b'A NEW TOOL HELPING YOU IN THE REALM OF RETAIL SEED SALES.MAKING NEW PRODUCTS, FASTERNew breeding techniques can help reduce time-to-market and create new tools and products to improve our work and lives. We talk to four experts on how this is happening in real time.Marc ZienkiewiczHow have modern technologies helped bringWhat is a recent test you have been able to new seed tests to market? bring to market because of these technologies?When I started at 20/20 Seed Labs, weWe have new tissue and soil tests for soy-were actually the first to build and main- bean cyst nematode (SCN) were piloting. tain a molecular testing lab using DNA- Soybean cyst nematode is expected to be Kim Kenward based techniques to detect differenta new and emerging threat in Canada. Its R&D Manager, targets. We started trying to detect patho- been found in Ontario for some time now. 20/20 Seed Labs gens, but as more and more plants gen- The problem with existing soybean cyst Kim is very involved in theerated with the new molecular breedingnematode tests is they really only look for area of seed quality policytechniques came onto the market, we builtjuvenile motile forms of the nematode. and serves as chairpersona bigger repertoire of tests for farmers andYoure missing huge amounts of soybean of the Canadian ISO/TC 34/ growers to access, using the same technol- cyst nematode that could be detected SC 16 committee (Horizontalogy to detect the new products as used toif you had the ability to look for it at a methods for molecularcreate them.DNA level, such as the eggs and dormant biomarker analysis). In herforms of SCN. The cysts especially, which spare time, she likes to quilt. Can you give us an example of how theseobviously the disease is famous for, are techniques allowed you to do something youlittle sack loads of infectious material once couldnt do before? they germinate and get moving. Using a Our original test was for Fusariummolecular technique allows us to accom-graminearum testing. At the time, the onlyplish more sensitive detection, because way to test for it was by a grow-out platewere now looking for the eggs, the cysts test, but that was a problem because youand the juveniles, and can test both soil POLLS have to bleach the seed prior to analysisand tissue. That allows for earlier detection to kill off a lot of extra fungi and bacte- of infected fields. SCN has been detected Some insights gleaned during ourria that can overgrow the fusarium. Youin Manitoba now as well, so we know it is recent webinar end up looking only at fungus thats deepon its way west. How integral are new breedingwithin the seed, which results from infec-techniques to your job? tions of the plant that happened very earlyWhat potential new technology really excites in its seed development. With DNA testing,you even though it may be far off into the we can detectfungus that infected thefuture?plant throughout seed development andNext-generation sequencing. You can just 28% at all levels of infection. There were othertake a sample and generate a selection of situations where new technology helped.DNA fragments that youve isolated and Going in and actually determining varietysequence all of them. Its a really good 72% itself through varietal identification usingdiscovery tool because it generates huge molecular tests changed the game. Theseamounts of data, but its not as good for techniques allow us to determine variety,use as a routine testing tool for the same which means that we can automaticallyreason. Its a controversial topic, and as Very Integraltell class and can shift varieties betweenwith all new technologies, well have to Somewhat Integral classes much more easily than before. figure out how to best use it.40GERMINATION.CANOVEMBER 2021'