walter trevisan monsanto central corn belt commercial corn breeding lead waterman-dekalb-il

The importance of The importance of GEM for US Seed GEM for US Seed

CompaniesCompanies

Walter TrevisanMonsantoCentral Corn Belt Commercial Corn Breeding LeadWaterman-Dekalb-IL

Outline

Introduction

The Corn Genetic Diversity used in the US

How can Seed companies benefit from GEM efforts?– Large Seed Companies– Small Seed companies

What are the present main deliverables from GEM?

Why are we confident that GEM is going to evolve with the new trends/new challenges of the modern seed industry?

Conclusion

Introduction

The hybrid corn breeding milestones and bottlenecks over the years

Introduction

– Land Races and Varieties till early 20th century

– The Double Cross era– The Single Cross era– The recurrent selection era– The data driven/pedigree era


Introduction

– The T Cytoplasm and the H. maydis disaster of early 70’s

The danger of genetic uniformity

– The biotech era – The mergers and acquisitions– The traits boom

10-12 traits stacks by 2012?


Yield Gain/Year on the Farm Increases by 70% in Biotech Era

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

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7000

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9000

10000

11000

1865

1875

1885

1895

1905

1915

1925

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1975

1985

1995

2005Year

Average C

orn Y

ield

s (

kg/h

a)

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

single cross

double crossopen pollinated

b=113.2/1.81

b=63.1/1.01

b=1.0/0.02

Average C

orn Y

ield

s (

bu/a

c)

biotech decadeb=194.7/3.11Troyer, F., Crop Sci. 46:528-543.

320 million additional acres would be neededto produce today’s crop @Civil War yield levels

