Dr Zac Hanley Pastoral Genomics Research Consortium 25th August... · – 70% perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) – hardy, palatable, productive, digestible obligate outcrosser

Biotechnological strategies and impacts of forageson meat and dairy production and quality

Dr Zac Hanley

Pastoral Genomics Research Consortium

© Pastoral Genomics Research Consortium25-Aug-08

Production is biology, and NZ farm systems must be sustainable and competitive in theface of inherent variability from climate, organism behaviour, animal health, etc.


New Zealand: uniquely dependent on its biology

Export focused economy (5% on primary production)

Massive focus on dairy, meat, wool, horticulture and forestry

Low-input mixed sward pasture-based farming on most farms

– 70% perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) – hardy, palatable,productive, digestible obligate outcrosser

– 30% white clover (Trifolium repens) – leguminous obligateoutcrosser

Pastoral Genomics is the soleinvestment by the New Zealandpastoral industries intoforage improvement throughbiotechnology.


Pastoral Genomics – smart sustainable forages for NZ

Our Meat, Dairy, Wool and Deer industries rely on the long-termproductivity of pasture for their international low-cost and high-quality positions.

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Biotechnology will give the greatest stepwise and sustainableimprovement in pasture productivity. We will use our in-depthknowledge of pasture genomes to enhance conventional breeding.And we will use ryegrass genes in ryegrass, clover genes in clover tocapture the untapped genetic potential in pasture plants.

5 substantive changes100 human generations

?10 years of biotech



Pastoral Genomics is funded by DairyNZ, Meat & Wool NewZealand, Fonterra, AgResearch, DEEResearch and thegovernment’s Foundation for Research Science & Technology.

…and is an industry-good non-profit entity


TARGETS 2002-2009 RESEARCH AND APPLIED DISCOVERY

Minimum 25% increase in forage biomass from cultivars

More pasture Condensed Tannins to increase animal production

Improved drought tolerance in forages

Increased persistence of clovers

Increased quality of forages

TARGETS 2009 APPLIED DISCOVERY AND DEVELOPMENT

Nitrogen use efficiency

Phosphorus use efficiency

Water use efficiency

Tailored forage composition

Alternative forages for NZ farms

Whole-farm biotechnologies

Targets – 2 generations seeking the best ΔGs


Current

Milksolids/Ha

Milksolids/Cow

Total Farm Revenue/Ha

Cash Surplus/Ha

*Economic Farm Surplus/Ha

111%

29%

108%

158%

271%

Data Source: Dexcel, 2005

* EFS= income – staff expenses – depreciation –runoof adjustment +/- stock changes- labour adjustments

Significant potential economic impact of 2002-2009 targets

Assumptions:

• Dairy only

• Biomass = product

• No regional effects

• Owner-operators

• Max 25% uptake

• 2004 prices

(Economic impact estimate for beef and deer industries: ~$450m)(Economic impact estimate for beef and deer industries: ~$450m)


Post-2009 targets and the future scenario

The NZ livestock farm circa 2025 will:

– Be sustainable i.e. able to maintain then-current pace of inputs andoutputs

– Be low impact

– Budget for N, P, C, H2O (Greenhouse gases at <1990 levels and farmers penalized for excess)

– Be stocked with animals consuming mixed swards of…?Supplemented with…?

– Have ‘levers’ on cows, feeds, soil, rumen

– Be compatible with organics, whatever that means in 2025

– Be dung-powered, using microgeneration to be self-sustaining

– Be automated


TomorrowToday

Post-2009:sustainability is not an option; it is a dimension

Lessproductivity

Moreproductivity

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A. Wide breeding

B. Molecularmapping

Strategy for achieving the objectives, delivering the outputs,creating future pastures

ImprovedCultivarsfor NewZealand

• Fusions and broad breeding

• Widest germplasm possible

• Microsatellites with validated trait-marker linkagesin mapping and association populations

• Connections to existing commercial cultivardevelopment

• Candidate genes and functional genomics

• Re-introduce those genes back into their hostplants (‘Cisgenics®’)

