. WASHINGTON, DC - Itgncultural scientists have discovered that genetic material called plasmids in com and sorghum may be a key to breeding desirable traits, such as disease resistance, into these crops Daryl R Prmg, plant pathologist with the U.S Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service, reported the finding Monday at the opening session of a three-day symposium on genetic engineering at the Beltsville, Md., Agricultural Research Center But don’t look for quick development of new plants that could prevent disease from wiping out today’s hybrid crops, Prmg cautions. iB^FABCONCEMTRArei I *258.80 reR IWI I | ALL NATURAL PROTEIN! I Wayne 38% Dari-Blen feeding has boosted milk production as much as 20% in many herds. Let us show you how Wayne 38% Dari-Blen can help you boost production. And it works with Maxine, the Wayne computer, for all the calculations you need to take full advantage of Dari-Blen nutrition for your herd. See us today for complete details on Wayne 38% Dari-Blen. Scientists link genes to disease resistance Future use ot the plasiiuds in breeding will require a great deal ol research, Prmg said Cap tailizing on the plasmid's potential, he emphasized, will have to wail peiteclion ot the genetic engineering techniques uivolved, and this could take many yeat s Prmg, who does research for USDA’s Agricultural Research Service in Gainesville, Fla., said the discovery is significant because it may give plant breeders the ability to overcome the disease susceptibility that can accompany male sterility in corn Plasmids could be a new source of male sterility in corn, he said In the past, a source called the T cytoplasm had been relied on to produce this sterility, but it caused Wayne' 38% Dari-Blen. Because your dairy cow can deliver a bigger check. WALKER COMPANY corn to be susceptible to disease Prmg said plasmids may carry the genetic information that produces male sterility in corn It is a genetic trait prized in plant breeding When plant breeders produce hybrid offspring, they cross pollmate different plants of the same species - such as corn - to transfer genetic traits between them Usually, the pollen or male part of the flower is removed by hand to guarantee male sterility Use of the plasmid may guarantee sterility and save a lot of hand work, Prmg said Male sterility insures that the seeds produced are hybrids—that such seeds produce plants that have been cross-pollinated to capture Gap, PA 17527 Phone (717) 442-4169 Uncaster Farming, Saturday, May 22,1952—A19 desirable traits such as increased yield, improved seed quality and drought resistance Earlier, Prmg and geneticist C S Levings of North Carolina State University discovered the plasmids while studying male sterility in corn in cell structures known as the mitochondria, which are energy-producing bodies in cells After the discovery in corn, Prmg and his associates and USDA geneticisit K F Schertz at College Station, Tex , found similiar plasmids in male sterile sorghum These plasmids also were located in the mitochondria Prmg said that because com and sorghum plasmids are chemically similar, the findings suggest a common Tree Spraying: URGENT! mechanism of male slenliU in these two plants ‘Our studies are designed to alter the T cytoplasm gene to eliminate disease susceptibility in com,' ’ the scientist said Un the other hand, our sorghum work is preventive medicine,” Prmg said In sorghum, male sterility is not linked to disease susceptibility We want to broaden the cytoplasmic base of sorghum to avoid potential disease or insect problems ” Prmg and an interdisciplinary team of USDA and state scientists began to suspect that plasmids were responsible for male sterility while undertaking studies on corn mutants—plants in which genetic alterations occur naturally and are unexplained What the scientists found was evidence of the possible evolutionary origin of male sterility in corn They located free plasmids” independent, tiny molecular entities associated with the mitochrondna in the cytoplasm of one male-sterile mutant of corn These plasmids may have come originally from fertile corn, Prmg said, but were cut out during the evolutionary process, converting the plant from male fertile to male sterile At the University of Illinois, geneticists J K Laughnan and S J Gabay-Laughnan found com mutants Then, Prmg and Levmgs, working with the Illinois collaborators, found evidence that the plasmid had been integrated back into the mitochrondrial genetic material, making the plant self-fertile. Prmg said plasmids are widely found m microorganisms and often are associated with antibiotic resistance bacteria Genetic engineering technology is suc cessfully being applied to microorganisms and will work in higher plants, according to the scientist USDA’s Agricultural Research Service, the USDA Competitive Grants Program and the Florida Agricultural Experiment Station supported the cooperative research, with input from state collaborators and the Plant Breeding Institute. Cambridge England GYPSY MOTH are now active in this area Don’t delay Call us for a free inspection of your trees and shrubs No obligation (Also call for lawn care services) 397-3721 SINCE 1928 TREE FERTILIZING -■ ■ AND SPRAYING SERVICE cnriicn 1279 LOOP ROAD, UNCASTER
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