Wisconsin’s Magazine for the Life Sciences • SPRING 2018 grow food systems • health • bioenergy • environment • climate • communities

The complex interplay of microbes, diet, and genetics in human health

SPRING 2018 grow 1 PIGS AND PRECISION MEDICINE • FARM INNOVATION THROUGH COLLABORATION • IN SPACE! 2 grow SPRING 2018 Volume 11, Issue 2 • Spring 2018

Gelbvieh cattle, a gentle breed with Bavarian origins, are part of a rotational grazing system grow put in place by alumnus Gerry Wisconsin’s Magazine for the Life Sciences Weiss in collaboration with CALS faculty and staff. To learn about other innovations on the FEATURES Weiss farm, see page 26. 14 A Precise Hope With gene editing — and pigs — CALS scientists are developing a model for “precision medicine,” the possibility of highly individual- ized treatments for patients living with the rare disease NF1. By Kelly April Tyrrell 20 Gut Dwellers CALS scientists delve into the microbial communities in our diges- tive tracts — and their implications for our health. By Erik Ness 26 The Method Maker Gerry Weiss, a Grant County farmer, scientist, and permaculturist, recounts a lifetime of innovation and collaboration with CALS and UW Cooperative Extension. By David Tenenbaum

DEPARTMENTS 4 In Vivo By Dean Kate VandenBosch 5 Front List Five things everyone should know about sweet, refreshing switchel 6 On Henry Mall Certificate in the science of fermented food and beverages gives students a competitive edge Study finds need for balance between yield and versatility in corn breeding Class Act: Kai Rasmussen says, “Let’s grow .” 11 Field Notes Puerto Rico: Tracking the movements of mongooses could improve control measures 12 Living Science Winter's cold weather is key to flowering for many plants. professor Rick Amasino and his team have discovered some of the genes that guide this behavior, and their findings could help scientists and breeders develop better crops. 34 Working Life In the Field: CALS alums make their mark in veterinary medicine Catch up with Anna Snider BS’98 Give: Badger Dairy Challenge offers early mentorship in dairy farm management 39 Final Exam

Cover illustration by Danielle Lamberson Philipp

SPRING 2018 grow 3 Photo by Mark HirschPhoto In Vivo grow Dean Kate VandenBosch Volume 11, Issue 2 . SPRING 2018 Editor Nik Hawkins Writers New Resources for Discovery Nicole Miller MS’06, Caroline Schneider MS’11, Ben Vincent Editorial Assistants The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a mighty force for research by Rebecca Bock, Gilliane Davison, many measures, from its life-changing discoveries to its global reputation for Andrew Pearce Designer scientific excellence. Yet another measure is the extent to which the university Danielle Lamberson Philipp sustains its research enterprise. Photographers In recent years, successive cuts at the state level have reduced UW’s overall Michael P. King, Ben Vincent budget, making the prioritization of core activities a major challenge. This Additional content contributed by University Communications, University hinders our ability to attract research funding, and the impact of this trend Marketing, and various freelancers. can be seen in national rankings. Between 1972 and 2014, the National Contact Grow Science Foundation (NSF) consistently ranked UW–Madison among the top Grow Editor, 136 Agricultural Hall, five institutions in research expenditures. In 2015, following a steady four- 1450 Linden Drive, Madison, WI 53706 [email protected] year decline in those numbers, the university slipped to sixth place. grow.cals.wisc.edu In response, Chancellor Rebecca Blank has called for a significant reinvestment in UW in a variety of ways. This means greater legislative CALS ADMINISTRATION and private support, but it also means the campus needs to find new, stable Dean and Director revenue streams. To boost our research endeavors, campus leadership has Kate VandenBosch Senior Associate Dean developed new funding mechanisms. These programs are designed to Richard Straub help our scientists do the arduous preliminary work that is necessary for Associate Dean for Research securing major grants from large government agencies and nonprofits. Bill Barker “To boost Associate Dean for Extension and Today, we seem to be on the right track. In 2016, UW–Madison’s research Outreach our research expenditures rose, and the university’s NSF ranking held steady. Another Doug Reinemann encouraging fact: faculty, staff, and students at CALS are making the most of Associate Dean for Academic Affairs endeavors, these new opportunities. Sarah Pfatteicher For example, the UW2020 Initiative was established in 2015 to fund Associate Dean for External campus high-risk, high-impact projects. Selected proposals receive an average award Relations and Advancement Heidi Zoerb leadership of $300,000 for two years, and CALS projects have been among the winners in all three rounds. In fact, in 2017, one third of the awardees hailed from INTERACTING WITH CALS has developed CALS, with projects in areas ranging from artificial intelligence in dairy farm For Alumni management to the role of the human gut microbiome in health and disease. Office of External Relations (608) 890-2999 new seed Speaking of the microbiome, UW’s Microbiome Initiative was established [email protected] funding in 2017 with goals similar to that of UW2020. But it was also designed to cals.wisc.edu/alumni/ encourage interdisciplinary work in an area where UW has a high concentra- For Prospective Students tion of expertise. Twelve of the 13 microbiome proposals selected for funding Office of Academic Affairs mechanisms.” (608) 262-3003 involve CALS faculty, many of them as principal investigators. These proj- [email protected] ects, covering topics such as how gut microbes might influence Alzheimer’s cals.wisc.edu/students/ disease and the role of the tomato’s microbiome in pathogen resistance, have For Business and Industry Office of Corporate Relations the potential to make transformative discoveries. (608) 263-2840 UW2020 and the Microbiome Initiative are both made possible by fund- [email protected] ing from the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation and other sources. But ocr.wisc.edu university funds will support yet another program to encourage interdisci- To Make a Gift UW Foundation plinary work that will make UW–Madison more competitive in garnering (608) 263-4545 extramural research support. Over the next three to five years, around 70 [email protected] faculty will be hired in 20 different strategic “clusters” — groups of scholars, supportuw.org/cals chosen for their shared research interests and specialties, who can collaborate and pool resources from where they are situated in departments across cam- pus. A campus committee is now reviewing proposals for these clusters, and many touch upon areas of expertise that can be found in abundance at CALS. I look forward to updating you on this initiative in the future. I know that our exceptional researchers will continue to experience great

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For more details check out our success with these programs. Their efforts will keep CALS in the vanguard Brand Guidelines. of the agricultural and life sciences while helping UW–Madison retain its traditional place as a premier research university. I am excited for what the UWMadisonCALS future holds. fsc logo here-FPO FSC_B_L_Green 4 SPRING 2018 grow don’t print keyline Front List

Five things everyone should know about . . . Switchel

Quercetin By Hong Jiang and Bekah McBride

1 Switchel is an apple cider vinegar-based beverage. It also contains water and other ingredients such as ginger or honey. Maple syrup, molas- ses, and juice are common additions.

2 The drink has been around for centuries. Many historians believe that switchel originated in the Caribbean before making its way to North America in the 18th century. According to the book Forgotten Drinks of Colonial New England by Corin Hirsch, many colonists blended the beverage at home and enjoyed the tangy flavor of a refresh- ing and energizing alternative to water.