The Organic Era

Introduction

– The Ethanol boom and its challenges Corn on Corn

– Disease pressure Foliar diseases Stalk rots More use of fungicides

– Nematodes? – More (more expensive) Nitrogen

How about P2O5?– Seedling vigor– Mechanization challenges

Planting over more corn debris Harvesting more stalk lodged plants

Storage challenges


Ethanol Plants in USA

Iowa corn processing & ethanol plants, current & planned, 10/26/06

63

Sac

Linn

Lee

Ida

Tama

Clay Kosuth

Jasper

Lyon

Page

StoryrJones

Fayette

Adair

Bentonn

Wapello

Pocahontas

Osceola

Jefferson

Audubon

Washington

BuenaVista

BlackHawk

Appanoose

CerroGordo

VanBuren

Mucatine

Dickenson

DesMoines

Winnebago

Montgomery

Iowa Corn Processing & Ethanol Plant Locations, Actual & Planned. 9/26/06,

PoweshiekPolk

BooneGreeneCarrollCrawford

Plymouth

O’Brien

Woodbury

Monona

Harrison Shelby

Wright Franklin

Floyd Chickasaw

Webster Hardin

Louisa

Emmet

Palo Alto

Hancock

Worth Mitchell HowardWinneshiek Allamakee

BremerButler

HamiltonGrundy

Buchanan

Delaware

Dubuque

Jackson

Clintonn

Guthrie Dallas

Johnson

Marshall

Pottawattamie

Mills

Fremont

Madison

Warren Marion Mahaska

Keokuk

Adams Union Clarke Lucas Monroe

Taylor Ringgold

Cherokee

Calhoun

Decatur Wayne Davis

Henry

Scott

Humboldt

Clayton

Cedar

Sioux

Cass

Iowa*

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Sac

Linn

Lee

Ida

Tama

Clay Kosuth

Jasper

Lyon

Page

StoryrJones

Fayette

Adair

Bentonn

Wapello

Pocahontas

Osceola

Jefferson

Audubon

Washington

BuenaVista

BlackHawk

Appanoose

CerroGordo

VanBuren

Mucatine

Dickenson

DesMoines

Winnebago

Montgomery

,

PoweshiekPolk


Plymouth

O’Brien

Woodbury

Monona

Harrison Shelby

Wright Franklin

Floyd Chickasaw

Webster Hardin

Louisa

Emmet

Palo Alto

Hancock


BremerButler

HamiltonGrundy

Buchanan

Delaware

Dubuque

Jackson

Clintonn

Guthrie Dallas

Johnson

Marshall

Pottawattamie

Mills

Fremont

Madison


Keokuk


Taylor Ringgold

Cherokee

Calhoun

Decatur Wayne Davis

Henry

Scott

Humboldt

Clayton

Cedar

Sioux

Cass

Iowa*

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Clay Kosuth

Jasper

Lyon

Page

StoryrJones

Fayette

Adair

Bentonn

Wapello

Pocahontas

Osceola

Jefferson

Audubon

Washington

BuenaVista

BlackHawk

Appanoose

CerroGordo

VanBuren

Mucatine

Dickenson

DesMoines

Winnebago

Montgomery

Iowa Corn Processing & Ethanol Plant Locations, Actual & Planned. 9/26/06,

PoweshiekPolk


Plymouth

O’Brien

Woodbury

Monona

Harrison Shelby

Wright Franklin

Floyd Chickasaw

Webster Hardin

Louisa

Emmet

Palo Alto

Hancock


BremerButler

HamiltonGrundy

Buchanan

Delaware

Dubuque

Jackson

Clintonn

Guthrie Dallas

Johnson

Marshall

Pottawattamie

Mills

Fremont

Madison


Keokuk


Taylor Ringgold

Cherokee

Calhoun

Decatur Wayne Davis

Henry

Scott

Humboldt

Clayton

Cedar

Sioux

Cass

Iowa*

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Sac

Linn

Lee

Ida

Tama

Clay Kosuth

Jasper

Lyon

Page

StoryrJones

Fayette

Adair

Bentonn

Wapello

Pocahontas

Osceola

Jefferson

Audubon

Washington

BuenaVista

BlackHawk

Appanoose

CerroGordo

VanBuren

Mucatine

Dickenson

DesMoines

Winnebago

Montgomery

,

PoweshiekPolk


Plymouth

O’Brien

Woodbury

Monona

Harrison Shelby

Wright Franklin

Floyd Chickasaw

Webster Hardin

Louisa

Emmet

Palo Alto

Hancock


BremerButler

HamiltonGrundy

Buchanan

Delaware

Dubuque

Jackson

Clintonn

Guthrie Dallas

Johnson

Marshall

Pottawattamie

Mills

Fremont

Madison


Keokuk


Taylor Ringgold

Cherokee

Calhoun

Decatur Wayne Davis

Henry

Scott

Humboldt

Clayton

Cedar

Sioux

Cass

Iowa*

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66 Planned + current in Iowa

11 Just across the borders

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Figure 1.

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Iowa corn processing & ethanol plants, current & planned, 11/20/06

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Capacity: 129% of 2006 cropCapacity: 139% of 2006 Crop

Iowa Corn Processing Plants, Current & Planned, 3/16/07

74 Potential Iowa Plants 11 Just across IA Borders

Corn Prices – 3 years

70

75

80

85

90

95

2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010

Mill

ion

Acr

es

1.50

2.00

2.50

3.00

3.50

4.00

$ pe

r B

ushe

l

Planted Acres Farm Price

Increase the area and increase the price? Unheard!!

Are we going to have enough corn?

The corn genetic diversity used in US


Do we have enough variability to allow continuous genetic gains for yield and still have sustainable economic yields?


– One basic race used in most of the Corn Belt (and other parts of the world)

The 19th century origin race- Corn Belt Dent– The merge of two land races- Southern Dents and

Northern Flints- in different percentages narrowed down nowadays to

SSS in the female side Non SSS (C103; Oh43; Oh7) in the male side

– Southern Dents still used in the South but receiving more and more introgressions of either SSS or Lancaster


– New techniques and increases in sizes and numbers have allowed us to keep genetic gains

Increase in nursery sizes (typical station)1950- X acres 1970- 3X acres1990- 7X acres2000- 10X acres2010- 15X acres

Increase in testing sizes1950- X acres1970- 2.5X acres1990- 5.0X acres2000- 7.0X acres2010- 15.0X acres

Better use of winter nursery- 2 or more gen/year Mechanization of planters, harvesting, processing


– New techniques and increases in sizes and numbers have allowed us to keep genetic gains

Better understanding of GxE and GxExY interactions

Better statistical designs

Incredible increase in computer speed and computer usage

Utilization of molecular markers- breeding and BC

Insect traits helped lower CV’s


– New techniques and increases in sizes and numbers have allowed us to keep genetic gains (cont)

The use of the Double Haploids techniques (old Chase’s monoploid techniques)

How many new techniques our breeding groups are “cooking” to improve efficiencies in our research?

But the bottom line is and will be ALWAYS:-

– How good our genetic base is– How good we are at moving up the yield

plateau and keep or increase genetic gains

0

50

1970

Avera

ge C

orn

Y

ield

(in

bu

sh

els

p

er

acre

)

100

150

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1990 2010 2030

Step-Changes in Grain Potential

Breeding and Biotechnology will drive yield increases

Molecular Breeding Benefit

Biotechnology Yield Benefit

Nat’l yields of

300 bu./ac are

possible

Historical Yield Projection

30-Year Trend, Based on Historical Yield Projection

Sizable Gains Will Be

Realized From Marker-

Assisted Breeding


– How long can we keep increasing the genetic gains and expanding the heterosis with narrower and narrower variability, even with the use of molecular markers?

