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Rice Field Day - August 13th 2008
Presentation Posters\Handouts:
Yulin Jia, Molecular Plant Pathology Program
Georgia Eizenga, Cytogenetics Program
Wengui Yan
Helen Miller
David Gealy
Anna McClung
Bob Fjellstrom, Rice Genomics Program
Recently scientists from the Dale Bumpers National Rice Research Center presented rice research reports at the annual meeting of the American Phytopatholgical Society, held in Minneapolis, Minnesota from July 27 – 30, 2008. This centennial meeting marked the 100th anniversary of the society, and celebrated the scientific contributions of plant pathologists from around the world. In attendance were Steven Brooks, Yuntao Dai, Seonghee Lee, and Guangie Liu representing two of the DBNRRC research programs. Oral and poster presentations were made by the four attendees that display the breadth of plant pathology research being conducted at our facility. The presented subjects included four diseases of rice (blast, false smut, kernel smut, and sheath blight), cultural management strategies, resistance gene analysis, avirulence gene function, and analysis of quantitative disease resistance. The meeting was an excellent opportunity to showcase U.S. rice research to a broad audience of plant pathologists from around the world.
On June 19, ten summer interns spent the day learning about rice research as the Dale Bumpers National Rice Research Center. The interns are participating in the SIPSEBS (Summer Internship in Plant, Soil, Environmental and Biotechnological Sciences) program sponsored by the University of Arkansas - Pine Bluff. The students learned about isolating DNA; using DNA markers to identify different plants; determining the starch (amylose) content of rice; making crosses; where different types of rice come from; identifying rice diseases; and using computer systems to collect data on seeds and plants. Ms. Aretha Everett and Dr. M. Jalaluddin from UAPB are responsible for coordinating the SIPSEBS program. Dr. Georgia Eizenga organized the interns' visit with the assistance of numerous colleagues.
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Interns are preparing leaf samples for DNA isolation. |
Interns are shown how to remove the DNA sample from a microfuge tube. |
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Interns loading a DNA sample into an agarose gel. |
Rice germplasm is stored in the cold room on the right hand side of this picture. |
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What does seed of the weed "red rice" and it's hybrids look like? |
Interns are assisted with rice sample preparation so the amylose (starch) content can be determined. |
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How are mapping populations developed? |
Rice plants are emasculated (anthers removed) so that crosses can be made between different plants to incorporate new traits. |
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Interns attempting to remove anthers from rice flowers! |
Interns are shown how to evaluate the characteristics of different rice seed samples. |
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Demonstration of how the WinSEEDLE Image Analysis System is used to evaluate seed characteristics. |
Interns learn about growing the fungi which cause the rice diseases, blast and sheath blight, and student employee shares what he learned working in the lab. |
On June 17 th the Dale Bumpers National Rice Research Center hosted the 2008 US Rice Federation Leadership class for a tour of the facilities. The group of eight producers and industry representatives from across the US were selected by a US Rice Federation committee to participate in a 4 week training opportunity that extends over two years. The purpose of the class is to provide these future leaders with an intensive education of all aspects of the US rice industry. Their trip to Arkansas included visits to a local rice farm, Riceland, Producers Rice Mill, and the Univ. Arkansas Rice Research and Extension Center.
Their visit to DBNRRC included a brief tour of the facilities and an overview of the combined USDA ARS research programs at Beaumont , TX and Stuttgart , AR. In addition, presentations were made by the research staff on specific projects at the center. Dr. Steve Brooks presented a summary of his research on controlling kernel and false smut in rice that is being conducted in collaboration with Dr. Merle Anders at Univ. Arkansas . Dr. Georgia Eizenga described her work on capturing disease resistance genes from wild species of rice, a project that is partly funded by the USDA CSREES RiceCAP project. Mr. Aaron Jackson provided a tour of the Genomic Analysis facilities that is operated under the direction of Dr. Bob Fjellstrom. Dr. Wengui Yan summarized his research on exploring the USDA rice germplasm collection for novel traits important to the US rice industry. The group will finish their week long tour with a visit to John Deere headquarters in Iowa where farm equipment used in rice production is built and a visit to the Chicago Board and Trade where they will learn about commodity trading.