3 Apple cider vinegar-based drinks like switchel are associated with certain health benefits. They contain high levels of polyphenols (micronutrients found in certain plant-based foods), which may inhibit DNA damage and have a positive impact on cardiovascular health. Some anecdotal evidence suggests that apple cider vinegar may aid in gastroin- testinal health.

4 As innovative beverages surge in popularity, new versions of switchel are hitting the market. The UW–Madison Center for Dairy Research (CDR) and the United States Dairy Export Council recently teamed up to create a protein-rich, cherry-flavored variety. The drink combines dairy-based whey protein with tart cherry juice produced in Wisconsin. By adding natural ginger flavor and just a touch of cane , CDR food scientists created a product that contains only 120 calories and a whopping 11 grams of protein per eight fluid ounces. This new take on an old tradition adds to the list of the beverage’s benefits. For one, cherry juice is known to have anti-inflammatory compounds that may help with muscle pain. Whey protein isolate, a filtered and Illustration by Danielle Lamberson Philipp dried by-product of cheesemaking, contains all nine of the essential amino acids. Often referred to as “the building blocks of life,” amino acids are the catalysts for many important bodily functions, including muscle growth and repair. It’s no surprise, then, that the Babcock Hall Dairy Plant is producing this whey protein cherry switchel as a sports recovery drink for UW’s student-athletes.

5 Dairy-based switchels require a few tricks to make them look and taste just right. For the CDR’s cherry switchel, all of the ingredients are mixed together and given about 30 minutes for the whey protein to be fully hydrated prior to pasteurization. This step, along with the right level of acid- ity (i.e., a low pH), provides the best conditions for a safe and good-quality whey protein drink. The beverage can be pasteurized (heated to 175°F for 16 seconds), bottled, and stored cold for three to four months. It also can be hot-filled (heated to 180°F for two minutes) into bottles for storage at ambient temperature for up to a year.

Hong Jiang is a research specialist at the UW–Madison Center for Dairy Research (CDR). Bekah McBride is the CDR’s communications specialist. Helping U.S. food companies create functional, nutritious, and fla- vorful dairy-based products is a major goal of the center. Learn more at cdr.wisc.edu.

SPRING 2018 grow 5 On Henry Mall News from around the college Fermentation Education A new certificate program offers hands-on production experience and classroom instruction in the fermentation sciences to give students a competitive edge in one of Wisconsin’s burgeoning markets Photos by Ben Vincent (3)

A harvester collects As the one and only enologist, or wine scientist, on where they learned about production procedures and grapes of the hybrid the UW–Madison campus, a large part of Nick bottling. Back on campus, students broke into small French red wine variety Smith’s job is guiding a group of hopeful under- groups, each tasked with creating one of three differ- called Maréchal Foch at graduates through Food Science 552 — and toward ent wine styles — sparkling, red, or white. Wollersheim Winery in their futures in winemaking and other jobs in the “[The course gave] me a greater appreciation Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin. fermented food and beverage industries. for winemaking, and I found it very interesting Students who took Smith’s fall 2017 course, “The to compare the winemaking and beer-making Science of Wine,” emerged with a solid understand- processes, as they have a lot in common,” says Miles ing of the chemistry and behind the Gillette BSx’18, a senior majoring in food sci- winemaking process. But they also went beyond ence. He was first inspired to select his major after lecture-style learning to get a real taste for the process dabbling in homebrewing of beer, a process he calls of fermentation. “hands-on microbiology.” “A key element of the class is to teach the produc- Food Science 552 is just one component of the tion process,” Smith says. “How does the chemistry UW–Madison’s new Science of Fermented Food impact the final product?” and Beverages certificate program, which was made During the semester, students took two trips to available to undergraduate students for the first time Wollersheim Winery in Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin, in the 2017-18 academic year.

6 grow SPRING 2018 The certificate is an option for students pursuing various science majors — food science, microbiol- ogy, biochemistry, and others — who want to delve deeper into fermentation. As they progress through the program, students learn about the various scien- tific aspects involved in fermentation. Food Science 410, for example, teaches them about the chemical components of food constituents like proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, and enzymes. They also learn about the latest techniques and tech- nology used to produce fermented beverages such as wine, beer, and cider, as well as fermented foods like cheese, bread, and pickles. The hope is that such a comprehensive suite of courses will give graduates a competitive edge in the field. (Above left) Philippe “The dream is to make UW–Madison the top Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Coquard, who owns Woller- college when it comes to the fermentation sciences,” Protection with the support of the state’s key wine sheim Winery with his wife, says David Ryder, former vice president of brewing organizations. Beyond his teaching duties on campus, Julie, displays a bottle of and research at MillerCoors and an expert on fermen- Smith works directly with winemakers to assess and the freshly pressed grape tation and yeast physiology. Ryder was instrumental improve their wines, helping to troubleshoot prob- juice that will become the in coordinating the donation of pilot-scale beer brew- lems, as needed. next small-batch wine, ing equipment from MillerCoors to UW–Madison This hands-on experience is also a boon for called Campus Craft, to be in 2008, and he has been a steadfast advocate for the Smith’s students, who participate in the development developed with involve- development of the university’s fermentation sciences of various fermented products while earning their ment from students in the program, including the new certificate. certificates. Students in Food Science 551 participate Science of Fermented Food Long viewed as a major national center for the in a beer design and brewing competition offered in and Beverages certificate beer and cheese industries, Wisconsin is also home to collaboration with the Wisconsin Brewing Company program. other major manufacturers of fermented goods. The (WBC) of Verona, Wisconsin. This partnership has state boasts a growing wine industry, with around a yielded a new WBC beer in each of the last three dozen new wineries opening each year. Every bottle years. The collaboration’s 2017 brew, Red Arrow, (Above right) Students of Kikkoman Soy Sauce sold in North America proved so popular that the initial batch sold out in a observe as red grapes is brewed and bottled at the company’s factory in matter of weeks. harvested from the Walworth. GLK Foods, headquartered in Appleton, Wollersheim Winery is also a partner in the Wollersheim Winery is the largest producer of sauerkraut in the world. fermentation sciences program. The company sends vineyard are sorted The scope of the industry in the state is only likely to grapes to campus for students to make into small- prior to crushing and expand. And that requires trained workers, special- batch wines and hosts students so they can observe destemming. ists, and experts in the field. what’s involved in full-scale wine production. “With the prominence of all the fermented food With the new certificate program, UW–Madison and beverage industries we have, we [aim to] start is better positioned to be a wellspring of talent, filling the niches and educational needs,” says Smith. research, and creativity to support the state’s fer- Smith arrived at UW–Madison in March mentation-related companies, according to program 2015 after spending eight years as an experimental coordinator Monica Theis MS’88. winemaker at the University of Minnesota. The “Our vision is that Wisconsin is the place to go to initial funding for his position was secured through learn about the science of fermentation and that our a Specialty Crop Block Grant from the Wisconsin graduates leave here with a competitive edge,” she says. —BEN VINCENT

SPRING 2018 grow 7 On Henry Mall

Corn Conundrum Highly productive corn varieties have more trouble adapting to changing environmental conditions, so more balanced breeding may be needed

