Frontiers in Breeding for Drought
New technologies to reduce future famines
A Research Symposium at Colorado State University
21-22 June 2018
The Frontiers in Breeding for Drought Symposium is open to the public and will include lectures from invited speakers covering the topics of Applied Breeding, Biotechnology, Genetics, and Physiology. The purpose of the Symposium is to provide a forum for exchange between plant physiologists, agronomists, and geneticists in order to continue the positive trend towards crop improvement through plant breeding and genetics. We hope also to build collaborations between the public and private sectors, as well as with graduate students in plant breeding, genetics, and physiology programs.
Recorded Presentations:
Pat Byrne: Training and Collaboration in Plant Breeding for Drought Tolerance
Falalou Hamidou – Field and Lysimeter Phenotyping for Drought Tolerance in Peanut and Pearl Millet/Sorghum
Alina Zare – Machine Learning Methods for Remote Sensing and Phenotyping
Current Speakers List:
Detlef Weigel – Genetics and epigenetics of adaptation to the abiotic environment in A. thaliana
Malia Gehan – Utilizing Natural Variation for Crop Resilience Under Temperature Stress
Duke Pauli – Unraveling Stress Adaptive Traits through the use of Phenomics
Alina Zare – Machine Learning Methods for Remote Sensing and Phenotyping
Brook Moyers – Genetics of Drought Adaptation in Rice
William Beavis – Redesigning Plant Breeding to Efficiently Transfer Discoveries of Genetic Adaptation to Drought
Chris Topp – Phenotyping Technologies and Computational Tools for Root Structure-Function and Genetic Analyses
Mike Olsen – Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa
Falalou Hamidou – Field and Lysimeter Phenotyping for Drought Tolerance in Peanut and Pearl Millet/Sorghum
Arvind Kumar – Optimizing breeding for stable yield across drought in rice
Randy Clark – Breeding for Drought in Elite Hybrid Maize
Mainassara Zaman Allah – Drought Phenotyping in Maize Breeding Using remote sensing approaches
Current Symposium Schedule: (PDF)
Symposium Schedule – Clark Building, Room A201
21 June
9:00 John McKay – Welcome and Introduction
9:30 Malia Gehan – Utilizing Natural Variation for Crop Resilience Under Temperature Stress
10:15 Break
10:35 Duke Pauli – Unraveling Stress Adaptive Traits through the use of Phenomics
11:20 Mainassara Zaman Allah – Drought Phenotyping in Maize Breeding Using remote sensing approaches
12:05 Lunch Break – on your own
1:30 Mike Olsen – Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa
2:15 Chris Topp – Phenotyping Technologies and Computational Tools for Root Structure-Function and Genetic Analyses
3:00 Coffee Break
3:20 Brook Moyers – Genetics of Drought Adaptation in Rice
4:05 Detlef Weigel – Genetics and epigenetics of adaptation to the abiotic environment in A. thaliana
4:50 Wrap up
22 June
9:30 Alina Zare – Machine Learning Methods for Remote Sensing and Phenotyping
10:15 Coffee Break
10:35 Falalou Hamidou – Field and Lysimeter Phenotyping for Drought Tolerance in Peanut and Pearl Millet/Sorghum
11:20 Randy Clark – Breeding for Drought in Elite Hybrid Maize
12:05 Lunch Break – on your own
1:30 STUDENT AWARD TALK Dinakaran Elango Pennsylvania State University
Genome wide mapping reveals novel genes associated with epi-cuticular wax biosynthesis and transport in sorghum
1:45 STUDENT AWARD TALK Grey Monroe, Colorado State University
Drought adaptation in nature by extensive genetic loss-of-function
2:00 STUDENT AWARD TALK Uttam Bhattarai Louisiana State University
Genome wide QTL mapping for yield responses to drought in rice
2:15 Coffee Break
2:35 Troy Ocheltree – Can crop breeders learn from evolutionary solutions to drought adaptation?
3:20 John McKay – Sensing Underground Biological Traits and the Ecology of Roots, Rhizospheres and Aridity
4:05 William Beavis – Redesigning Plant Breeding to Efficiently Transfer Discoveries of Genetic Adaptation to Drought
4:50 Wrap up
Travel awards sponsored by:
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Past Symposia
June 21-22, 2012
Our second biennial symposium on Plant Breeding for Drought Tolerance was held on the Colorado State University campus in June, 2012, with over 80 participants. The event coincided with the final two days of the field-oriented short course on this same theme. The purpose of the symposium is to provide a forum for exchange between plant physiologists, breeders, geneticists, and agronomists in order to continue the positive trends in improving crop productivity under limited moisture conditions.
The meeting consisted of thought-provoking presentations by invited speakers and a volunteered poster session. We were fortunate to have two eminent scientists to bookend the symposium: Dr. John S. Boyer, E.I. DuPont Professor Emeritus at the University of Delaware, opened the meeting with a summary of his seminal work on the effects of water availability on early reproductive processes. Dr. John Passioura, emeritus scientist at CSIRO Plant Industry in Canberra, wrapped up the symposium by reviewing the advances that have been made in breeding for drought tolerance and the likely avenues for continued progress. He emphasized the need to create the right working environments for breeders, prebreeders, crop physiologists, and agronomists to interact.
PowerPoint files and videos of most of the presentations are available by following the links in the table below.
| Symposium 2012 | |||
| Speaker | Affiliation | Talk Title | Video |
| Pat Byrne | Colorado State University | Plant Breeding for Drought Tolerance | |
| John Boyer | University of Delaware | Water deficits and yield in maize | MP4 |
| Steve Becker | Colorado State University | Exploitation of synthetic wheat for improvement of drought tolerance | MP4 |
| Eduardo Blumwald | University of California at Davis | Cytokinin-induced modifications of source-sink relationships lead to enhanced crop stress tolerance | MP4 |
| Tom Juenger | University of Texas | Drought adapatation in switchgrass | MP4 |
| Ryan Rapp | Transgenic Approaches to increasing Plant WUE | ||
| Amelia Henry | International Rice Research Institute | Root traits behind major-effect drought-yield QTLs in rice | MP4 |
| Dave Des Marais | University of Texas | The genomic basis of local adaptation to climate in Arabidopsis | MP4 |
| Louise Comas | USDA-ARS | Root dynamics and functioning governed by biological and environmental factors | MP4 |
| Mark Cooper | Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. | Breeding for drought tolerance: Taking aim at target environments | |
| Andy Pereira | University of Arkansas | Systems level analysis of drought stress response interactions with growth and yield | MP4 |
| Sean Cutler | University of California at Riverside | Targeting the ABA signaling pathway for improved plant stress tolerance | MP4 |
| John Passioura | CSIRO | Phenotyping for drought tolerance: when is it useful to plant breeders? | MP4 |
| Symposium 2010 | |||
| Speaker | Affiliation | Talk Title | Video |
| Richard Richards | CSIRO | Breeding for improved water-productivity-Genes, QTL's and phenotypes | MP4 |
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This program was initiated by a grant from USDA-NIFA. 