SBIR Phase II: New dwarfing genes to improve yield and abiotic stress tolerance in wheat

这一小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第二阶段项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力将是通过部署新开发的、特定于地区的矮秆基因来提高全球小麦产量。预计到2050年，世界人口将增长到96亿。预计小麦需求也将增加，原因是全球财富预期增加，小麦消费从大米转向小麦。增加的小麦需求将不得不在土地面积减少和气候变化的情况下得到满足。水分利用效率和小麦产量的增加将是满足这一需求的重要因素。这项拟议的技术有望在非生物胁迫条件下提高小麦产量。所有这些好处预计都将对人类产生重大的积极影响。小麦种子业务目前估值高达83亿美元。这项拟议的技术将提供竞争优势，以夺取小麦种子行业的重要市场份额，同时在不断变化的气候条件下为粮食安全做出积极贡献。这项SBIR第二阶段项目提议进一步开发和测试替代矮秆基因，以提高全球小麦产量和非生物胁迫耐受性。作为“绿色革命”的一部分，矮秆基因是获得更高产量所必需的，但目前90%以上的小麦品种中存在的两个矮秆基因具有严重的不良影响，包括非生物胁迫敏感性、根长和生物量降低、出苗和活力。在第一阶段的研究中，发现了四个新的矮化基因，并证明它们比目前使用的基因要好得多。第二阶段将侧重于新基因与旧基因的比较，以展示它们的真正好处。这项研究还将产生开发“发布就绪”品种所需的宝贵数据。遗传背景效应的研究将通过将一个新的矮秆基因转移到两个不同的背景中，然后进行田间和控制条件评估。未来的竞争优势将通过聚合具有互补基因作用的新矮秆基因来保持。将开发紧密相连的DNA标记，以便将技术有效地转移到不同的背景中。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will be to improve wheat yield globally by deploying newly developed, region-specific dwarfing genes. World population is predicted to grow to 9.6 billion by 2050. Wheat demand is expected to increase also due to a shift from rice to wheat consumption due to an expected increase in wealth around the globe. The increased wheat demand will have to be met under less land area and changing climate. Water use efficiency and increase in wheat yields will be important factors in meeting this demand. The proposed technology is poised to increase wheat yield under abiotic stress conditions. All of these benefits are expected to have a major positive impact on humanity. The wheat seed business is currently valued at up to $8.3 billion. The proposed technology will provide a competitive advantage to capture a significant market share of the wheat seed industry while contributing positively towards food security during the changing climate.This SBIR phase II project proposes to further develop and test alternative dwarfing genes to improve wheat yield and abiotic stress tolerance around the globe. Responsible for the "green-revolution," dwarfing genes are required to obtain higher yields, but the two dwarfing genes present in more than 90% of the currently grown wheat varieties have serious ill-effects including abiotic stress sensitivity, reduced root length and biomass, seedling emergence, and vigor. During the Phase I research, four new dwarfing genes were identified and shown to be significantly better than the currently used genes. Phase II will focus on the comparison of the new genes with the old genes to show their true benefits. This research also will generate valuable data required for the development of "release-ready" varieties. Genetic background effects will be studied by transferring one of the new dwarfing genes into two different backgrounds followed by field and controlled condition evaluation. Future competitive advantage will be maintained by pyramiding the new dwarfing genes with complementary gene action. Closely linked DNA markers will be developed for an efficient transfer of the technology into diverse backgrounds.