– Are we going to wait till most of the variability is exhausted in this single corn race to look for new germplasm from different parts of the world?

– These questions have always been in the mind of very few breeders.

– The competitive environment calls for more and more data driven decisions that normally narrows the genetic variability very fast


– Some companies might reach its own yield plateau before others depending on how much infusion of different germplasm they have

– We need serious work on:-

Collecting what still is out there to be collected

Preserving and evaluating what has been collected

Increasing programs like GEM that systematically introgress new variability into an adapted genetic basis

How can Seed companies benefit from GEM efforts?

How US Seed Companies can benefit from GEM?

Monsanto strategically acquired different seed companies with different germplasm that used different methodologies for breeding

– The US Germplasm base acquired still allows good genetic gains for near future

– Very competitive and diverse Ex-US germplasm base Even GEM is benefiting from it- DK888; DK212;

XL370; DK844; etc; from different tropical areas of the world

– A pool of germplasm breeders very experienced in germplasm introgressions

The views of a large seed company (Monsanto)

Global Germplasm Resources Enable Deployment of Differentiated Product Portfolios

“Inter-company” breeding crosses are a routine part of our programStarting 2nd Breeding Generation of an integrated germplasm pool

Holden’s

DEKALBUSA

Asgrow USA

Cargill Int’l

Sensako Agroceres

DEKALB Int’l

AsgrowInt’l

Inter-companyCrosses

12 countries and 3 companies/country = 36 major germplasm acquisitions


Monsanto breeding strategy was/is to aggressively introgress Monsanto proprietary Ex-US germplasm into the Monsanto US heterotic pattern in a continuous and planned system

Results are piling!!

Recently several broad announcement:– Farmers Progress show

Demo of a hybrid launched in the Southern Corn Belt -25% Argentinean Flint in the male side-25% Brazilian germplasm in the female side

Monsanto’s CTO (Fraley) speeches to investors and media The Monsanto Ex-US germplasm allows tremendous

support for breeding and discovery projects


The seed companies introgression strategies are like “two lane highway”

The yield genes and heterosis accumulated in US has been more and more ”exported”.

More and more US germplasm is incorporated in other countries’ heterotic patterns

Intensive breeding in these countries is decreasing their exploited genetic variability

-Ex:- Thailand -1985- 95% varieties-2000- 90% Single Cross

Biotech era- export QTL’s to all the corn breeding around the world?

The introgressions that we will have in the future will have more and more of US germplasm (and US QTL’s).


How we (Monsanto) see GEM helping a large seed company?– We see GEM as

A parallel effort to bring to US different genes that enhance the US corn germplasm diversity

A “repository” of the genetic variability that the competitive breeding burns

A continuous and dedicated effort to identify different traits that can enhance the US corn

A source of diverse adapted inbreds that are ready to be used in breeding programs

We don’t believe yet that one inbred directly out of GEM could be commercial in a large company. But chances are increasing.

Recent evaluations against our testers indicate that the new releases are a lot more competitive in plant quality and yield level


How do we see GEM helping a small seed company?

– Access to Ex-US Inbreds US adapted germplasm base Clear aligned heteroticaly Screened by industry’s standard heterotic

aligned testers No daylenght sensitivity

– Access to source populations with 25% or 50% exotic germplasm for breeding purposes


How do we see GEM helping a small seed company?

– Participation in GEM is easy and cheap

– Inbreds are released to cooperators two years ahead of non cooperators

– Recent inbreds released by GEM are more commercially competitive.


– How do we see GEM helping a small seed company?

Direct Benefits– Foliar Diseases resistance to

GLS Southern and Northern Corn Leaf Blight Common and Southern Rust Other minor diseases

– Stalk and/or Ear rot resistance Anthracnosis Diplodia spp Fusarium spp

– Drought stress tolerant inbreds– Heat stress tolerant inbreds– Grain quality- physical and nutritional– Nitrogen; Phosphorous; Aluminum efficiency– Other traits

What are the present main deliverables from

GEM?