When in place, plants have no choice but to adapt “Over the last 100 years, people have definitely to their environments, responding to stresses like improved ,” explains de Leon, the senior drought or pests by changing how they grow. On a author of the report. “What we were trying to do broader scale, crop breeders need to be able to develop in this study is to measure whether by doing that new varieties that are adapted to a new location or we have also limited the ability of the genotypes to changing growing conditions in the same area. respond to environments when they change.” Both types of adaptation rely on a pool of pos- By intensively breeding for high yield — in sibilities, the combinations from which one can Wisconsin, for example — those plants might lose choose. For the individual plant, those possibilities the flexibility to respond to environments that depend on the genome it was born with. For breed- are very different from Wisconsin growing condi- ers, that pool of possibilities is the whole tions. To test this idea, de Leon and range of genomes of cultivated her colleagues at 12 agricultural crops, which they can blend universities in the U.S. and together to create new Canada devised a large varieties. field trial with more CALS research- than 850 unique ers wanted to know corn varieties grow- whether the last ing in 21 locations 100 years of across North selecting for America. There corn that is were more acclimated than 12,000 to particular total field locations plots where has changed researchers its ability to measured adapt to new traits like or stressful yield and plant EVENT environments. height while By measuring recording weather populations of corn conditions. YEARS plants sown across The massive 50 of North America, they experiment is possible Plant Breeding could test how the corn only because of a collabora- & Plant Genetics genomes responded to differ- tion called Genomes to Fields, ent growing conditions. What they which is led by de Photo by Dustin Eilert found is that artificial selection by crop Leon, UW–Madison JUNE 7-8, 2018 breeders has constricted the pool of possibilities for A drone’s-eye view of research professor plots for an experimental field UW–MADISON CAMPUS North American corn varieties. Shawn Kaeppler In a recent issue of Nature Communications, hybrid grain trial at BS’87, and others. agronomy professor Natalia de Leon MS’00 UW–Madison’s West Madison The project stretches Past achievements PhD’02, her student Joe Gage PhDx’19, and Agricultural Research Station. across 20 states and and future prospects colleagues at several institutions concluded that parts of Canada. the existing corn varieties are strong and stable, but This provides precisely the range of various field More information and to register: they are less flexible in their ability to respond to conditions required to tease apart the different con- go.wisc.edu/pbpg50 various stresses. At the same time, these corn popula- tributions of the genomes and of the environments to tions might have a reduced ability to contribute to the final traits of the corn. breeding programs that seek to create new varieties De Leon and her collaborators found that the adapted to novel environments. regions of the corn genome that have undergone a

8 grow SPRING 2018 Photo by Matt Wisniewski

high degree of selection — for example, gene regions might be more erratic and where we might need to Natalia de Leon points out that contribute to high yield in a particular location move cultivars into places where they haven’t been an experimental corn — were associated with a reduced capacity of corn grown before,” de Leon says. plant at UW–Madison’s to respond to variable environments compared Yet this loss of flexibility is an inherent trade-off West Madison to genomic regions that weren’t directly acted on for highly productive cultivars of corn, she says. Agricultural Research by breeders. The upshot is that the modern corn “When you try to adapt cultivars to many dif- Station. By measuring varieties are very productive in the environments ferent environments, you end up with plants that populations of corn plants they are grown in, but they might have a harder time are not great anywhere,” de Leon says. “The cost of across North America, handling changes in those environments. maintaining this plasticity is to the detriment of de Leon and her colleagues “The data seem to point to the idea that by maximum productivity.” tested how the corn selecting genotypes that are better suited to be more “So we have to strike the right balance in the long genomes responded to productive, we are eroding variability that might be term,” she says. different growing important as we move into a world where climate —ERIC HAMILTON conditions.

This project was supported by the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative competitive grants program (grant number 2012-67013-19460) from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), USDA NIFA Hatch program funds to multiple researchers in this project, National Science Foundation plant genome research project #1238014, the USDA Agricultural Research Service, the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the Iowa Corn Promotion Board, the Nebraska Corn Board, the Minnesota Corn Research and Promotion Council, the Illinois Corn Marketing Board, and the National Corn Growers Association.

SPRING 2018 grow 9 On Henry Mall

OUTSTANDING INVESTIGATOR classAct Xuehua Zhong, assistant professor of genetics, received an Outstanding Kai Rasmussen Investigator Award from the National Institutes of Health for her work in ‘Let’s Grow Plants in Space’ epigenetics, a growing area of research focused on how chemical tags on DNA can change the expression of genes.

FELLOW FELLOWS Francisco Arriaga PhD’00, assistant professor of soil science, received the Fellow Award from the Soil and Water Conservation Society for his exceptional advocacy of soil, water, and natural resource conservation, and Richard Lindroth, professor of entomology, was elected Fellow of the Entomological Society of America in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the field.

HALL OF FAMERS Scott Craven MS’76 PhD’78, professor emeritus of forest and wildlife ecology, was inducted into the Wisconsin 4-H Youth Development Hall of Fame, and Photo by Ben Vincent Marilyn Scholl MS’96, former staffer Kai Rasmussen BSx’18 spends much the opportunity to work on something at the University of Wisconsin Center of his time studying how plants react funded by NASA,” Rasmussen says. for Cooperatives, was inducted into the to being in . For many of The lab’s research involves mimick- Cooperative Hall of Fame. his friends, this calls to mind Mark ing spaceflight using an in-house test Watney, the protagonist in the novel- structure, but it also integrates the real NEW LEADERSHIP turned-movie , who thing. In 2014 and late 2017, the Gilroy Courtney Berner MS’11 has been named devised a way to grow potatoes in a lab sent plants to the International executive director of the University of failing space station on the Red Planet’s Space Station, and the genetic data Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives (UWCC). She was previously a coopera- surface. And Rasmussen agrees. So he beamed back to Earth revealed how tive development specialist at UWCC and wrote a song about it. enzymes in the plants were affected by was responsible for creating a nationally Visit Rasmussen’s SoundCloud web the journey. recognized program that focuses on page (soundcloud.com/kainakano) Scientists have knocked down cooperative business development. and you’ll find “Young Mark Watney,” numerous long-standing barriers to sus- an original composition filled with tainable spaceflight, but many remain. references to the emerging (but still and systems are relatively obscure) field of astrobotany. critical components of life on Earth, It’s punctuated by a simple chorus that but they evolved over billions of years. underscores his mission: “Let’s grow Creating similar systems from scratch in Number plants in space.” For Rasmussen, a space requires some creative solutions. Crunching 6:1 junior majoring in biology, this musi- Cue forward thinkers like Rasmussen. cal venture is just one way he hopes to “We don’t want to send supplies THAT’S THE RATIO OF COWS engage the public in his passion. from Earth every time our astronauts TO PEOPLE in southwestern Wisconsin’s Lafayette County. The Rasmussen’s interest in astrobotany need to eat,” he says. “We want them to Applied Population Laboratory was ignited after taking a class with have self-sustaining systems that provide at UW–Madison has examined UW–Madison botany professor Simon them with food [and] water.” the many ways in which rurality Gilroy and learning about his research in But that’s a long-term project. is defined demographically. They the field. Rasmussen soon began work- Meanwhile, Rasmussen has created a proposed this as one approach for ing in Gilroy’s lab, where he was offered website (astrobotany.com) and a T-shirt Wisconsin given the state’s strong funding by literal rocket scientists. — all in an effort to bring the science of dairy culture and industry. “There was just no way I could pass up space plants back down to Earth. —Ben Vincent

