Project Number: 5320-21000-011-11
Project Type: Specific Cooperative Agreement

Start Date: Aug 15, 2008
End Date: May 18, 2013

Objective:
Produce new knowledge of molecular biology, genetics, and crop traits of selected fruit, vegetable, and ornamental crops grown in Hawaii, and preserve selected sugarcane germplasm that is more suitable for growing in Hawaii. Use genetic engineering approaches to enhance the disease resistance of ornamentals such as anthurium and orchids. Develop improved germplasm for the nation¿s sugarcane industry through increased biomass and/or sugar, increased resistance to abiotic stress, pathogens, and pests. Evaluate the horticultural characteristics of Jatropha, kukui, and other tropical crops for their potential as biofuel when grown in Hawaii. Assess the potential commercial application and the potential environmental and biosafety risks of transgenic plants that are developed.

Approach:
Continue tissue culture multiplication of transgenic anthurium lines for subsequent screening by PBARC for bacterial and nematode resistance. Use HARC land to grow selected sugarcane lines that cannot be consistently maintained at the sugarcane clonal repository in Miami, Florida. Cross lines of material selected by the national sugarcane centers and distribute seeds from these crosses for their environmental selection for production of sugar and biomass. Cross lines of target crops to produce mapping populations for developing molecular markers associated with important agronomic traits. Use laboratory and field based approaches to evaluate and develop value added products from potential tropical biofuel crops, such as sugarcane, Jatropha, and kukui. Work with PBARC to develop risk mitigating gene constructs that consists of short-linked segments of genes or computer-generated consensus sequences derived from sequences of a family of genes or gene segments, and use them to develop transgenic plants, such as papaya, for resistance to pathogens and enhanced agronomic traits.