Finished Inbreds released by GEM/GEM partners

Year # Lines Released Institution Germplasm Attributes

2001 1* USDA-ARS Ames Resistance to 1st brood ECB (non-DIMBOA)

2002 2* Univ. of Delaware Yield, resistance to anthracnose and GLS

2003 29** NC State Univ. Yield, earlier flowering, GLS, Fusarium

2003 1* Ohio State Univ. Yield, fusarium resistance

2003 1 Univ. of Delaware VAT

2003 42 USDA-ARS Ames Temperate adaptation, GLS, VAT

2003 9* NC State Univ. Yield, VAT, GLS

2004 14 USDA-ARS Ames Temperate adaptation, yield, VAT

2004 2 Texas A&M Stress tolerance, yield, CEW, grain mold resistance

2004 1 Univ. of Wisconsin Superior nutritional quality/yield

2004 9 NC State Univ. Yield, earlier flowering, VAT

2005 9 USDA-ARS Ames Temperate adaptation, yield, VAT

2005 1 Univ. of Delaware High protein

2005 19 NC State Univ. Yield, earlier flowering, VAT

2006 13 USDA-ARS Ames Yield, VAT

2006 3 NC State Univ. Yield, earlier flowering

2007 10 USDA-ARS Ames Protein, oil, high starch for ethanol

2007 10 NC State U. 50% exotics; disease resistance

2007 1* Truman St. High amylose line

Total 177

* Crop Science registered.

** 20 of these 29 lines were Crop Science registered.

GRAND LIST Year Total *

Set Lines Released Lines

Set A 1999 62

Set B 2000 60

Set C 2001 50

Set D 2001 70

Set E 2004 87

Set F 2004 50

Set G 2004 30

Set H 2004 54

Set R 2004 72

Total 535* Mostly S3 bulk

Germplasm released by GEM till 2007

2007- Across Locations Means

PRODUCT NAMEMON

CODES TRAIT YIELD YM MST TWT STLP RTLP PHT EHT ERM

DKC64-23 Mon Check YG PLUS 213.0 11.2 20.2 56.8 0.0 0.0 90.0 38.5 113.3

DKC61-66 Mon Check TRIPLE 211.9 11.8 19.5 56.6 0.0 0.0 85.5 37.0 112.3

RX785RR2/YGPL Mon Check TRIPLE 208.4 11.9 18.7 55.8 0.0 0.0 88.5 32.5 112.7


Mon SSS x GEM7 GEM GEM 205.6 10.5 21.5 55.1 0.0 0.0 102.5 50.0 113.8

Mon NSSS x GEM9 GEM GEM 205.0 10.6 19.8 55.1 1.9 0.0 89.0 33.0 114.0


Mon SSS x Mon Exotic MON Exotic Mon Exotic 203.6 11.1 19.8 56.1 0.9 0.0 97.0 40.5 113.5





DKC61-72 Mon Check RR2 199.7 11.5 19.2 55.7 0.0 0.0 90.0 35.5 112.3


RX752RR/YG Mon Check RR2YG 198.4 11.0 19.9 55.1 0.0 0.0 91.0 35.5 113.7


RX752YG Mon Check YG 198.3 11.2 19.9 55.3 0.3 0.0 86.5 31.5 112.4




DKC64-27 Mon Check RR2 197.0 10.6 19.8 56.3 0.3 0.0 92.0 33.5 114.6



Why we are confident that GEM is going to evolve with the new

trends/new challenges of the modern seed

industry?

GEM is adapting to the present and future breeding needs

Adapted MethodologyCooperatorsand testing

VisibilityExotic

-Elite Inbreds-Modern Hybrids-Temp. Adapted-Exchange

-Sub-committee-Known Het. Testers-Trait Testers?-Elite Found Testers -S.S. Descent-Dihaploids-Improved Assoc. Studies

-US-International-Exchange-”Liaisons”

-”Marketing”-ASTA-Breeder’s Meetings-GEM Newsletter Email

-Elite Early-Elite Central-Off patent

Adapted Germplasm– Use early for first cross (95RM?)– Better Elite Central Corn Belt

From Cooperators Off Patent Known heterosis with testers

Exotic Germplasm– Available Elite Tropical Inbreds- Cimmyt, CIAT, IITA, Asia, Africa, L. America.

Public Exchange

– Modern new Tropical Hybrids- Private or public– Temperate adapted Tropical sources- like FS

US Testers– Elite known heterosis – Off patent– Traits?

Continuous review of our Methodologies– Sub-committee– Single Seed Descent; Dihaploids; Land Races Relationship– Associations Studies- in planning

Cooperators– Attract more US and non-US companies and institutions

Visibility– USDA– ASTA

GEM is adapting to the present and future breeding needs

Conclusion

GEM is the best example of a successful cooperative effort among USDA, Universities and private sector to achieve the goals of increasing germplasm diversity and decreasing genetic vulnerability in the US Corn.

GEM is already producing some interesting inbreds/germplasm for the seed industry

GEM is adapting very quickly to the continuous needs of an evolving seed industry

GEM can benefit smaller and bigger seed companies

That’s all folks!

Questions/Comments?

walter trevisan monsanto central corn belt commercial corn breeding lead waterman-dekalb-il

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