10 grow SPRING 2018

Photo by Sevie Kenyon BS’80 MS’06 Field Notes

PUERTO RICO

Mongoose Tracker

Imagine if squirrels were fearless and rabid and preyed upon your pets rather than the acorns in your yard. In Puerto Rico, this is quite common. The small Indian mongoose — a sleek, fierce, weasel-like critter — has been troubling the island for decades, yet little is known about this invasive species and how to control it. Diana Guzmán-Colón PhDx’18, a doctoral student in the Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology and a Puerto Rican native, is no stranger to these animals. Through her work at UW–Madison’s SILVIS Lab, she has chased her childhood curiosity and dedicated the last five years of her life to making sense of these mysterious carnivores. Photo courtesy Diana Guzmàn-ColÓn They may be modest in size, typically measuring about two feet from snout to tail, but small Indian tion structure and movement patterns throughout Diana Guzmán-Colón mongooses have a large impact on Puerto Rico. the island and indicate where the species is success- searches through Río Native to India, they were first introduced to the ful. From there, Guzmán-Colón can help identify Abajo State Forest in island in the 1890s by sugar plantation owners to which mongoose populations should be priorities for Utuado, Puerto Rico, for hunt rats. Since then, the mongoose population has management measures. the right spot to set a live exploded while expanding its menu to include native Since Hurricane Maria ravaged the island in trap for mongoose. birds, amphibians, and domestic animals like cats, September 2017, Guzmán-Colón has faced a new chickens, and small dogs. These attacks frighten and set of challenges in both her professional and per- infuriate citizens. Today, the mongoose sonal life. Thankfully, her family was unharmed, is so common in Puerto Rico that but such an environmental disturbance will locals often refer to them as squirrels. certainly affect her research. Still, she Local and federal agencies have remains optimistic. tried to keep the mongoose popu- “The storm was devastating lation in check, but because they to Puerto Rico, but I try to are aggressive and often rabid, see this as a rare opportunity most strategies have failed. for science,” says Guzmán- “Mongooses are an extremely Colón. “It isn’t every day that resilient invasive species and seem researchers are able to observe The small Indian mon- to be unaffected by past control the reemergence of an entire goose, first introduced measures,” says Guzmán-Colón. ecosystem.” to Puerto Rico by sugar By tracking the mongoose plantation owners, has population, Guzmán-Colón hopes been plaguing the island to uncover how the species has spread for decades. throughout Puerto Rico, where they thrive, and where they may go next. But how As for the mongooses, Guzmán- do you keep tabs on an entire community of such Colón sees a possible boom in their population. elusive little creatures? Guzmán-Colón believes the “Mongooses live in burrows underground, are answer lies in their DNA. efficient scavengers, and reproduce quickly. My pre- By live-trapping and collecting samples from diction is that they’ll be unaffected by or benefit from local mongooses, she will be able to piece together the hurricane.” a web of genetic relations similar to a family . All the more reason for further research. These relationships can shed light on their popula- —Gilliane Davison

SPRING 2018 grow 11 Living Science Winter Awakens Spring Flowering To avoid the dangers of frost, many plants have evolved a knack for waiting for winter to pass before flowering. But the season’s cold weather is key to making it happen. Rick Amasino investigates this process — and the genes behind it — to reveal invaluable insights for farmers and plant breeders.

Interview by Kaine Korzekwa MS’16

g HOW DO PLANTS RESPOND TO SPRING? There are a wide range of responses. For example, some plants need to be exposed to winter cold to in the spring, whereas others form spring as a result of T’S SPRINGTIME IN WISCONSIN AGAIN. being exposed to the decreasing hours of sunlight during the Home gardeners and farmers are busy tend- fall season. Apple and cherry are in this latter category ing to their beds and fields, relishing the — their flowers are actually formed in the previous fall in freshI sprouts of flowers, vegetables, and crops. that become dormant. Then, when it gets warm the following spring, everything that was crammed into those It begs the question: What happens in the inner buds in the fall just unfolds. workings of plants as they prepare for spring? Other plants like lilies, for example, require exposure to What’s the science that governs the growing cold in order to flower. When they are growing in the fall, season for different ? flowering is blocked. But over winter, the block is removed and they flower in the spring. The underlying processes for Rick Amasino, a plant biochemist and professor this involve a lot of biochemistry, and that’s what we’ve stud- in the Department of Biochemistry, may have the ied in my lab. Specifically, we study how flowering is blocked answers — or at least some of them. He studies in the fall and how exposure to cold results in the removal of plant development and, specifically, how and this block. The block removal process is known as vernaliza- tion; this word is derived from vernal, which means “relating when plants produce flowers. In 2016, his exper- to spring.” tise earned him a place on a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine com- g ARE THERE ANY MORE EXAMPLES OF PLANTS THAT mittee tasked with investigating the impacts of NEED WINTER TO FLOWER? Some common examples include many of the vegetables genetically engineered crops. we plant in the spring, such as , carrots, and beets. Many plants have effectively evolved a way to We don’t usually see these particular vegetables flowering avoid flowering prior to winter. Instead, they use because they will not flower until they experience winter, the cold season to help activate flowering when and we harvest them before they have a chance to flower. Many grasses go through this process as well. the weather warms. Amasino’s research sheds light on what conditions a plant must experi- g WHY SHOULD WE BE INTERESTED IN THIS PROCESS? ence in order to flower. In particular, he focuses This requirement to go through winter in order to flower is on unraveling the genetic basis of the effects important agriculturally; food plants keep growing without flowering all summer long and, therefore, the part which we these conditions have on plants as they stimu- consume can get very large. However, if you left a carrot in late or repress flowering. His findings may allow the ground after the summer, it would flower the next spring, other scientists and plant breeders to develop and the underground part of the carrot we eat would become crops that are more efficient and have higher shriveled as it provides the nutrients for flowers to form.

yields of food or energy. g IF IT GETS WARMER EARLIER, IS THAT A PROBLEM? An early warming trend in itself isn’t problematic if it contin- ues into spring, but our climate is likely to be more variable than that. So, if we have unusually high temperatures late in the winter and cherry blossoms in Door County open,

