June 2008 E-News

SBC will play central role in Chile-California agreement
Building on a long and productive relationship between Chile and California, Chilean president Michelle Bachelet signed two landmark agreements with UC Davis focused on strengthening research and teaching collaborations in the areas of crop genetics and breeding along with grape growing and winemaking. The Seed Biotechnology Center will be the primary campus partner in the first of the two agreements which lays the groundwork for a new research, development and training program focused on plant genetic resources; development of new and hardier crop varieties; release of new crop varieties for the global market and collaborative graduate training programs in the area of plant genetics and breeding.

UC Davis graduates fifteen new plant breeders
Filling a critical need for additional plant breeders, the UC Davis Plant Breeding AcademySM (PBA) recently graduated its inaugural class. Fifteen students from seed companies across the US, and from as far as Hong Kong and Canada, participated in the program. “The Plant Breeding Academy advances the scientific skills of professional breeders, while meeting the agricultural and seed-industry need for additional plant breeders worldwide”, said Neal Van Alfen, dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at a graduation celebration signifying the culmination of two years of in-depth study of plant breeding theory, genetics, statistics, and special topics. This new program was developed by the UC Davis Seed Biotechnology Center in direct response to industry concerns over the reduced number of plant breeders being trained in academic programs. The two-year course provides an opportunity for companies to invest in dedicated personnel who are currently involved in breeding programs, but would like further formal instruction in genetics, statistics and plant breeding theory. The course schedule allows students to maintain their working positions while enrolled. Academy graduates will be able to work as independent plant breeders or to direct regional plant breeding programs. Class II of the PBA, which will begin in September 2008, is nearly filled. See pba.ucdavis.edu for further information.

Seed Biotechnology Center provides input on international biotechnology regulations
Allen Van Deynze participated in recent negotiations (COP9) in Bonn, Germany concerning the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (CPB). The CPB is a protocol of the Convention on Biological Diversity (http://www.cbd.int). The CPB aims to regulate the transboundary movement of biotech crops worldwide. Negotiations are to define how it will be implemented. Although the US has not signed the convention, the SBC took particular interest in this subject as it directly affects public research and co-existence of crops in the seed industry as a whole. Van Deynze participated as a member of the Public Research and Regulation Initiative (PRRI, www.pubresreg.org) an international group of public researchers worldwide interested in biotechnology regulations. The PRRI held workshops and advised international delegations on development of Risk Assessment procedures and transgenic trees. A positive outcome of the negotiations was that a strict liability regime for biotech crops was not implemented. Van Deynze participated in week- long meetings to curb the proposed ban on GM trees and allow public research in field trials to evaluate the potential benefits and risks of GM trees objectively. The final decision of the delegations was to do just that.

Seed Biology, Production & Quality course
On March 25-26, 2009 the Seed Biotechnology Center and UC Davis Extension will offer this unique two-day course for professionals in the seed industry, crop consultants, and growers to expand and update their knowledge. Participants will learn the fundamentals and the most current research information on seed development, production, harvesting, conditioning, storage, enhancement, and quality assessment. Dr. Henk Hilhorst, Wageningen University and University of California, Davis' Dr. Kent Bradford and Dr. Allen Van Deynze are three of the instructors. Registration information will become available at the SBC.

Biodiversity in Agriculture Symposium
On September 14-17, 2008 UC Davis will host an international symposium titled “Harlan II: BIODIVERSITY IN AGRICULTURE: Domestication, Evolution, & Sustainability.” The program will be organized around three themes: Crop and animal domestication scenarios, Processes of agricultural evolution and Global implications of agricultural biodiversity and sustainability of California agriculture. Registration and further details are available at: http://harlanii.ucdavis.edu.

For questions contact Cathy Glaeser at clglaeser@ucdavis.edu or at 530-752-4414.