Ernie Minton

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) is the fifth major cereal and serves as a staple crop for hundreds of millions of people in some of the harshest of agroclimates while also offering countless opportunities in the area of bio-fuels, new food product developments and livestock nutrition. In a world of growing populations and mounting climate change, sorghum plays a strategic role both in food security and economies around the globe. Major developments have impacted the global sorghum economy: the sorghum genome has been mapped, high-throughput phenotyping has emerged as a priority research topic, and the demand for sorghum as a feedstuff, energy source, and human food continues to evolve. This is an opportune time to harness these developments through availability of well-trained and professional plant breeders focusing on sorghum with breadth of experience connected to the global sorghum research community.This conference grant will provide enhanced professional development in plant breeding with a focus on sorghum through a promotion of networking, mentoring and partnering of graduate students, post-doctoral and early career professionals in plant breeding with globally established and successful sorghum breeders in a rigorous, relevant plant breeding and genetics focused conference theme session. This approach will serve to enable long-term collaboration and leveraging of existing research programs to coordinated priorities for sorghum in the 21st century. This grant is highly leveraged with the efforts of the global sorghum community to build capacity and long-term collaboration in the domestic sorghum breeding genetics community.

Rotaviruses (RVs) cause severe diarrhea in young animals, includinghumans worldwide.While RVA strains have been considered the most pathogenic and epidemiologically diverse of all RV groups infecting swine, RVB and RVC have been recently identified as important causes of enteritis in pigs and their diversity has begun to be elucidated.Currently, commercial swine RV enzyme-linked immunosorbant assays (ELISA) are unavailable to measure immunity to any RV infection. RVC infections are a leading cause of piglet mortality. Thus, it is vital to create a RVC ELISA to understand passive immunity from natural planned exposure to RV to implement better natural planned exposure protocols, ultimately to produce healthier piglets.

The intent of this project is to utilize state funds to leverage federal funds that come to Kansas State University under section 1433 of Public Law 95-113; Sept. 29, 1977. Therefore, the project goals will follow those outlined in Section 1433 of the NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH, EXTENSION, AND TEACHING POLICY ACT OF 1977. The activities will, therefore, be used: (1) to meet expenses of conducting animal health and disease research, publishing and disseminating the results of such research, and contributing to the retirement of employees subject to the provisions of the Act of March 4, 1940 (54 Stat. 39-40, as amended; 7 U.S.C. 331); (2) for administrative planning and direction; and (3) to purchase equipment and supplies necessary for conducting such research.

Grain sorghum is the third most widely grown cereal crop in the US and fifth most widely grown in the world. Sorghum is uniquely adapted to drought prone areas where other cereals regularly fail. Unfortunately, research efforts on improving this crop pale in comparison to wheat, rice or maize world wide. The Great Plains Sorghum Improvement Center (GPSIC) is a multi-disciplinary, multi-university project designed to focus a critical group of scientists on the genetic improvement, production, and utilization of grain sorghum. The results will have application in the great plains of the US and throughout the drought prone areas of Africa, South America and Asia where sorghum is widely grown. The GPSIC has groups of scientists addressing basic genetics and sorghum crop improvement, the physiology of the crop, sorghum production, pest and disease management, fertilization, particularly nitrogen use efficiency, and the utilization of sorghum for new food products. In particular this group is addressing issues such as yield potential, drought tolerance, weed control, N use efficiency and the use of sorghum as a source of gluten free food.

Canola oil consumption increased 5% to 1.9 billion pounds in 2006-2007 with imports at 1.57 billion pounds, or 82% of total canola oil consumed. Because of national demand as a premium foodgrade oil and biodiesel feedstock, winter canola is primed for success in the southern Great Plains region. Winter canola is also an important choice for crop rotations as a broadleaf species, is adaptable to the region, and the same equipment is used for canola production as wheat. The Supplemental and Alternative Crops Competitive Grants Program supports canola crop research whose primary objectives are to significantly increase crop production and/or acreage. The research proposed in this application matches the high priority area winter canola production systems, and includes as a secondary priority, blackleg disease. A high level of expertise exists among the PDs and senior research and extension faculty from the seven Great Plains states involved. Collaboration is multidisciplinary, with areas of emphasis including plant breeding, crop performance testing, cropping systems and production, alternative crops and forages, irrigation management, and crop physiology.

Crop production in the southern Great Plains can be challenging. Although a large number of crops are grown in the region, few are well adapted to its climate. Low rainfall, high temperatures, and high evaporative demand encumber "traditional" crops such as corn and soybean during the summer months. Winter canola makes a favorable choice for growers because it is a broadleaf crop, it is adaptable to the region, and the same equipment is used for canola production as wheat. A market for canola grain already exists because the oil is in high demand and large quantities are imported into the United States each year. The goal of this multi-year, multidisciplinary project is to facilitate the adoption of winter canola as a viable rotational crop for the Great Plains region. Research is focused on the SACC objectives of field production and genetic improvement of winter canola. This project includes breeding and evaluating varieties with appropriate traits for the region, conducting crop management studies with adapted varieties to develop appropriate management systems, comprehensive sampling for aphid infestations, facilitating commercialization of the crop, and extending production and marketing information on canola to interested growers.

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) is the most devastating pathogen impacting the swine industry today. Although innate immunity is considered the first line of defense against infectious disease, most reports indicate that PRRSV elicits a weak innate immune response. However, two key components of innate immunity, antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) and pattern recognition receptors, have received little or no attention in PRRSV research. Although most studies on AMPs usually have focused on bacterial and fungal killing, we know that these host defense peptides have antiviral properties and other nonmicrobicidal functions that mitigate viral infection. Similarly, many pattern recognition receptors, such as Toll-like receptors (TLRs) recognize molecular patterns specific to viral pathogens. Our work is focused on understanding the interactions between porcine AMPs, PRRSV, and pattern recognition receptors. We believe that new information about PRRSV, AMPs and TLRs will stimulate new thinking and provide novel strategies to lower the devastating impact that this costly pathogen has on the swine industry.

Salmonella enterica serovars Typhimurium and Choleraesuis are major pathogens in swine that can elicit disease symptoms ranging from self-limiting enteritis and diarrhea to septicemia. Understanding mechanisms of host-pathogen interaction will contribute to improved control of this disease threat, increase swine production efficiency, and hasten removal of growth-promoting antibiotics.

To participate in the activities of the technical committees, subcommittees and coordinating committees relating to the cooperative regional research projects approved for RRF support. The purpose of this project is to expend funds for regional research projects.