12 grow SPRING 2018 but then we get a blast of cold afterward, the flowers will be destroyed and fruit cannot form. g WHAT’S GOING ON INSIDE THE PLANT THAT DETER- MINES WHETHER OR NOT IT FLOWERS? In the plants we study that require winter, there is a gene encoding a repressor protein that is expressed in the fall that prevents the plant from flowering. Then, over the winter, control of the repressor gene is altered in a way that the repressor is no longer expressed. Consequently, plants can flower when it gets warm, and they resume growth in the spring in the absence of the repressor protein. We’ve recently published research specifically on the small Mediterranean grass called Brachypodium. Previous work has shown that a gene called VRN1 is responsible for activating Rick Amasino flowering in these grasses after the winter. But what’s the repressor gene keeping VRN1 in check in the fall? That was Photo by Frederic Bouche previously unclear. We did genetic screens and found several of the genes that repress the VRN1 gene prior to winter. We Also, our work has revealed basic principles of how genes are just published a scientific paper on one of these, calling it regulated, which has implications for many areas. RVR1, for its role in repressing VRN1. Another example of applicability, although not directly from our research, was useful for sugar beet farmers, who g WHY ARE GENE DISCOVERIES LIKE THIS IMPORTANT plant in the spring. A spring cold spell will trigger some of the FOR THIS AREA OF RESEARCH? sugar beets to flower, and flowering plants do not produce Scientists that breed cereal grains may find this newly the part of the beet the farmers harvest. Scientists in Europe identified gene interesting. However, we think it could also modified genes involved in the flowering response to cold and impact research. I am part of the U.S. Department of came up with a sugar beet variety that doesn’t flower if it is Energy’s Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC) exposed to cold. Now farmers can plant their beets in the fall here on campus. Although switchgrass, which can be used to rather than the spring to allow them to have a much longer make biofuels, doesn’t go through the vernalization pro- growing season and to grow bigger — and they don’t have cess, there’s a good chance that taking the RVR1 gene from to worry about the beets flowering. This has significantly Brachypodium and putting it in switchgrass will delay switch- increased the yield per acre of sugar beets. grass flowering. Delaying switchgrass flowering to various extents may improve yield. g WHAT’S YOUR NEXT STEP IN THIS RESEARCH? We are going to continue to work with other GLBRC g WHY IS UNDERSTANDING THIS PROCESS IMPORTANT? researchers to study Brachypodium and how different varieties In basic research like ours, we often don’t know where exactly of the plant live and persist in winters that have varying tem- it’s going, but it often ends up having practical relevance. peratures and lengths. How did one variety evolve a system Our goal is to understand the biochemical pathways that tweaked to require 16 weeks of cold? Why does another one plants have evolved to flower at certain times of the year. But require just two weeks of cold? In other words, what’s the in crops, in which the timing of flowering is important, this genetic and biochemical difference between the requirement research can be applicable. For example, we share our unpub- for a short winter versus a long winter? Grasses are really lished work with breeders who can translate some of the important crops, and this model for studying flowering can knowledge into increased efficiency in a breeding program. tell us a lot about how they work.

SPRING 2018 grow 13 A PRECISE H PE

by Kelly April Tyrrell Photos by Jeff Miller

With gene editing — and pigs — CALS scientists are developing a model for “precision medicine,” the possibility of highly individualized treatments for patients living with the rare disease called NF1

14 grow SPRING 2018 study biological processes and re-create diseases in order to better understand them. Good models yield information relevant to humans, but the right model can sometimes be difficult to find. NF1 is especially complex, affects many systems of the body, and touches which his father later learned are a hall- ASON KONSITZKE IS 7. many areas of scientific inquiry, from He loves food (especially when mark of NF1. Mason received a genetic M cancer research to neurobiology. Chuck he can share it with others) and any- diagnosis of the disorder just before his began to search for a better model and, thing military (both of his grandfathers first birthday. in 2013, when Mason was 3, he settled served). He likes to fly kites and play “We were like deer in the head- on pigs. Pigs are similar to humans in with his 5-year-old sister, Alexandra. lights,” Malia says. “We were in shock, many ways that other common research But Mason was born with a disease wondering, what does this mean for us? animals, such as mice and fruit flies, called neurofibromatosis type 1, or NF1, What does it mean for Mason?” are not. That includes their size, which and each day can present new challenges At 18 months, Mason began to lose means drugs and devices that work for him and his family. his ability to speak. He was falling over, on humans can also be tested on pigs. NF1 is a genetic disease caused by screaming constantly, and deliberately They have a robust immune system, changes, or mutations, to a single gene banging his head. That’s when an MRI which rodents lack. And they’re intel- in the human DNA library. Roughly revealed a tumor called a plexiform neu- ligent, so scientists can study changes by Kelly April Tyrrell one out of 3,000 babies born in the rofibroma in a mesh of nerves in the left in their cognition. United States has it. That’s more than side of his face. It was growing fast. Knowing all of this, Chuck went on three times the incidence of cystic fibro- the hunt for researchers who studied swine. sis, a much better-known condition. Yet A FATHER AND SCIENCE few people have heard of NF1. FACILITATOR BRAVING THE RISKS Mutations in the NF1 gene cause Charles (who goes by Chuck) is a research Dhanansayan (Dhanu) defects in the neurofibromin 1 pro- administrator and the associate direc- Shanmuganayagam BS’97 PhD’06, tein, which acts as a tumor suppressor. tor of UW–Madison’s Biotechnology assistant professor of nutrition and ani- Children with NF1 can develop painful Center, a sort of one-stop shop for scien- mal sciences at CALS, has spent most of tumors along their nerve tracts, some- tists in need of DNA sequencing, genome his career using swine to study human times in their skin and in their eyes, editing, and other services. diseases, particularly heart disease. In which can render them blind. They are Upon Mason’s diagnosis, he began to fact, he and colleagues in the animal sci- often diagnosed with autism spectrum delve into published NF1 research. He ences department created the Wisconsin disorder, though not all children with wanted to know where it was happen- Miniature Swine, a pig that, like people, NF1 also have autism, and they are ing, who was doing it, and how he might can develop heart disease under the sometimes diagnosed with attention be able to help. He sought opinions right conditions. deficit hyperactivity disorder. They may from experts, wondering how the field have soft bones that bend and break eas- could be improved. Many identified ily. They are at a higher risk for cancer. the same bottleneck: the lack of a good And there is no cure. research model. It was not a disease Mason’s parents, In biology, research models are ani- Charles and Malia Konsitzke, had ever mals, cells, plants, microbes, and other heard of. As a newborn, he was healthy, living things that allow scientists to but when Mason was 6 months old, the couple began to suspect something was wrong. Mason developed coffee-and- cream-colored spots all over his body,

