Dr. Wenping Qiu, research professor and director of the Center for Grapevine Biotechnology in the William H. Darr School of Agriculture; and Dr. László G. Kovács, professor of biology at Missouri State University, were awarded $199,834 to continue the “Vitis Gene Discovery Program” by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in partnership with the University of Missouri-Columbia.
“The goal of the Vitis Gene Discovery Program is to reduce pesticide use and to enhance plant health in grape production through biotechnology,” said Kovács. “We select grapevines with R genes which help defend them against the powdery mildew pathogen, and then breed a more stable resistance in the field.”
“This program has led to discovery of many agriculturally important genes in the Norton grape, the official grape of the state of Missouri, and also identification of a new virus that is debilitating commercial vineyards in the heartland of the USA,” said Qiu.
Qiu and Kovács are conducting the project in conjunction with Dr. Walter Gassmann and Dr. Jim Schoelz from the University of Missouri, with collaboration by Dr. David Ramming of the USDA, Dr. Gabriele Di Gaspero of the University of Udine in Italy, and others. The continuation funding will support the program through August 2011.