C. Functionalgenomics


Resources

Genomics:

– GeneThresher (methyl filtration) sequence databases for perennialryegrass and white clover

– EST and SAGE databases

Functional genomics

– Annotated databases: promoters, genes

– Transformation pipeline and containment facilities

Marker-assisted selection

– Linkage maps for white clover, ryegrass and T.occidentale

Germplasm resources

– National bank

– Mutation populations

© Pastoral Genomics Research Consortium

480 microsatellitemarkers

Quality trait loci

– Tillering, Leaf size,Crown rustresistance,Flowering date,Drought resistance,Water solublecarbohydrate,multiple bioticresistances, Weartolerance, Shootdensity, Fineness ofleaf, Foragequality/proteincontent, Winterhardiness

5 commercial licences

Ryegrass map and breeding service

10-Jul-08


In silico alignment to M. truncatula

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Trifolium repens and Trifolium occidentale Genome

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267 hits in Mt genomeBuild 1.0 downloadedMay 2007 using a queryof 755 GT andEST sequencesmapped to 1047 lociin the white cloverGenome.

© Pastoral Genomics Research Consortium25-Aug-081-May-08


Bajaj et al., (2006) Plant Cell Reports

Transformation pipeline


Transplanting tillers into sand-filled tubes.

Establishment of plants in sand-filledtubes

“Grazed” plants ready for drought stress.

Effect of drought-stress on plant growth.

Effect of drought-stress on plant growth.

Re-growth potential between non-transformed and transformed plants.

Non-transformed Control. Transformed Plant

Re-growth potential between non-transformed and transformed plants.

Non-transformed Control. Transformed Plant.

Root growth in non-stressed plants.


Replicated Drought Trial at Biotron – In Progress


Great Britain•IBERS - Wales•University of Manchester

IndiaMetahelix

Chile•Catholic University•University of Santiago

Russia•Evrogen

USA•University of Florida•University of Connecticut•UC Davis•USDA•Orion Genomics•Simplot

Germany•Max Planck Institute•Phytowelt-GreenTec

Australia•CAMBIA•AGRF

NZ•AgResearch•HortResearch•Crop & Food Research•University of Auckland•Lincoln University•DairyNZ•Agriseeds•Grasslands Innovation

Malaysia•ABI

Spain•CSIC


Team

Adrian Walden, Alicia Scott, Anar Khan, Andrew Griffiths, AnkeRintelmann, Anne Allan, Ben Franzmayr, Brent Barrett, Bruce Cooper,Catherine Bryant, Catherine Carter, Charlotte Gaborit, Chris Jones,Claudia Smith-Espinoza, Craig Anderson, Craigh Jones, DaveWhittaker, Debbie Care, Deborah Simon, Derek Woodfield, DharaniSontam, Dorothy Maher, Editha Meeking, Geoff Gill, Gregory Bryan,Hong Xue, Isabelle Verry, Ivan Baird, Jasmin Howie, Jen Lawn,Jessica Ellison, Jim Crush, Jocelyn Tilbrook, John Ford, JonathanPhillips, Jonathan Warren, Kerry Hancock, Kerry Templeton, KieranElborough, Kim Richardson, Li Ouyang, Linda Johnson, LornaMcGibbon, Maree Heikell, Margaret Biswas, Margaret Greig, MichelleWilliamson, Mike Hay, Muhannad Al-Wasab, Nick Ellison, NimaliWithana, Paul Bickerstaff, Rachel Sheridan, Richard Gardner, RobertWinz, Sathish Puthigae, Shirley Nichols, Shivendra Bajaj, SusanneRasmussen, Toni Waugh, Tony Dunn, Vern Collette, Wajid Hussein,Warren Williams, Yidong Ran, Zane Webber, Zulfi Jahufer…and more


Happy birthday Kate!

Documents

Dr Zac Hanley Pastoral Genomics Research Consortium 25th August... · – 70% perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) – hardy, palatable, productive, digestible obligate outcrosser