SPRING 2018 grow 15 Dhanu’s office was a few world. “I’m glad they’re doing this to the Biotechnology Center, blocks from Chuck’s, but they’d work at UW–Madison because and inject them with a solution never met until a few years ago, the combination of specialized containing the gene-editing when they bumped into each resources and expertise are found CRISPR. This would have to be other while helping to campaign in very few places worldwide.” done quickly, while the Dfor the new UW Meat Science were still a single cell. This way, Laboratory. They got to know LIKE SCISSORS FOR GENES when the single cell divided, each other, and Chuck asked Dhanu and Chuck determined all the subsequent cells would Dhanu whether he had ever that the course they wanted to contain the NF1 mutation. heard of NF1. He hadn’t. Chuck chart included gene editing using (Inject too late and the pig would told him about Mason, about a powerful new tool known develop into a mosaic of cells the need for a better model, as CRISPR, which stands for that contain the mutation and and about the promise that pigs Clustered Regularly Interspaced those that do not.) Then it would offered to help understand and Short Palindromic Repeats. The be off to the surrogate mother, treat the disease. Then he asked genetic technology is reshaping a pig chosen to reproductively Dhanu if he would join forces to basic biological research. Like match the -donating pig. help create that model. a pair of molecular scissors, The researchers would perform Taking some time to think CRISPR enables scientists to surgery to implant the CRISPR about it, Dhanu consulted the target a stretch of cellular DNA embryos into her womb. If all members of his laboratory who for alteration. They can cut out went well, months later she would would all be helping to forge pieces of DNA or swap out letters give birth to piglets, at least some this new path. His risks would in the genome, changing the of which would carry the desired be their risks. A pig model could message it encodes or shutting off NF1 mutations. fail, leading them all down a genes entirely. A few months passed. blind alley. The two set their sights On Nov. 7, 2016, Chuck Dhanu told Chuck he was in. on creating pigs that carry the and Dhanu were meeting in The risks remain significant, NF1 mutations they and other Madison with a group from Dhanu says, “but I’ve come to researchers are most interested terms with it, and it’s fine. I’ve in studying. “But we had to fig- been lucky in my career to work ure out where to start,” Dhanu on things that have gone to says. “It’s like learning to fly a clinic. If it works, it’s going to space shuttle.” be impactful.” With Dhanu’s lab manager There aren’t many places and lead scientist Jen Meudt at in the world where this kind of the helm, the team dove in. But work — melding basic science the challenges were many. They with clinical research and a large had to learn about swine repro- animal model like swine — is duction, about CRISPR and possible. UW–Madison has large gene editing, how to perform the biomedical research centers, the necessary surgeries on pigs, how capacity for high-powered basic to time events so no step of the science, and a 1,500-pig research process failed and ruined all the facility called the Swine Research efforts before it. Again and again, Dhanansayan the Neurofibromatosis (NF) "Dhanu" and Teaching Center (SRTC) they hit roadblocks. Shanmuganayagam Network, which supports NF1 in Arlington, a 35-minute drive It took more than a year, describes his research and clinical care. They from campus. but finally, they came up with research during a were sipping coffee when a text “It’s a brave new frontier, to a plan: The researchers would Neurofibromatosis came in from Jen: “The mom move into swine,” says David use artificial insemination to Type 1 (NF1) sym- carrying NF piglets is delivering posium for patients H. Gutmann, a physician and impregnate a female pig carefully and families held at right now.” researcher at the Washington primed to produce more eggs the UW–Madison The piglets — eight in all, University School of Medicine in than she naturally would. Shortly Health Sciences and four with the NF1 mutation St. Louis, who is considered one of after fertilization, they would Learning Center in — were a living embodiment the foremost NF1 experts in the remove the embryos, whisk them May 2017. of the team’s hard work. They

16 grow SPRING 2018 tors and insurance companies are unfamiliar with the social and behavioral implications of a NF1 diagnosis, but autism is well recognized and the need for early intervention well studied. Mason now sees an occupational therapist and speech-language pathologist in and out of school and a psychiatrist several times each year. The therapy helps, but managing Mason’s disease has also taken a toll on the family. In 2016, with “everything fraying at A breed of pigs medications and treatments and the edges,” Malia says, the couple called Wisconsin see if they’ll work. Can tumors, decided she would take time Miniature Swine like the one that afflicts Mason, (top) were created off from work to help refocus by a team of UW– be shrunk? and slow down. She prepared to Madison scientists resign from her job working for to help better model THE PROMISE OF PRECISION a school district; instead, they and understand By the time Mason reached pre- offered her a one-year leave of human diseases, including NF1. kindergarten, the tumor in his absence. It provided the fam- had proved that they could cre- face had grown into his cranial ily the respite they needed, but ate pigs genetically engineered sinus. His parents were told he it also presented a significant to carry the disease. It was an could lose his sight and his abil- financial strain. “We laugh a lot because you have to,” Chuck says. emotional experience for the Seen through ity to taste. Surgery wasn’t an scientists, involving tears and a microscope, option. It was too risky and could Laughter is just one way to prayers. They immediately went researcher Kathy leave Mason in even greater pain, cope with a disease with so many Krentz guides permanently. “He’s literally been different faces. NF1’s unique out to celebrate. a micro-needle Then they set to work build- in pain his whole life,” Malia says. manifestations make each child (bottom) to inject and each child’s treatment plan ing on that success. One of the DNA into one of Then, for reasons doctors four piglets with the mutation is several pig embryos couldn’t explain, the tumor experiments unto themselves. a male. Mason named him Tank. at UW–Madison’s stopped progressing. He regained But pigs develop faster than Biotechnology his speech and no longer children do, so they offer the His job is to sire more piglets Center. with the mutation since the screamed or struggled to stay possibility of helping to predict changes conferred by CRISPR upright. His doctors keep a close how NF1 might affect a par- were designed to be passed on watch on the tumor with MRI ticular child, enabling parents, from generation to generation. scans. They continue to work to doctors, teachers, and others to The team took the process determine the best medication prepare. Earlier intervention for a they’d developed and applied it regimen for the other symptoms child who develops autism could to other NF1 mutations, includ- that come with his particular lead to better outcomes. Doctors ing some related to cancer. And variant of NF1. His treatment could start working to find drugs they set an even more ambitious must be continuously modified. to treat tumors before they grow goal: precision medicine. In other Mason still exhibits some of too large. words, a pig personalized for the behavioral challenges often “Precision medicine is more every child with NF1. associated with NF1, which for than matching the right drug With CRISPR, the research- him began at age 3. At age 5, to the right gene. With NF1, it’s ers believe they can take the he was diagnosed with autism. more complicated and involves genetic fingerprint of an indi- His parents say that, although searching for the factors that vidual child’s NF1 mutation and it’s relatively late to get such a make each individual with create a pig with that same muta- diagnosis, it opened up more NF1 unique,” says Washington tion. They can then test potential therapeutic doors. Most doc- University’s David Gutmann.

