Purdue seeks $9 million for agricultural genetic research

AP 12jan01

WEST LAFAYETTE, IN  -- Purdue University scientists are seeking $9 million from state lawmakers to advance genetic research that could lead to superior livestock, honeybees and hardwood trees.

University officials said investing the money over a two-year period would create new high-tech firms and allow Purdue to stay at the forefront of advances in genetic research.

"Genomics is where the world is heading, fast and furiously," Vic Lechtenberg, dean of the School of Agriculture and professor of agronomy, said Thursday.

Genomics is the effort to decipher the genetic code of plants, humans, insects and other creatures in hopes that scientists will eventually be able to cure diseases or remove undesirable traits.

William Muir, a professor of animal science and director of Purdue's genome sequencing facility, said genomics will allow the identification of genes that cause hogs to fight each other for food.

The creation of more docile hogs could bring up to a 25 percent increase in hog growth with less feed and no additional vitamins. Fighting among hogs burns up energy and causes injuries and death.

Less aggressive hogs might save pork producers $5.6 billion a year, Muir said.

"We have to find more genes ... I feel we can find them in a year or two," he said.

Other Purdue research efforts promise to boost wheat production, save hardwood forests, fight crop diseases and protect honeybees.

Purdue entomologist Greg Hunt is using gene mapping techniques to locate the genes that produce so-called killer bees -- dangerous insects that also disrupt agriculture by attacking beneficial honeybees.

One third of all food produced in the United States is pollinated by honeybees. Hunt's work could prevent killer bees from entering commercial bee populations or make them more gentle.

Jeanne Romero-Severson, an assistant professor of quantitative genetics in forestry and natural resources, is using genomics in research aimed at sustaining red oak, black walnut and black cherry trees.

The hardwood forest products industry contributes more than $4 billion per year to the Indiana economy, and employs 59,000 people.

But because the best trees are cut down first, leaving inferior trees standing, there's growing concern about lessening the quality of future hardwood trees that take decades to grow and reproduce.

Genomics is allowing researchers to find the genes responsible for straightness, growth rate, branch angles and heartwood quantity, so that the best trees can be determined before they are even planted.

The improved varieties eventually will be sold to nurseries, and some may grow twice as fast as those in the wild, said Romero-Severson.

Late last year, the Lilly Endowment announced that it was awarding Indiana University $105 million to fund the IU Genomics Initiative, which will try to decipher key parts of the human genome.

Now, Purdue wants to get a piece of the genomics action.

"We want to position Purdue to be a major leader in genomics," said Randy Woodson, associate dean and director of agricultural research programs. "The state already is strong in pharmaceutical production and farming, and genomics has the potential to reshape the state of Indiana."