HIGHLIGHTS
EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
PUBLICATIONS
HIGHLIGHTS
SolCAP Project Receives Award
SBC Research Director Allen Van Deynze and his colleagues in the Solanaceae Coordinated Agricultural Project (SolCAP) have received a 2011 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary's Honor Award, designed to recognize exceptional leadership in the science, public policy and management needed to guide a rapidly evolving food and agricultural system. SolCAP develops genomic tools for plant breeding for potato and tomato. SBC’s Jeanette Martins provides staff support for SolCAP’s educational workshops. Roger Chetelat, curator for the C.M. Rick Tomato Genetics Resource Center is also a key collaborator in SolCAP. UC Davis Plant Sciences professors Jorge Dubcovsky and David Neale were also honored for their leadership of CAP projects on wheat, barley and conifers. For more information and full article see UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences.
Seed Biotechnology Center takes the Classroom to the Professionals: Seed Business 101SM
Seed Business 101 was created with input from industry executives to accelerate the careers of promising new employees. It offers invaluable insights and perspectives to employees of seed producers, seed dealers and companies offering products and services to the seed industry, including seed treatments, crop protection, seed enhancement and technology, machinery and equipment. The purpose of this course is to shorten the learning curve for new employees teaching them what every employee must know about the main functional areas of a seed company in order to perform optimally in the team as quickly as possible and avoid mistakes. The course is designed to focus on optimum operations of the five major functional areas of a seed company: Research and Development, Production, Operations, Sales and Marketing and Administration.
Participants will acquire a broad understanding of the major aspects of a seed company’s operations and cross-departmental knowledge of best practices for profitability. Case studies are designed to immerse participants in the decision-making roles in all five functional areas of a seed company.
Dates and Location: December 5–9, 2011, Davis, CA and January 17–21, 2012, Wimauma, FL
Hurry! Early Bird registration ends September 15, 2011
For more information contact Jeannette Martins at jmartins@ucdavis.edu or go to SB101.
Seed CentralTM launched
Seed Central, a joint project of the Seed Biotechnology Center at UC Davis and SeedQuest, is being launched to energize the seed industry cluster surrounding UC Davis.
The objectives are to:
• strengthen the dialogue between UC Davis and the seed industry
• facilitate research collaborations and technology transfer between university and industry
• strengthen the benefits of operating within a dynamic and innovative industry cluster for all participants.
Visit us to join Seed Central and learn about the benefits.
Biotechnology for Sustainability
Genetically engineered (GE) crops have been in commercial production since 1996 and much information is available regarding ways they are benefiting farmers and consumers. As global agriculture continues to be challenged to enhance sustainability and reduce pressures on land, water and fuel, studies are showing that GE crops will be one part of the solution. To date, research has been conducted on over 100 agricultural crops and many new promising traits have been identified. As part of a grant from the American Society of Plant Biologists, SBC has developed a website dedicated to the theme Biotechnology for Sustainability. Here you will find information on the five (5) most promising GE traits, recent peer-reviewed publications, and useful websites and opinion pieces on this topic. We hope this will provide a useful reference on how biotech traits are enhancing environmental sustainability.
Biotechnology for Sustainability Display, conceived by Kent Bradford and Jamie Shattuck (formerly with SBC) and designed and constructed by Peggy Lemaux and Barbara Alonso, describes how biotechnology can improve agricultural sustainability. The display is composed of tactile, visually attractive interchangeable modules, and is available on loan for outreach uses. The display was funded by the American Society of Plant Biologists and the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. To reserve the display for use please contact Barbara Alonso, UC Berkeley.
EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
European Plant Breeding Academy Second Class Starts October 24, 2011
Applications are now being accepted for the second class of the European Plant Breeding Academy which will begin October 24, 2011. The integrated postgraduate program, which is not crop specific, teaches the fundamentals of plant breeding, genetics, and statistics through lectures, discussion, and field trips to public and private breeding programs. Employers appreciate the opportunity to provide their valued employees advanced training without disrupting their full-time employment. Participants will attend six 6-day sessions in five countries. The instructors are internationally recognized experts in plant breeding and seed technology. For more information on the UC Davis European Plant Breeding Academy or the Plant Breeding Academy in the United States visit pba.ucdavis.edu or contact Joy Patterson at jpatterson@ucdavis.edu
Breeding with Molecular Markers Course
This course is designed for professional plant breeders who want to learn when and how molecular tools can be integrated in their breeding programs. It is also an opportunity for breeders who are already using these tools to expand their knowledge of new strategies and technologies.
Topics include:
Types and availability of molecular markers
Working with quantitative trait loci
Maker– assisted selection
Using association studies in breeding
Effects of population structure on applications of molecular markers
Hands- on software demonstrations to analyze traits with molecular markers
Genomic selection
Location and Dates: UC Davis – Conference Center, February 14-15, 2012
For more information contact Jeannette Martins at jmartins@ucdavis.edu or (530) 752-4984
PUBLICATIONS
Hamilton, J.P., Hansey, C. N., Whitty, B. R., Stoffel, K., Massa, A. N., Van Deynze, A., De Jong, W. S., Douches, D. S. and Buell, C. R. 2011. Single nucleotide polymorphism discovery in elite North American potato germplasm. BMC Genomics 12:302.
Schwember, A.R., and Bradford, K.J. 2011. Oxygen interacts with priming, moisture content and temperature to affect the longevity of lettuce and onion seeds. Seed Science Research 21: 175-185.
Schwember, A.R. and Bradford, K.J. 2010. Quantitative trait loci associated with longevity of lettuce seeds under conventional and controlled deterioration storage conditions. J. Exp. Bot.: 61: 4423-4436.
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