SPRING 2018 grow 17 “This is an amazing opportu- traveled to campus from La Valle, nity to find the risk factors that Wisconsin, for a symposium for put an affected child at risk for NF1 patients and their families. developing a brain tumor, a bone “I didn’t realize each child is defect, or another serious compli- specific,” he says. “I didn’t realize cation of NF1.” UW has swine research and there Dhanu, Chuck, and Jen are aren’t too many facilities in the not doing this work on their country researching NF1.” own. The team now includes The NF1 team hopes to many talented individuals like host the symposium each year, Biotechnology Center scien- to invite families to learn more tists C. Dustin Rubinstein, about the science of NF1, to give Kathy Krentz, and Michael them a chance to meet research- Sussman, along with Jamie ers and clinicians, and to ask Reichert, manager of the Swine questions and meet other families Research and Teaching Center, Literature about Most of that comes from an living with the disease. and his team. And there’s now a Neurofibromatosis annual charity golf tournament “We’ve gone very far in two broader research group, the UW Type 1 (NF1) is the Konsitzkes and four other years because it hasn’t been just displayed (top) at about building a model, it’s also NF1 Translational Research a NF1 symposium families help organize and run. team, which includes Thomas for patients and Called Links for Lauren, the been about creating a community Crenshaw, an animal sciences families held at the tournament honors Lauren around it,” Dhanu says. professor and department chair, UW–Madison Health Geier, an 8-year-old girl in The opportunity to work so and Marc Wolman, a professor Sciences Learning Madison with NF1. closely with and on behalf of the Center in May 2017. of integrative biology. Finding funding for rare people who may ultimately bene- They have also enlisted diseases through federal agen- fit from his work is not something the skill and knowledge of cies like the National Institutes he’d ever experienced. And he has Neha Patel, a pediatrician at of Health can be challenging. found it profoundly rewarding. the UW–Madison School of Larry Britzman However, families can play a sur- Not long ago, he invited a Medicine and Public Health and his 11-year- prisingly influential role in the family into his lab whose college- who treats about 150 children old daughter, fight against rare diseases. aged daughter has NF1. They’d with NF1 in Wisconsin and sur- Mackenzie (bottom), “They often provide critical been donors to NF1 causes for who has NF1, talk years but had never talked to rounding regions. to health advo- resources and financial support Dhanu hopes to make the cate Lindsay Geier at the earliest stages of a high- a researcher. “It meant a lot to NF1 pigs accessible to other during the NF1 risk project, when funding from them, and my first thought was: researchers around the country, symposium. federal agencies is not possible,” ‘How can we do more of this?’” charging only what it costs to David Guttman says. “Our He and his lab members now produce them. And the team families, they inspire us because participate in running events like plans to use the pigs to help they ask us to do things that are the Madison Half Marathon, identify metabolic and cellular really meaningful and take risks often with the NF Team organi- pathways common to the variety by taking the roads not fre- zation, to raise money for NF1 of NF1 mutations to help target quently traveled. Through their research and to increase aware- and develop better drugs. involvement, they can move the ness. The runners sport neon But to accomplish all of this field forward in ways that no one yellow performance shirts with requires funding. else can.” bold, black lettering. They also “We’re at a critical moment,” participate in the annual charity Dhanu says. “We have to turn 'WHERE THERE’S RESEARCH, golf tournament. our successes into funding THERE’S HOPE' “As scientists, we don’t often opportunities.” Larry Britzman had no idea see the payoff of what we’re work- The UW NF1 Translational there were pigs at UW–Madison ing on,” Dhanu says. “It redefines Research team has bootstrapped that might one day help children our research priorities, and it also most of its work so far, relying like his 12-year-old daughter, aids discovery. The best people to primarily on funding and dona- Mackenzie. He learned that, and note observations are the people tions from the NF Network. much more, in May when he who live with it.”

18 grow SPRING 2018 To him, success can be measured by individuals. “Even if our research just raises aware- ness and someone gets treated because of what we do, that alone is big,” he says. Chuck believes the disease is underdiagnosed because very few people are genetically tested for it, and most physicians are not familiar with it. So they may diagnose patients with autism or a behavioral disorder and miss the broader picture. That has frustrated Danielle , a teacher and mother of two who lives in Reedsburg, Wisconsin. Her daughter, Bernadette, is 2 and was diag- nosed with NF1 as an infant. Along with springy blonde curls and an arresting smile, Bernadette has a weak abdominal Alexandra and Mason Konsitzke play with their parents, Chuck and Malia wall, which causes her pain and Konsitzke, at the family's home in Stoughton, Wis. To help the family face may require surgery. She wears the challenges of living with NF1, Chuck says, “We laugh a lot, because braces to support her frail ankles. you have to.” Danielle, too, has NF1. Her mother had it and so did her the lives of people with NF1 families each day brings us one grandmother. Though her condi- through research.” step closer to that better future tion is mild — she simply wears This is what drives Chuck, for children and adults with NF,” glasses for poor vision caused Dhanu, and the rest of the UW he says. “I can imagine getting VIDEO by a tumor on her optic nerve NF1 Translational Research up every morning and running LIFE WITH NF1 — deciding whether to have team, which is working to estab- to work to see what’s happening children was hard. Because it is lish a NF1 Center for Excellence with those pigs.” Two families describe how NF1 affects them. a dominant mutation, Danielle at UW–Madison. Not only is For Mason, pigs — includ- and her husband had at least a 50 this possible, David says, it is nec- ing Tank — don’t play much percent chance of giving birth to essary. “There is no established of a role in his daily life today. a baby with the disease. Having therapy for NF1 and no magic Instead, he continues regular grown up with NF1, Danielle felt bullet that works for all kids or visits to therapists and other she had a good idea of what to adults. The challenge for us is to professionals to help him expect. She now sees herself as an learn more about this disorder so manage his symptoms. He also benefits from the support of his The Britzman family advocate for Bernadette. that personalized and effective go.wisc.edu/nf1-britzman “While things never move as treatments emerge.” family, from Chuck and Malia fast as we want them to, there’s a Moreover, he says, what NF1 to aunts and uncles who have tremendous amount of excit- teaches researchers will inform learned all they can about NF1. ing progress in this field, and their approaches to other condi- And the family dog, Donatella, where there’s research, there’s tions, like some types of cancer. is his packmate, Malia says. But hope,” David Gutmann says. And he’s excited to see what the at 7, Mason can still take all of UW–Madison is “in a really future holds. that for granted and focus on great position because (it has) “All of us in the NF field get what he loves best. Like sharing the tastiest mini pizzas he can The Wood family young faculty who are excited up every morning and are excited go.wisc.edu/nf1-wood to get to work. What we learn make. He would absolutely love and a patient community that g is challenging them to improve from our colleagues and our it if you tried one.

SPRING 2018 grow 19 CALS scientists delve into the microbial communities in our digestive tracts — and their implications for our health

BY ERIK NESS

he second floor gallery of the Wormfarm Institute in Reedsburg, Wisconsin, is a far cry from the funky glassware and biosafety proto- Tcols of a working microbiology lab. One corner contains an improv kitchenette, circa 1987. Sprout — the mascot offspring of the Jolly Green Giant — waves improbably from behind a cubicle wall across the room; the child- size plastic statue is missing a hand. A cool draft of autumn rain and small-town traffic noise flows through an open window. Assistant professor of bacteriology Federico Rey chats with his Wormfarm hosts as more than three dozen attendees of the annual Fermentation Fest assem-

ble into a casual arc of folding chairs and a couple of Photos by Katrin Talbot MS vintage couches. These are people who already under- stand the idea of microbes as friends. Makers of coleslaw and kimchi, kombucha and beer — they are motivated by microbes and have paid to hear Rey’s summary of the ’ state of current human microbiome research. 85

