler, K.L. Analysis of Genetic Loci Associated with Improved Performance in Ex-Plant Variety Protected Commercial Germplasm, 2012 Corn Belt Seed Conference, Indianapolis, 15 Feb 2012.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Morales, J. Presentation on Plant Genetics and Careers in Plant Breeding with Boy Scouts of America Troop  Winter 2012
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Olukolu, B.A., A. Negeri, R. Dhawan, B.P. Venkata, P. Sharma, A. Garg, E. Gachomo, S. Marla, K. Chu, A. Hasan, J. Ji, S.Chintamanani, J. Green, Chi-Ren Shyu, R.J. Wisser, J.B. Holland, G. Johal, and P. Balint-Kurti.2012. A Connected Set of Genes Associated with Programmed Cell Death Implicated in Controlling the Hypersensitive Response in Maize. Genetics.112. doi:10.1534/genetics.112.147595
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Tuinstra MR, Popelka MW, Krothapalli K, Renaud AL, Johal GS, Larsson SJ, Buckler E. 2012. Functional Stay-green in Maize. Maize Genetics Conference Abstracts. 54:P179

Progress 03/01/11 to 02/28/12

Outputs
OUTPUTS: The initial primary objective was to educate/train 20 graduate students (MS/PhD) to prepare them for successful careers in Plant Breeding and Genetics. However, additional corporate/Purdue commitments for student support enabled the admittance into the program of additional students in fall semester 2011. There are a total of five MS students (two have completed their MS degrees) and 27 PhD students in the program. Fourteen faculty in five departments serve as major or co-major advisor for the 32 students in the program. There are corporate PhD staff on several of the student advisory committees; and the advisory committees are multidisciplinary, with disciplines represented as appropriate for the interests of the respective student and thesis research project. Thesis research projects focus on genetics and crop germplasm enhancement for abiotic environmental stress tolerance, improved nutrient uptake and/utilization, and biotic stress resistance. Students participate in classroom education as well as out-of-classroom learning activities, such as presenting posters and oral presentations at regional and national professional meetings as well as presenting thesis research plans and progress in the form of posters once each semester at the recently organized monthly Purdue Plant Science Socials, at which several plant breeding corporate representatives participate; and complete an internship activity in a corporate setting. Students also participate in Extension meetings/activities with crop and seed producers, interact with K-12 students in secondary school and Purdue campus settings, as requirements of a new course, YDAE591, developed to extend students' communications experiences beyond the classroom (Extension and K-12 activities). A number of undergraduate students in the BS Plant Genetics and Plant Breeding area of specialization, as academic advisees/research assistants in research programs of various faculty in Plant Genetics and Plant Breeding, interact with the various graduate students in the Plant Breeding and Education Partnership, developing hands-on knowledge and experience in plant genetics and improvement research. Workshop Participation: Sandeep Marla: Maize Ac/Ds Transposon Workshop, July 2011, Boyce Thompson Institute, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. Rima Thapa: 16th Summer Institute in Statistical Genetics, June, 2011, University of Washington, Seattle, WA. PARTICIPANTS: PD (Name, email): Herbert Ohm, [e-mail] Co-PDs Neil Knobloch, [e-mail] Kiersten Wise, [e-mail] Joseph Anderson, [e-mail] Rebecca Doerge, [e-mail] Gebisa Ejeta, [e-mail] Scott Jackson, [e-mail] Maureen McCann, [e-mail] Michael Mickelbart, [e-mail] Torbert Rocheford, [e-mail] Mitch Tuinstra, [e-mail] Cliff Weil, [e-mail] Christie Williams, [e-mail] Keith Woeste, [e-mail] Support from Industry partners in this grant (AgAlumni Seeds, AgReliant Genetics, ConAgraFoods, DOW Agrosciences, Indiana Crop Improvement Association, Pioneer Hi-Bred, United Soybean Board; and China Scholarship Council) allowed us to provide competitive research assistantships to attract 32 outstanding students. NIFA funds in this partnership grant are used for partial thesis research S&E, travel for students to attend regional and national professional meetings, and travel for the external advisory council to meet at Lafayette, IN annually. Departmental funds provide some GRA support. College of Agriculture funds are committed to cover GRA support for one student in YDAE and one student in Extension, and Purdue University support provides fee remissions. TARGET AUDIENCES: Seed industry and academic community related to plant Science. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
Students are communicating and experiencing educational activities in broad interdisciplinary contexts, and expanding participation at professional meetings as well as in local settings. These activities encourage students, and their advisors, to develop thesis research early in their degree studies. Interactions with corporate representatives at the Plant Science Socials and other settings provide opportunities to learn about a broad array of career opportunities and become acquainted with professionals in corporations and academia, and develop networking skills. Students are developing understanding of the general areas of plant genetics and crop improvement, and their specific area of research, in a broad context of corporate and academic settings and consider possible directions of their careers. Benjamin Campbell completed the MS degree, August 2011, and is studying for the PhD degree at the University of Minnesota. Kristin Chandler completed the MS degree, May 2011, and is a Senior Research Associate at Pioneer Hi-Bred, a DuPont Company, stationed at LaSalle, CO. Given the interdisciplinary nature of students' thesis research,,a number of active research collaborations among faculty in broad trans-disciplinary areas at Purdue have developed: plant genetics/breeding, plant physiology, plant biology, plant pathology, horticulture, agronomy, forestry, entomology, and extension/outreach educational contexts and K-12. Also, active collaborations with corporate partners have developed: DOW AgroSciences, Pioneer Hi-Bred, KWS Seed Company UK; and M. Bohn, U. of Illinois; and R. Graf, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada,Lethbridge Research Centre, Alberta.

