PROPOSAL TITLE/TITRE DE LA PROPOSITION : Evaluation and potential use of arbuscular mycorrhizae in small fruit culture under environmental stress mainly drought and salinity
A – Identification
Type of Candidate (check one or more)/Type de candidats (choisir un ou plusieurs) :
Graduate students / étudiants des cycles supérieurs:
- Master’s or equivalent /
Maîtrise ou équivalent
- Ph.D.
Visiting Scientist from a university or a research organisation/Chercheur visiteur provenant d’une université ou d’un organisme de recherche.
Visitor expected length of stay at AAFC, specify number of months (minimum and/or maximum)/
Durée prévue du séjour du visiteur à AAC, spécifier le nombre de mois (minimum et/ou maximum) :
24
Start date must be before March 31, 2013/
Date impérative de début du séjour avant le 31 mars 2013, specify/spécifier :
Jan 10, 2013
Research location in Canada / Lieu de la recherche au Canada :
Horticulture Research and Development Centre, AAFC
Website : http://www.agr.gc.ca/science
City/Ville, Province :
Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Québec
Contact:
Shahrokh Khanizadeh
Email/Courriel : shahrokh.khanizadeh@agr.gc.ca
Phone/Téléphone : 1-450-515-2058
B – The Research Team/ L’équipe de recherche
AAFC Supervisor/Superviseur à AAC : Dr. Shahrokh Khanizadeh,
Other AAFC scientists/Autres chercheurs d’AAC : Yoland Dalpé, M. T. Charles, Odile Carisse, AAFC,
University partners/Partenaires universitaires : Danielle Donnelly, McGill University, Chritian Charest, University of Ottawa
Industry partners/Partenaires industriels : Fraise d’Ile d’Orleans & Lareault Nursery
C – Proposal Description/ Description de la proposition
Objective/Objectif :
Determine the effects of AMF infection on vegetative growth and root morphology of selected strawberry cultivars under different levels of salinity
Sub-objectives:
(a) to evaluate the affect of AMF on vegetative growth and yield of selected strawberry lines under stress (drought/salinity).
(b) to evaluate if salinity and water stress can be overcome by selected AMF.
(c) to determine the affect of AMF on fruit quality and chemical composition including the polyphenols and a range of antioxidant.
Value of the Opportunity (issue, results, outcomes)/Valeur de l’opportunité (problème, résultats, retombées):
Stress is an ever-increasing threat to agro-ecosystems due to climate change and industry pollution worldwide. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) have been used as a biological and practical way to ameliorate the adverse effects of stress and improve plant productivity by many researchers. The aim of proposed research is to evaluate the potential use of selected AMF from the existing population and to study their effect on stress mainly drought and salinity on selected strawberry lines.
Hypothesis: The AMF can alleviate the unfavourable impact of stress (salinity/drought) and promote vegetative growth and reproduction.
Feasibility-Scientific/Technical Capacity
The candidate should have a MSc, PhD degree or post Doc (researcher) or being completing their graduate studies from a University with knowledge of tissue culture, plant breeding and laboratory experience willing to do a part of the work in field. The candidate will gain immense experience in plant improvement techniques including crossing, selection, and release of a new cultivar while studying the physiology and interaction of the plants, adverse environmental factors and AMF. He/She will be engaged in writing manuscript articles and presenting the work in different international conferences. The candidate will work on part of a large breeding program and learn how to do the crossing and selections and look for characteristics helping to breed a new line. The candidate will also have the opportunity to visit and work with other Centers and universities with whom we will collaborate during her/his internship.
Recent Outcome and Success Story
The investigators (Khanizadeh and Dalpé) already have experience in evaluation of AMF in a range of crops including strawberries (Didier et al 2003; Fan et al 2010 and Khanizadeh el at 1995) and apples (Granger et al. 1995). The use of Glomeromycota collections, support and collaboration with industry and researchers will strengthen the existing competency and assure the outcome while help to train graduate student in the field biological control.
D – Describe the qualifications needed (academic, study, knowledge, skills, experiences, etc.), and the benefits to the candidate /Décrire les qualifications requises (études, connaissances, compétences, expériences, etc) et les avantages pour les candidats
The internship program will be on developing fruit crops resistant to stress especially drought and salt stress. The final aim is to develop fruit for fresh market and processing in arid area with emphases on fruit quality, shelf life and disease resistant and the priorities are on performing fundamental research to develop techniques to accelerate the breeding process. The selected candidate will continue the work done by other visiting scholar (see above list of publication) and should be familiar with fruit culture and already have some experience in physiology and chemistry willing to work in the field (Orchard) and laboratory and capable of using HPLC and other laboratory equipment or have the ability to learn to use them. The candidate will work on the part of a large breeding program and will learn how to do the crossing, selection and looks for characteristics that help to breed a new line for processing (fresh, dried fruit, juice & cider). The candidate also will have the opportunity to visit and work with other AAFC and universities that we collaborate during her/his internship.
Type of Candidate (check one or more)/Type de candidats (choisir un ou plusieurs) :
Graduate students / étudiants des cycles supérieurs:
- Master’s or equivalent /
Maîtrise ou équivalent X
- Ph.D.