On April 25, 2008 from 11:00 am to 2:30pm Dr. Jia, Dr. Stephano Costanzo (USDA Postdoctoral Research Associate funded by headquarter),and Mr. Yuntao Dai (a graduate student from Dept. of Plant Pathology of UA), were Invited by Dr. Tameka Bailey, an Assistant Professor of University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, to attend and present seminars, to a mixture of 40 undergraduates with disciplines in Botany and Genetics. Dr. Jia presented an overview of rice production worldwide, economics and updated projects and accomplishments on host-pathogen interactions, also distributed brochures on “Science your Shopping Cart”, RiceCAP and the Dale Bumpers National Rice Research Facilities. Dr. Jia discussed with some seniors about internships and employment careers with USDA-ARS. Dr. Costanzo discussed his education experience in the US from Italy and Mr. Dai described his education experience as a student from China and his future plans. There are additional plans for outreaching by other scientists from DB NRRC to undergraduates of UAPB.
DBNRRC hosted LeadAR on April 19, 2008. Led by their director, Joe Waldrum, the University of Arkansas LeadAR class consists of 20-25 Arkansas professionals who are involved in a two-year leadership program that takes them throughout Arkansas, the U.S., and eventually to a foreign country. DBNRRC scientists Steven Brooks and David Gealy participated in a presentation and lively question/answer session, and led tours through the DBNRRC facility. The LeadAR class learned about the cutting edge research on genetic improvement, crop protection and quality, and physiology of rice that is being conducted by DBNRRC scientists. Chuck Wilson, University of Arkansas, also presented a discussion of current issues in the U.S. rice industry. Vicky Price hosted the group and prepared delicious samples of rice for taste testing. DBNRRC has hosted previous LeadAR classes in 2004 and 2006.
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Pat Johnson, John Rima, Dan Schwieder, and Lacy Bradford (left to right) learn about rice weeds. |
David Gealy (middle) and Karen Garcia (left) view red rice biotypes. |
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Gealy explains precision planting methods used in rice research. |
Dan Schwieder (left) and LeadAR Director, Joe Waldrum. |
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Edet Frank (right) with other LeadAR classmates. |
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The Second Annual Meeting of the National Science Foundation funded project. “Exploring the Genetic Basis of Transgressive Variation in Rice” (PGRP #0606461) was held at Cornell University on April 15-17, 2008.
The main objective of this project is to understand why higher yields can be obtained from crosses between different rice varietal groups or sub-populations (indica, japonica) and its progenitor, O. rufipogon. This concept is the basis of breeding hybrid rice to deliver superior varieties to farmers. The study attempts to reveal the genetic mechanisms that underlie this superior performance. At the recent annual meeting, all project participants made presentations summarizing research progress during the past year and these are summarized as part of the project web site (http://www.ricediversity.org). Susan McCouch, the project’s principal investigator (PI) located at Cornell Univ., hosted the meeting. Participants from Stuttgart, AR were co-PIs Georgia Eizenga and Anna McClung along with Liakat Ali, Teresa Hancock, and Daniel Wood, personnel supported with project funds. This project is a joint research effort between Cornell Univ., Univ. of Arkansas Rice Research and Extension Center, USDA-ARS Dale Bumpers National Rice Research Center, and Univ. of Arizona.
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Finally, time for a working lunch of stone baked pizza. |
Teresa, Andy and Anna discussing the project database during a coffee break. |
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Daniel and Keyan relaxing after a Mexican dinner. |
Anna, Georgia, Daniel, Liakat, and Teresa, from Stuttgart, Arkansas joined by Susan and many other project participants on the suspension bridge over Fall Creek first built in 1913 and replaced in 1960, to provide better access between North and Central Campus. |
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