Research

Money under the microscope
Wheat improvement team benefits from discoveries
By Mary Kate Scott, Willcox, Ariz.

The waving wheat of Oklahoma always has been at the mercy of Mother Nature, but it soon could be controlled in a laboratory by a cutting-edge scientist.
           
After joining the Oklahoma State University wheat improvement team only one year ago, Liuling Yan, assistant professor in the OSU Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, has made a discovery that has the potential to redefine the production of wheat in Oklahoma.
           
In this Great Plains state, wheat serves a dual purpose to producers: grain harvest and cattle production.
           
"Oklahoma is unique because it relies heavily on both uses," said David Porter, department head and professor in the OSU Department of Plant and Soil Sciences.
           
For many families in Oklahoma, this bilateral crop provides additional agricultural opportunities and profits. Both avenues of wheat production are interdependent upon each other. Porter said most Oklahomans do not see the value of cattle that comes from wheat. In turn, the maximum economic value of wheat reflects cattle production.
           
The economic value of wheat is not only seen by Oklahoma producers but also by other members of the scientific community. Support from the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology, the Oklahoma Wheat Commission, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Coordinated Agriculture Project and the National Research Initiative grant program make Yan's research possible.
           
Yan, a native of China, has pinpointed the genomic sequence responsible for the flowering process in winter wheat varieties. By analyzing the genetic code, Yan is able to identify a crucial piece of the biological switch between the vegetative and reproductive stages in this species.
           
As wheat makes its way through the growth cycle, it must make critical transitions between growth stages. In terms of cattle production and grain harvest, the transition between vegetative and reproductive stages is one of the most critical, said Brett Carver, wheat genetics chair in agriculture and regents professor in the OSU Department of Plant and Soil Sciences.
           
During the vegetative growth stage, the nonreproductive plant parts (leaf and stem) are exposed. The emergence of the reproductive plant parts (flower and seed) transitions the plant into the reproductive growth stage.
           
Having a more accurate understanding and timeline of this process, specifically in certain varieties of wheat adapted to Oklahoma and the southern Great Plains, is the foundation of Yan's research.
           
"Designing an Agricultural Genome Program," posted on the National Academic Press Web site, compares the genetic building blocks of some of the major agricultural commodities. The wheat genome contains 16 billion base-pairs, "oversized" compared to the 2.3 billion in corn and the 3 billion in the human genome.
           
Yan's arduous task of analyzing the intricate genetic code could ease the efforts of not only Oklahoma wheat producers but also those working to produce improved wheat varieties.
           
"You are able to rely on DNA, rather than Mother Nature," Carver said.    
           
"There's so much more that I can't see," Carver said. "You can guess in the field, but you can nail it down in Yan's lab."
           
With Yan's discovery, OSU's wheat improvement team is able to not only predict the wheat flowering process more effectively but also to use this research to help produce improved wheat varieties. With this ability, Porter said it could be possible to delay or stall the flowering process.
           
What does this mean for producers? More money in the pocket of rural America.
           
With a more accurate understanding of the genetic building blocks of wheat, researchers can increase profit on both avenues of wheat production.
           
The accuracy in predicting the flowering process would allow producers to have a more precise date as to when to remove their cattle from wheat pasture grazing, Porter said. This would eliminate the risk of any damage to the plant during flowering that occurs by letting cattle graze too long.
           
"The right timing must occur for the transition from vegetative to reproductive growth stages," Carver said. "This is crucial when grazing cattle."
           
Carver said cattle put a tremendous amount of stress on wheat, removing the canopy.
           
"We ask wheat to redevelop after cattle graze it, with no drop in grain yield," Carver said. "This is a lot to ask."
           
On the other hand, with Yan predicting flowering more accurately, producers could gain extra days to extend their cattle's grazing period. This could be done by eliminating a premature halt in grazing and by stalling the flowering process to allow producers to have an extended grazing period.
           
"Each day cattle graze means money in the producer's pocket," Porter said.
           
This additional income, Porter said, essentially goes back to rural America. He said the little things add up and this could be a rejuvenation of rural economy. Although producers have been lucky enough to see an increase in the price of wheat, he said producers are still not as profitable as they should be.
           
Although most of Yan's current research is directed toward producers using wheat for dual purposes, the same methodology could be applied to producers harvesting wheat for grain only.
           
"You could eliminate competition," said Case Medlin, associate professor in the OSU Department of Plant and Soil Sciences.
           
Medlin, who works as a weed science specialist, said he believes Yan's research could be applied to weed control. If Yan is able to stall or delay the flowering process, why not expedite the process for those harvesting for wheat grain?
           
With this idea, Medlin said he wonders if wheat could be harvested before weeds develop and mature. This could eliminate competition and reduce the need for traditional weed-control methods.
           
"You could outfox Mother Nature and harvest a clean grain," Medlin said.
           
Carver said grain "cleanliness" is a characteristic for which international buyers look. This concept would allow producers to offer a more desirable product to domestic and international markets.
           
Yan's research leaves the faculty at OSU, producers and scientists across the state with questions and possibilities to help resolve traditional problems in wheat production.
           
"We were lucky to get Dr. Yan here," Porter said. "He had the opportunity to go anywhere. He wanted to stay with wheat and build a program around a crop he loved."
           
Yan said he has been working in wheat science for more than 20 years.
           
"OSU has a great wheat improvement team," Yan said. "It was wheat that connected me to OSU."
           
Educated in his native country, China, at Yangzhou University and at Victoria University in Australia, Porter said Yan has made an immediate impact on a level that takes most faculty members years to achieve.
           
Yan has allowed OSU to remain competitive in the science of wheat improvement and to help produce better varieties of wheat for Oklahoma.           

For more information on the OSU wheat improvement team, visit http://www.wit.okstate.edu.

Liuling Yan, assistant professor in the OSU Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, pinpointed the genomic sequence responsible for the flowering process in winter wheat varieties. (Photo by Mary Kate Scott)