USDA Agricultural Research Service

Sorghum's Biofuel Potential Spotlighted
Mon, 18 Aug 2008 08:12:00 -0500
International experts from government, academia and agriculture will gather for the International Workshop on Sorghum for Biofuels in Houston, Texas. Photo courtesy of Howard F. Schwartz, Colorado State University, Bugwood.org New sorghum is ideal for both fuel and feed   Exploring sorghum's knack for keeping weeds away   A head start on mapping two cereal crop genomes USDA Conference Spotlights Sorghum's Biofuel Potential By Ann Perry August 18, 2008 WASHINGTON, D.C., August 18, 2008—Sorghum's potential as a biofuel crop will be explored at the International Workshop on Sorghum for Biofuels which begins in Houston, Texas, tomorrow. More than 100 international experts from government, academia, the private sector and the agricultural community are expected to participate in the conference. U.S. co-sponsors of the event include the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Research, Education and Economics (REE) mission area, Texas A&M University (TAMU), and the National Sorghum Producers (NSP). Other co-sponsors include Brazil’s Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuaria (EMBRAPA), the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), and Tsinghua University, which is located in the Peoples’ Republic of China. “U.S. consumers know that we need to develop new sources of energy to meet our transportation needs,” said REE Under Secretary Gale A. Buchanan. “Growing sorghum for bioenergy production can give us a source of renewable—and profitable—energy right here at home.” Sorghum is attracting greater interest as a bioenergy crop because it is tolerant of drought and grows well on marginal lands not suitable for most other crops. It produces high yields even after an abbreviated production cycle, and requires minimal amounts of fertilizer and irrigation. Scientists at the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), a USDA scientific research agency, are part of the international research community studying sorghum genetics and genomics, production systems and conversion processes to optimize biofuel production. At the workshop, attendees will share information about key scientific advances supporting the economically viable and environmentally sustainable production and utilization of sorghum as a bioenergy crop. Participants also will be able to visit TAMU and learn more about ongoing research on bioenergy feedstock and development. Site visits also will be available to Jennings, La., where Verenium Corporation has broken ground for a 1.4-million-gallon-per-year demonstration cellulosic ethanol facility, the first of its kind in the United States. Opening remarks will be given by Mark Hussey, interim vice chancellor and dean of the TAMU College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and also director of Texas AgriLife Research; USDA Under Secretary Buchanan, and Liu Yanhau, vice minister of the People’s Republic of China Ministry of Science and Technology. Other speakers on the agenda include representatives from the NSP, USDA, ARS, the U.S. Department of Energy and the TAMU Agricultural and Food Policy Center.
Investigating Genetic Traits in Sheep
Fri, 15 Aug 2008 08:13:00 -0500
Read the magazine story to find out more. Information gathered on a sheep and its relatives is helping ARS scientists learn just how much a trait is affected by genes or by nongenetic factors. Click the image for more information about it. Genetics research helps scuttle scrapie   To boost flock fertility, first find superior studs   Protecting sacred sheep Genetic Underpinnings of Sheep Traits May Yield Clues to Greater Productivity By Jan Suszkiw August 15, 2008 Keeping America's sheep healthy and productive while expanding the market for wool and lamb is the goal of Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists who are matching the animals' physical traits to the genes that underpin their expression. The scientists are pursuing this research mainly at three ARS locations: the Animal Diseases Research Unit (ADRU) in Pullman, Wash.; the U.S. Sheep Experiment Station in Dubois, Idaho; and the Roman L. Hruska U.S. Meat Animal Research Center in Clay Center, Neb. At Dubois, the team led by Gregory Lewis is investigating reproductive efficiency, mineral retention and other traits. Michelle Mousel, an ARS geneticist at Dubois, has also created a bank of frozen tissue specimens from the station's on-site flock of 6,000 lambs, ewes and rams in support of that work, as well as data analysis and genotyping efforts. At Pullman, ARS scientists Lynn Herrmann-Hoesing, Stephen White and Donald Knowles, who leads ADRU, are using the tissue samples to study whether ovine progressive pneumonia virus levels are affected by specific sheep immune response genes. Their goal is a molecular test with which to measure the levels of such infectious agents in sheep. Scrapie, a degenerative neurological disease of sheep, is another concern. At Clay Center, ARS microbiologist Michael Heaton and colleagues used DNA analysis and genotyping procedures to identify sheep with 21 prion gene alleles (alternate forms of a gene) that influence genetic resistance to scrapie. The advance has given rise to faster, better and cheaper methods of detecting scrapie susceptibility in sheep and eliminating their predisposition to the disease through selective breeding. Parallel studies under way at Clay Center and Dubois focus on the so-called myostatin mutation in Texel sheep. Through conventional breeding, researchers eventually may be able to harness the mutation to increase the size of lamb chops without adversely affecting tenderness. Read more about this and related research in the August 2008 issue of Agricultural Research magazine. ARS is a scientific research agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
"Slick" Gene Helps Cattle Beat the Heat
Thu, 14 Aug 2008 09:31:00 -0500
Read the magazine story to find out more. Agricultural Research Service scientists have identified a gene associated with "slick coat" which gives cattle shorter, slick hair that helps keep them cool in subtropical heat. Click the image for more information about it. Perennial peanut for quality pastures and hay   USDA's Florida research station celebrates 75 years of excellence   Federal genebank releases first animal germplasm "Slick" Gene Helps Cattle Beat the Heat By Alfredo Flores August 14, 2008 Pinpointing the chromosomal location of the "slick" gene identified by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists could help breeders develop cattle with shorter, slick hair that helps keep them cool in the subtropical heat. In central Florida, excessive summer heat can take its toll on cattle, leading to reduced milk production from dairy cattle and higher death rates among beef cattle. But the discovery of the slick gene by scientists at the ARS Subtropical Agricultural Research Station (STARS) in Brooksville, Fla., should help deal with these heat-related issues. Breeders could move the gene into other economically important breeds, such as Holstein or Angus, to improve their heat tolerance. The black-and-white Holstein is the world=s top-producing dairy animal. The typical Holstein herd produces more than 21,000 pounds of milk, 775 pounds of butterfat and 683 pounds of protein per year. Angus is the most popular beef breed in the United States, with more than 350,000 Angus cattle registered. They are hardy, undemanding and adaptable, and have a high carcass yield of marbled meat--the amount of intramuscular fat that gives the meat its marble pattern appearance, a highly sought trait in the meat industry. Studies at Brooksville led by animal scientist Chad Chase have shown slick-haired animals to have internal temperatures about 1 degree Fahrenheit lower during the summer than other cattle with normal hair coats. Mapping the gene=s location on the chromosome is the first step towards identifying the mutation responsible for the shorter, slick hair. Chase and his STARS team have found a strong association between at least two closely positioned markers on chromosome 20 and the slick-haired phenotype. Microsatellite markers were used in these studies. These results suggest a role for marker-assisted selection to identify bulls that will produce only slick-haired progeny. Some Senepol bulls were tested using these markers, and the results indicated excellent potential for identifying bulls that will produce only slick-haired offspring. The same gene also appears to be responsible for the slick hair coat in Romosinuano cattle. Read more about this and related animal studies in the August 2008 issue of Agricultural Research magazine. ARS is a scientific research agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture .

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