Dale Bumpers National Rice Research Center was one of several Arkansas stops that a tour group recently made. Every year, a number of Purdue alumni, Indiana farmers and businessmen tour areas of the country to learn more about manufacturing and farming in those regions. This year, the group decided to take a tour of Arkansas and rice country.   On Friday morning, March 13, 2009, Don Freeman, Karen Moldenhauer and David Gealy were on hand to greet the forty-two visitors as they arrived at the Center. After the group was seated in the auditorium, Dr. Freeman presented an overview of the research conducted at the Harry K. Dupree Stuttgart National Aquaculture Research Center. Dr. Moldenhauer spoke about the University of Arkansas Rice Research and Extension Center and Dr. Gealy concluded the presentations with an overview of the research conducted at Dale Bumpers National Rice Research Center.   The group was then taken on a tour of the genomics core facility at the center. Bob Fjellstrom, Aaron Jackson and Melissa Jia were on hand to explain how rice DNA is amplified for molecular marker analysis. They had an opportunity to view the equipment in motion as the liquid-handling robot set up PCR reactions, which were later used on a genetic analyzer. The core facility tour centered on the use of molecular markers and their application to crop breeding for disease resistance genes and other desirable traits.   After the tour was over, the Indiana visitors headed to DeWitt to tour the biofuel facility.
Don Freeman presents an overview of research being conducted at the Harry K. Dupree Stuttgart National Aquaculture Research Center	Bob Fjellstrom explains how genomics technology is used to breed better rice varieties