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Recent developments in cell biology, molecular biology, immun-ology and genetic engineering have given new dimensions to research and application of biotechnology to farm animals. Historically, artificial insem-ination, one of the early reproductive technologies, has provided excellent opportunities to expand the superior genetics of selected animals in planned breeding programs.
The aquaculture industry is looking increasingly to genetic improvement for gains in production. But improving the genetics of aquatic species can take a long time. With catfish, for instance, a male typically spawns with only one female each season. Even if genetically superior males and females could be identified, the process of developing breeding stock and improved lines could take a decade or more.
(Vol. 46, No. 4) This is a focus issue about biotechnology.
Approximately 3 million broiler breeder eggs are set weekly to support the number of chicks needed to produce the more than 200 million broilers reared annually in Louisiana for human consumption. LSU AgCenter researchers are exploring increasing egg production in broiler breeder hens using inhibin-based immunopharmaceuticals.
Sweet potatoes are grown commercially by bedding whole potatoes in the field and transplanting cuttings from the sprouts produced in the beds to the production field. Thus, it is one of many crops, including potatoes, sugarcane and strawberries, grown by vegetative propagation.
Viruses cause lost productivity in all species of agricultural plants and animals. Viruses work by entering a cell and subverting the essential functions of that host cell to replicate their own kind. Implicit in this strategy for survival are consequences for their hosts, ranging from pain and suffering to possible death, depending on the nature of the virus and the particular host.
The integrated pest management (IPM) approach to insect control involves multiple tactics. Host plant resistance is one. Pest-resistant plants can reduce pest population growth, the number of pesticide applications and the environmental impact of pesticides. Though some research has been conducted on breeding insect resistance into soybean plants, most soybean breeding programs focus on increasing yield.
The bacterial genus Brucella includes six recognized species. They are characterized by the animals that they preferentially infect. Three of these bacteria were classified by the Centers for Disease Control as “agents of mass destruction” after the Sept. 11, 2001, tragic events in this country.
In traveling through the major crop-producing areas of Louisiana in the late 1980s and early 1990s, it was common to see fields infested with many grass and broadleaf weeds. In some cases, it was difficult even to distinguish the crop. Traveling through those same areas in 2003 presents a starkly different picture. Fields are cleaner than they have ever been.
In the past decade there have been major advances in molecular genetics research. A wide variety of DNA-based markers have been developed. These include random amplified polymorphic DNAs (RAPD), amplified fragment polymorphisms (AFLP) and DNA microsatellites. These markers are used to map genes, study population genetics and produce DNA fingerprints.
Every once in a while someone comes along who can build a better mousetrap. And at the LSU AgCenter, that person is Richard Cooper, professor in the Department of Veterinary Science, who’s come up with a way to get chickens to lay eggs containing human proteins.
While the use of native vegetation is well accepted as a cost-effective measure to prevent coastal land loss, the concept of genetically improving wetland plants for the changing marsh environments is quite novel. LSU AgCenter scientists are focusing on development of genetically superior plants in native plant species for unstable coastal areas.
Genetic therapy is the introduction of a gene or group of genes into an animal to either correct the result of an abnormal gene or to form a new product that has a beneficial effect for the animal or for those using products derived from the animal.
The first caterpillar-resistant transgenic cotton varieties (Bollgard) were approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1996. The Bollgard technology has successfully reduced the frequency of sprays for caterpillar pests by about half.
A primary goal of the LSU AgCenter’s Biotechnology Laboratory (ABL) is to develop new commercial products and establish biotechnology as one of Louisiana’s future leading industries.
Biotechnology Education for Students and Teachers – BEST – is a program designed to help assure a flow of fresh talent into research at the LSU AgCenter. The program brings top-notch science teachers and their students to campus for a biotechnology-intense, six-week summer session.
LSU AgCenter rice breeder Qi Ren Chu grows the equivalent of thousands of acres of rice in his lab – a room the size of your kitchen. “Instead of growing plants in a field, we grow 5 million pollen (grains) in a Petri dish,” said Chu, trying to explain how he coaxes green rice plants to sprout in what starts out as a dish full of pollen swimming in a special chemical soup.
Recent developments in cell biology, molecular biology, immun-ology and genetic engineering have given new dimensions to research and application of biotechnology to farm animals. Historically, artificial insem-ination, one of the early reproductive technologies, has provided excellent opportunities to expand the superior genetics of selected animals in planned breeding programs.
Rice is one of Louisiana’s leading agricultural commodities, with nearly 532,000 acres planted in 2002, producing an average yield of 5,772 pounds per acre. The 2002 gross farm income reached $122.8 million, and value added in marketing, processing and transportation increased that amount to $159.6 million.
The aquaculture industry is looking increasingly to genetic improvement for gains in production. But improving the genetics of aquatic species can take a long time. With catfish, for instance, a male typically spawns with only one female each season. Even if genetically superior males and females could be identified, the process of developing breeding stock and improved lines could take a decade or more.
Rice farmers throughout the world face a unique weed problem. A weedy relative of cultivated rice, red rice, can invade and severely infest rice fields, both lowering yields and reducing the selling price of the harvested grain. Most of Louisiana’s rice acreage is infested, at least to some extent, with this weed. Because of its close genetic relationship to commercial rice, red rice has proved difficult to control.
Strawberries are one of the most popular fruit crops grown in the world. Per capita consumption of fresh strawberries in the United States has increased in the past 10 years and is predicted to continue to rise in the foreseeable future. Most U.S. commercial production of strawberries is in California where the arid climate and low disease pressure make ideal growing conditions.
Rice farmer Danny Koch noticed something special as he piloted a combine the size of a small house through his 82-acre field of Clearfield 161 rice this summer.“This field was tremendously infested with red rice last year,” said Koch, who farms just north of Eunice. “Look at it this year. There’s not a stalk in here. It’s amazing.”
