SWIFT CURRENT – SaskWheat is investing $6.5 million into gene discovery work at the University of Saskatchewan.
The money is a long term commitment, as it is dedicated to an Applied Genomics and Pre-breeding Chair at the U of S.
“Everything that we’re investing into projects like this one, is to come up with better wheat and durum varieties for producers,” said Jake Leguee, Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission chair.
“Better yields is only part of it. It’s also… better nitrogen use efficiency, water use efficiency, disease packages. All of those things require a lot of early-stage work on the genomics part of it.”
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SaskWheat announced the funding for the research chair at the 2025 Durum Summit, held January 30 in Swift Current.
The summit drew a large crowd of growers, researchers and durum industry reps, as 250-300 people packed a conference room at a casino near the TransCanada Hwy.
The researcher who becomes the chair in applied genomics and pre-breeding, will be announced later this year. The scientist will work on multiple crops, with a primary focus on wheat.
Designing a crop that has a desired trait, say improved tolerance to drought, requires years and years of work.
Researchers must first analyze a huge amount of genetic material from a crop species or wild relatives of that species, to identify genes that might provide resistant to drought.
“This research is necessary to translate gene discovery into (crop) traits,” said Curtis Pozniak, director of the Crop Development Centre and a wheat breeder at the U of Sask.
The new chair in applied genomics and pre-breeding, will help bridge the gap between discovery research and plant breeding activities. “Thank you to SaskWheat for your vision and… your support,” said Pozniak, who also attended the Durum Summit in Swift Current.
“This investment will allow us to expand our expertise and really be a leader in delivering better varieties to Western Canadian growers.”
Contact robert.arnason@producer.com
