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If you think Alberta isn’ton the cuttingedgeof innovation, think again
Arewe in the
goldenage
of
cropresearch innovation?
By STAN BLADE, P.Ag.
FROM LAB
TO FIELD
Investments in agriculture have
resulted in rapid adoption and
tremendous returns both to
producers and society.
In Canada, it is a national
sport
to claim that our country is trailing
our competitors in innovation. There is no
doubt that both government and indus-
try spend a great deal on research—and
there are serious questions about whether
Canadians reap the economic benefit from
these investments. However, it is my opin-
ion that investments in agriculture have
resulted in rapid adoption and tremendous
returns both to producers and society.
We don’t have to look far for Canadian
examples of new technology adoption.
Western Canada led the world in un-
derstanding the science of conservation
tillage—with innovative producers col-
laborating with (and sometimes pushing!)
the research community. Everything came
together: extension messaging, equipment
development, appropriate inputs and pro-
ducer creativity. We have seen new crops
being adopted across the Prairies—can-
ola, peas, lentils and others—based on a
“biological fit” (which included lots of con-
tinued fine-tuning) with our environment.
The arrival of transgenic crops in Western
Canada created another tool to maximize
yield and product quality.
So what is next on the list for crop in-
novation in Western Canada? We already
see the future in other global crops. The
first generation of transgenic crops was
focused on biotic pests (weeds, insects and
diseases). We now see a major focus on
abiotic stressors like drought and heat, as
well as improving the efficiency of the up-
take and use of nutrients. The next major
phase will likely be including quality traits
that benefit processors and consumers (al-
though this has already been a major focus
in the improvement of canola oil since the
crop was introduced to Canada).
What are some of the tools that molecu-
lar biologists and plant breeders are using
to achieve these remarkable gains? Here
are three:
Epigenetics:
Plant scientists are
learning that inheritance can occur based
not only on genetics, but by genes being
turned off and on by a range of events—
and these changes (triggered by heat,
drought or other external factors) can
also be passed on to the next generation.
This creates both complexity and oppor-
tunity in developing new traits that are
expressed by crops.
Gene silencing:
In the past decade,
plant biologists have started to use their
understanding of a phenomenon where
certain types of RNA present (or intro-
duced) in plants can shut down portions
of a plant’s genetic code. This has been
used to understand the huge amounts of
data made available in genome sequenc-
ing by “knocking out” certain genetic
segments to see what effect they have in
a normal plant. The other use has been to
kill viruses that invade plant cells. This
function has been used to create virus
immunity in commercial papaya (papaya
ringspot virus) and potato (potato leafroll
virus) cultivars. The same mechanism has
been successfully used in barley (barley
yellow dwarf virus).
Gene editing:
In the early days of
molecular biology, a number of methods
were used to “introduce” new genetic
material into an organism’s DNA. This
included such subtle approaches as the
blasting of DNA into plant tissue on the
tip of a platinum projectile and hoping
for the best. We now have methods to
insert, replace or remove specific gene
sequences accurately in specific locations
of a plant’s genome.
The process of “stacking” traits uses
this method to introduce multiple gene
sequences into a variety with exquisite
control over their insertion.
These are just three of the amazing
things happening in crop innovation in
Canada. These tools will create crops that
enable producers to supply the food, feed,
fuel and fibre opportunities that a growing
global population will demand.
Stan Blade is the CEO of Alberta Innovates
Bio Solutions.
Winter
2014
Grains
West
44