Publications

• Publications Two manuscripts for journal publications will be submitted in 2012. Campbell, BW, Y Liu Y Jin, K Wise, and H Ohm. 2012. Inheritance and mapping of stem rust resistance in wheat line PI 410966. Crop Science Submit in March, 2012. Chandler, K, AE Lipka, H Li, B Owens, B Dilkes, E Buckler, T Rocheford, and MA Gore. 2012. The Genetic Architecture of Orange Endosperm Color in Maize. Crop Science. Oral/ Poster Presentations (2011) National/regional meetings - research posters (15), oral presentations (10); Extension activities (7); K-12 activities (8); internships (3).

Progress 03/01/10 to 02/28/11

Outputs
OUTPUTS: The primary objective is to educate/train 20 graduate students (MS/PhD) to prepare them for successful careers in Plant Breeding and Genetics. Areas of thesis research focus on genetics and crop germplasm enhancement for abiotic environmental stress tolerance, improved nutrient uptake and/utilization, and biotic stress resistance. Students will participate in classroom education as well as out-of-classroom learning activities, such as presenting posters and oral presentations at regional and national professional meetings, participate in Extension meetings/activities with producers, and complete an internship activity in a corporate setting. A number of undergraduate students in the Plant Genetics and Plant Breeding area of specialization, as academic advisees/research assistants in research programs of various faculty in Plant Genetics and Plant Breeding, will interact with the various graduate students in the Plant Breeding and Education Partnership, developing hands-on knowledge and experience in plant genetics and improvement. PARTICIPANTS: The following industry or non Federal partners support graduate student assistantships and or student research: Ag Alumni Seed, Indiana Crop Improvement Association, AgReliant Genetics, Pioneer Hi-Bred International, a DuPont Company, Beck's Superior Hybrids, United Soybean Board, ConAgraFoods, China Scholarship Council, DOW AgroSciences, Purdue University. 14 posters summarizing student research progress were presented at national, regional and local meetings. Four students completed internships of 2-6 months in industry. Students will participate in one or more Extension activities at the county/producer levels, actually leading discussions/making presentations. Undergraduate students worked as research assistants, hand-on involved in research in plant breeding and related sciences such as plant physiology, plant pathology, entomology. TARGET AUDIENCES: Crop producers, seed industry corporations, K-12 students, teachers and counselors. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
A new course, YDAE 591, Plant Breeding Education and Outreach Seminar, was developed for graduate students in the AFRI Plant Breeding and Education project. The goal of the seminar is to help develop graduate students as future plant scientists with effective teaching knowledge and skills for K-12 outreach and Extension programs with youth and adult audiences. Students will examine best practices that are grounded in effective teaching and learning for Extension and informal education. Students will learn strategies that promote engagement in field-based and K-12 education settings through Extension presentations and plant science inquiry activities. After taking the seminar, students should have gained understanding of how to create engaging educational programs for youth and adults that are grounded in best practices of informal, nonformal, and formal educational contexts. These skills will be valuable for graduates who are in academic, corporate and government settings. Eight students participated in the Purdue Diagnostic Training Center educational day on May 19th, 2010. This program featured presentations from Purdue Field Crop Extension specialists, and included basic diagnostic information for current pest problems of corn and soybeans, including weeds, insects, and diseases. This program also addressed basic agronomic issues such as growth staging corn and soybean, and challenges faced by producers, including soil fertility and pest management. Participants experienced "hands-on" and visual examples of these issues, and gained a broader perspective of the challenges facing farmers and agribusiness personnel in field crop areas. Students interacted with industry personnel and farmers, and were provided literature and additional information for references to the presentations. Three students attended the Cornbelt Seed Conference, February 10-11, 2011; at Indianapolis; and interacted with Seed Industry businesses and seed producers, and attended seed and crop production research sessions presented by industry professionals and university faculty. Students will also participate in one or more Extension activities at the county/producer levels, actually leading discussions/making presentations. New collaborations interactions made possible from project support: Given the interdisciplinary nature of students' thesis research, a number of active research collaborations among faculty in broad trans-disciplinary areas have developed: plant genetics/breeding, plant physiology, plant biology, plant pathology, horticulture, agronomy, forestry, entomology, and extension/outreach educational contexts and K-12. Ignacio Ciampitti and Yanbing Xia have begun collaboration with the Agronomic Traits group at Dow AgroSciences, and with a corn breeder at Illinois (Dr. Martin Bohn) on R1 stage maize root imaging with a G x M focus. Mike Popelka is collaborating with Pioneer Hi-Bred at Garden City, KS in his maize root architecture research. Jenae Skelton is developing collaborations with wheat programs at Kansas State University, University of Nebraska and the University of Idaho for field testing of wheat lines with contrasting root architecture traits.

Publications

• No publications reported this period