USask awarded $3 2M towards first-in-Canada engineering biology center for ag innovation : Biofuels Digest biofuelsdigest.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from biofuelsdigest.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
“Completing the sequencing of all the genomes and delivering the comparative pan-genome analysis has revealed the scope of genetic diversity that exists within the crop,” said Sharpe. “It truly is the final satisfying step of this rewarding initiative”. The consortium included key players in the canola industry, among them Bayer, Corteva, Nutrien and NuSeed. Each member contributed their own canola lines and received the full pan-genome comparison results. Canola is a major oil seed crop considered to be a high-quality vegetable oil and commonly used in food production and various industrial applications, including biofuel. It is farmed on approximately 35 million acres globally and with 85 million tons produced in 2019, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization. The results of the consortium’s research has immense economic value for Canada, which is one of the world’s leading producers and exporters of canola.
“This new centre will establish the University of Saskatchewan as the national node for engineering biology applications in agriculture and food that will accelerate science and innovation,” said USask Vice-President Research Dr. Baljit Singh. “Using automation and other emerging technologies, our researchers will harness the power of biology to design more nutritious and sustainable crop varieties and food products.” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau today announced more than $518 million to support the infrastructure needs of universities and research institutions across the country. Engineering biology is an exploding new field that combines genomics and molecular biology with high-performance computing, automation, and artificial intelligence, potentially transforming what we eat, medicines we take, and fuels we use. A May 2020 report from the McKinsey Global Institute estimates engineering biology could have a global economic impact of up to $4 trillion in the next 10 t
Researchers map entire genome of canola crop
5 March 2021 |
Academics and industry partners have captured the broad genetic diversity of the canola crop
The entire genome of the canola crop has been mapped by an international consortium of researchers looking to advance the globally important industry.
The results of the consortium’s research is expected to have immense economic value for the world s leading producers and exporters of the crop.
Canola is an oilseed considered to be a high-quality vegetable oil and commonly used in food production and various industrial applications, including biofuel.
It is farmed on approximately 35 million acres globally, with 85 million tons produced in 2019, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
Here is a snapshot of the U of S projects that received funding:
Integrated omics for sustainable animal agriculture and environmental stewardship (IntegrOmes)
Funding amount: $6.76 million
Project: A multidisciplinary research team and collaborators from other universities and organizations are working on a wide-ranging research program, looking at bison conservation and addressing challenges facing the beef cattle industry.
The group is working with Indigenous communities to develop the world’s first bison genome biobank, in order to store and preserve genetic material of plains and wood bison populations in Canada. The model could have future applications for other threatened Canadian species.