X
Visiting Scientist from a university or a research organisation/Chercheur visiteur provenant d’une université ou d’un organisme de recherche. X
Visitor expected length of stay at AAFC, specify number of months (minimum and/or maximum)/
Durée prévue du séjour du visiteur à AAC, spécifier le nombre de mois (minimum et/ou maximum) :
24
Start date must be before March 31, 2013/
Date impérative de début du séjour avant le 31 mars 2013, specify/spécifier :
Expected start date:
December 1st , 2012
Research location in Canada / Lieu de la recherche au Canada :
Saskatoon Research Centre, AAFC
Website : http://www.agr.gc.ca/science
City/Ville, Province :
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Contact:
Dr. Steve Robinson
Email/Courriel : Steve.Robinson@agr.gc.ca
Phone/Téléphone : 1-306-956-2831
B – The Research Team/ L’équipe de recherche
AAFC Supervisor/Superviseur à AAC : Dr. Steve Robinson – Epigenetics laboratory, SRC, Sasaktoon
Other AAFC scientists/Autres chercheurs d’AAC : Dr. Steve Haber – Cereal virology laboratory, CRC, Winnipeg
University partners/Partenaires universitaires :
Industry partners/Partenaires industriels :
C – Proposal Description/ Description de la proposition
Objective/Objectif :
To determine and characterize the nature of the contribution of epigenetic parameters associated with the expression of valuable traits of crop plants, such as disease resistance. Phenotypic variation is traditionally divided into genetic and environmental components. However, the discovery of stably inherited epigenetic variation, sensitive to environmental cues, is blurring this distinction. Epigenetic information is encoded by three different yet interacting phenomena, namely, DNA (cytosine) methylation, chromatin (histone) modification and sRNA mediated gene regulation that provide structure to the genome and likely represent a defence system against foreign nucleic acid sequences. Disruption of these interacting systems can lead to changes in the epigenetic landscape inducing expression or silencing of genes resulting in epigenetically controlled phenotypes.
Research carried out at the Cereal Research Centre has identified, through careful selection, wheat lines possessing a stably inherited improvement to Fusarium head blight (FHB) resistance by interfering with the epigenetic information systems using viral infection. This improved phenotype was observed from among lines that originated from a single doubled-haploid seed eliminating the possibility that the phenotype is caused by genetic segregation and the high frequency with which this phenotype was observed indicate that it can not be explained by simple mutation. These data strongly suggest that the viral infection has altered the organisation of the epigenetic code from a state in which the resistance phenotype was silent to a state in which resistance is expressed, by inducing alleles already present in the doubled-haploid parent.
This project will confirm that these observations are due to epigenetic changes and will identify the genes controlling this valuable trait. Additionally, the underlying molecular mechanisms regulating those genes will be characterised. The project will assess the changes in gene expression patterns using bulked-segregant analysis to target the underlying genes responsible for this phenotype. The extent of the variation in the patterns of epigenetic marks among individuals within this population will be assayed along with the degree to which these patterns affect the resistance phenotype and the extent to which the epigenetic marks linked to the superior phenotype are inherited.
Value of the Opportunity (issue, results, outcomes)/Valeur de l’opportunité (problème, résultats, retombées):
The successful candidate will join an epigenetics laboratory to study the underlying molecular factors regulating gene expression causing resistance to Fusarium head blight (FHB) in wheat. The candidate will work closely with experts in the Cereal virology laboratory at the Cereals Research Centre, Winnipeg. FHB causes tremendous losses by reducing grain yield and quality in many wheat producing regions and is one of the most serious diseases affecting wheat in Canada. There is a dearth of resistance sources available to breeders and where they have been identified they are associated with poor agronomic and quality traits required by the industry. The use of novel approaches to modify the level of gene expression from existing alleles present within a single seed from a Canadian doubled-haploid wheat cultivar has, after careful selection, generated germplasm with an increased resistance to FHB. This variation has been fixed and transmitted through meiosis to successive generations. This improvement in FHB resistance has been achieved along with the maintenance of the valuable quality traits originally selected for by breeders in this line. The selected candidate will utilise the latest genomics technologies to identify the genes involved and investigate the changes in the epigenetic landscape that have resulted in the uncovering of this hitherto hidden trait. This will allow the identification of the genomic regions controlling FHB resistance and ultimately the nature of the epialleles that have been stably inherited. The characterisation of this phenomena has profound implications to future strategies employed towards crop improvement
D – Describe the qualifications needed (academic, study, knowledge, skills, experiences, etc.), and the benefits to the candidate /Décrire les qualifications requises (études, connaissances, compétences, expériences, etc) et les avantages pour les candidats
The candidate should be highly self-motivated, possess excellent communication and interpersonal skills and provide evidence of their research accomplishments. It is essential for the candidate to be proficient in the English language, being able to communicate effectively in written and orally form. Ideally, the candidate would have recently completed their Ph.D. working in the field of botany, plant molecular genetics, molecular biology or genetics. However, candidates that wish to pursue the research components of their graduate studies will be considered for this two year position.
This position would suit a candidate with a strong background in molecular biology where experience using techniques such as quantitative PCR, chromatin immunoprecipitation, DNA manipulation, RNA and protein technologies and next-generation sequencing analysis would be desirable. Knowledge of gene regulation and silencing, plant diseases of wheat and a keen interest in bioinformatics would be an asset.
