Agriculture biotechnology researchers in Saskatchewan hope to snag a piece of the $160 million that the federal government plans to put into genome research.
But it won’t be an easy task.
“We’ll have to fight hard,” said Bryan Harvey, the University of Saskatch-ewan’s agricultural research co-ordinator. “We know that we’re going to have to work hard to get our (interests) in there, because there’s going to be a very big emphasis on human genome research.”
Genomics is the science of mapping an organism’s genes. Scientists want to start mapping genes so they can figure out what traits specific genes have. Once they know that, they can alter organisms’ genetic structures.
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This is already being done in agriculture, with products like genetically modified canola that is resistant to broad spectrum herbicides.
Scientists believe there are many more revolutionary changes they can make to crops.
The University of Saskatchewan is a national leader in agricultural biotechnology, so it would probably benefit if federal genomic research money was put into agriculture, said Harvey. He said the potential for human health innovations is just as great, and governments naturally favor research that could help people.
Human genomics research could unravel the mysteries of multiple sclerosis, cancer and heart disease.
But Harvey said research in plants and animals can also help explain human ailments. And creating better crops that produce more and better food, or other products useful to humans, is also an area worth researching.
The $160 million federal investment is less than many research organizations hoped for, but Harvey said he was cheered by Ottawa’s indication that it planned to have five genomic centres across Canada, including one on the Prairies.
If agriculture gets a share of the funding, the university is well positioned to take advantage of it.
“We have strength here in the university and the private sector and the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada research station and the Plant Biotechnology Institute of the National Research Council,” said Harvey.
“Saskatoon is known as a biotech centre.”
