Research Team Moves Closer to Beating Root-Knot Nematode

Sep 16, 2013
By Denise Faguy
Assistant Editor, North American Content, Farms.com

A group of scientists from the University of Missouri, the University of Georgia and the Beijing Genome Institute are using next-generation sequencing to combat a deadly soybean parasite. The team has identified two genes, out of approximately 50,000 possibilities, that defend soybeans from damage caused by the root-knot nematode (RKN) parasite. Each year in the United States the RKN parasite destroys $50 million of soybean crops.

In addition to soybeans, the RKN also destroys potato, sugar beet, rice, coconut palm, banana, pepper, tobacco, watermelon, tomato and peanut crops. RKN is one of the three most economically damaging plant parasites worldwide, causing an average worldwide yield loss of five percent.

For soybean research, this is the first time next-generation sequencing has been used. The research team is also using a number of different genetic techniques; the goal is to determine the specific gene that prevents RKN from infecting the soybean. Once this is determined, scientists will be able to breed resistant soybean varieties or cultivars.

The research was funded by the Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.