LETHBRIDGE, Alta. – DNA fingerprinting, genetic mapping, transgenics and bioengineering are terms that have recently worked their way into the agricultural vocabulary.
These terms are often used freely among farmers, but the average person may only possess a vague understanding of what the science involves.
For plant pathologist Larry Kawchuk, bioengineering has become an elegant way to solve some of the many disease problems confronting potato growers.
International pre-ssure to use fewer chemicals for disease control is forcing alternative means to control problems like the leafroll virus, blights and other fungal diseases, said Kawchuk.
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“I think it’s more interesting if we can improve a crop, improve the yield and quality and eliminate some of the pesticides that are already being eliminated through legislation that’s coming in many countries. We’re going to need alternatives if we’re going to maintain agriculture at its present level,” he said.
Some of those alternatives are being found in cramped laboratories at the Lethbridge Research Station where potato research is conducted for the three prairie provinces.
Kawchuk said the potato is relatively simple genetically speaking, having two billion base pairs along its genetic code. To trace that code, both old and new plants are grown and compared at the station.
At Lethbridge, researchers have grown several lines of wild potatoes for their resistance to various conditions which can be used for domestic plants.
As well, researchers grow tobacco plants because they offer some resistance traits that could be useful in potato research, said Kawchuk.
Some of the most dramatic work under way at the Lethbridge station is the development through transgenic engineering of the first Russet Burbank potato resistant to the luteo virus, which can nearly wipe out a plant’s tuber production.
To create the immunity, a team of researchers led by Kawchuk injected a small piece of the virus into the potato’s genetic makeup to make the plant disease resistant. This transfer works like a vaccination.
This alteration adds nothing new to the plant, said Kawchuk.
“We’ve been eating potato leafroll virus for 2,000 years because it’s always there in potatoes.”
Kawchuk said researchers may have found a perfect plant. There are no concerns about cross pollination to weeds because there are no weeds that are closely related to potatoes.
“Even if the resistance got out … that’s not necessarily bad. Weeds act as a reservoir for the virus and the weed would be protected against the virus,” he said.
Once this disease-resistant plant passes a series of tests, Canadian farmers could start growing it within three or four years.
Although leafroll isn’t a huge problem in Alberta, for growers in the Pacific Northwest the virus is a major concern.
“If we have a line that is resistant, Washington (state) would buy all our clean seed,” said Kawchuk.
There are no regulations in Canada governing transgenic foods, but in the U.S., seven genetically altered products on the market are experiencing high consumer acceptance.