20 grow SPRING 2018 Photo by Michael P. King

Across the life sciences, the microbiome is good company: “A very small fraction of microbes (Above) Postdoc Lindsay the buzziest of buzzwords, invoking a symphony are pathogens. Most of them are commensal — Traeger, assistant professor of hope, hyperbole, and high expectations. Rey they don’t do good or bad — or they are beneficial of bacteriology Federico Rey, shares in the overall enthusiasm, but he is careful for humans.” These last ones, the microbes that and research assistant Julia about the speculative details. Yes, the microbiome fuel our fantasies of easy cures and everlasting Kreznar stand in the data might even match our frothiest expectations. And health, truly capture Rey’s interest. center at UW–Madison’s no, he can’t cure your diabetes or make you leaner, Every surface on our bodies is colonized by Discovery Building, which faster, or smarter. He can’t even tell you if your some kind of microbe, and microbiologists have houses the computers they microbiome is healthy. Not today. identified thousands of species of bacteria that can use to sift through massive Because nobody can. inhabit the human gut. Each of us, in turn, has a amounts of genetic informa- In front of a large wall hanging of textile collection of between 100 and 200 different bac- tion. Large cooling fans in orange circles representing the bubbles of fermen- teria strains, comingled with other life forms from each equipment rack create tation, he begins where he has to begin, very near fungi and protists to viruses and archaea. These a windy environment. the beginning. “Microbes are the most abundant enteric ecosystems — different for every single form of life on this planet,” he says, his thick human, even more unique than a fingerprint — Argentinian accent backlit by a docent’s enthu- each contain 100 times the genetic information of (Left) Fermentation siasm. “They can live in places where we cannot our own cells. They both supplement and interact Fest, sponsored by the imagine life.” with our bodily blueprints. Wormfarm Institute, is “Microbes outnumber us by many orders of Deciphering who’s who is not even half the an annual celebration magnitude. They power almost everything on problem. How exactly do our bodies gather these of “live culture” held in the earth,” he says. They convert as much carbon microbes? What shapes the resulting ecosystem? Sauk County. These scenes dioxide into organic compounds as plants do and How do humans and microbes interact? In 2017 are from the 2017 fest, emit more methane than the oil and gas industry. alone, Rey published new research about micro- where Federico Rey gave a “Literally, there is no place on earth where there biome effects in diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and the presentation on the human are no microbes,“he continues.”It is impossible to cycling of the nutrient choline (which may posi- gut microbiome. get rid of them.” tively affect fetal brain development but also can And despite our germophobia, they’re mostly lead to heart disease later). “Every single disease

SPRING 2018 grow 21 Photos by Michael P. King

Julia Kreznar (left) inspects or health condition scientists look at, they find a Rey joined Gordon’s lab at Washington a germ-free mouse while microbiome connection,” he says. University in St. Louis as a postdoc in 2006 just performing cage mainte- And yet there is no single definition of a as microbiome science was gaining momentum. nance. Sterile germ-free healthy microbiota. And what is healthy for you Tools for reading the genetic code were getting mouse facilities on the UW– may not be healthy for me. faster, cheaper, and more versatile. Computers Madison campus provide a used to crunch burgeoning data sets were growing controlled model in which RESEARCH REVOLUTION in power as new statistical methods were increas- to study the interactions Federico Rey arrived in the United States in 1999 ing in sophistication. of microbial communities with advanced biological questions on his mind One of the earliest hints of the power of within mammals and how and little idea that microbes could hold the answer. microbes was that transplanting the microbiome they impact anatomy, As a research fellow at the Henry Ford Health from one mouse to another could also transfer physiology, behavior, and Sciences Center in Detroit, he focused on hyper- basic metabolic conditions, such as obesity. It was susceptibility to disease. tension and vascular disease. But when he moved in Gordon’s lab that Rey first met CALS profes- to the University of Iowa for his Ph.D. in 2001, sor of biochemistry Alan Attie — through the microbes of his mice. In Attie’s efforts to unravel In the Rey lab, senior he met Rhodopseudomonas palustris during a lab rotation. These extravagantly versatile bacteria the many mysteries of diabetes, his lab sent Gordon scientist Bob Kerby holds microbiome samples from genetically distinct mice two sealed test tubes (top are known for their ability to use four different modes of metabolism to scavenge energy, nitrogen, that had been placed on a high-fat or a chow (i.e., right) containing a pure grain-based) diet. It was known that both diet and strain of bacterium from a and carbon from a variety of sources — with or without oxygen. Intrigued by the diversity and genetics had a significant effect on the metabolic human fecal sample. The health of these mice. Gordon helped to show that cloudy sample has been adaptability of microbes, Rey says he fell in love with the bacterium. the microbes played a role as well. incubated for 24 hours; the Rey took the project with him when he was clear sample has just been R. palustris was an obvious stepping-stone towards biofuels. But in 2005, Rey saw a talk hired by CALS in 2013, and he’s been collabo- prepared. The Petri dish rating with Attie since. It’s a task of daunting holds the bacterial colony. by Jeff Gordon, a pioneer in the study of human-microbiome interactions. Gordon began complexity: integrate two genetically complex examining the development of the mammalian systems that play a role in metabolic disease. gut in the 1980s. Eventually he realized that Neither is close to being perfectly understood, yet microbes were essential to the process, and he set they interact with each other, coalescing in each out to untangle this complex relationship using individual. early sequencing techniques and transgenic and Hundreds of mammalian genes are already germ-free mice. understood as part of the metabolic pathways

22 grow SPRING 2018 that go awry on the way to diabetes. The human If the microbiome has taught him anything, “Every single microbiome, meanwhile, produces thousands of it’s that generalizations are tricky. “If they work for chemicals that act within the genetic framework you, you should continue,” he emphasizes, trying to disease or of humans. We’ve long understood how these claim middle ground. Because of course probiotics microbes help us break down the complex com- are microbes, and there actually is a lot of evidence health pounds in the plant-based foods we eat, providing that some may provide immune benefits. condition about 10 percent more energy. More recently, we’ve But you won’t get a better microbiota by eating learned how these microbial bioreactors produce probiotics, and if you don’t eat your yogurt on scientists look molecules called short-chain fatty acids — acetic Saturday, by Sunday those yogurt microbes are acid, propionic acid, butyrate, and other products pretty much gone. They just pass through. “The at, they find of fermentation that signal our bodies in health- effect is good as long as you keep eating them. And a microbiome promoting ways. that is the perfect model for a company, right?” he Our bodies sense these molecules, helping regu- says, with a tone of innocent mischief. connection.” late things like gastrointestinal motility. Less well But if you look at probiotics through the lens understood are the thousands of chemicals that of the microbiota, you have to acknowledge this train our immune system and help regulate every- essential truth: It’s been a landmark decade, but thing from kidney function to brain chemistry. we still don’t have tools that are sophisticated “This is one of the most important aspects of enough to measure the microbiota in sufficient the microbiome that is revolutionizing biology,” detail. We still don’t have an adequate biological Rey says. But unraveling the interplay between understanding of what makes a healthy microbi- host genetics and metabolism is anything but easy. ota. And we barely understand the complex dance In work published in Cell Reports in 2017, these microbes do with our body. Add in the fact Rey’s student Julia Kreznar used eight different that probiotics are dietary supplements, and thus mouse strains and microbial transplants to help not well regulated. unravel this tangled web. The study found measur- “You have to be careful. You have to do your able differences in the microbiome established research,” Rey says. “There are many different in the different strains. These microbes, in turn, strains of probiotics, and there are big differences influenced the likelihood that the mice would between different strains.” This is further compli- succumb to metabolic disease. The work also dem- cated by the difficulty of even properly identifying onstrated a novel link between the gut microbiome bacteria, which can evolve rapidly. “There is a big and insulin secretion. difference between George Clooney the actor and “We can show that microbiota affected pan- somebody named George Clooney who lives in creatic islet physiology and function,” Kreznar Atlanta. They have the same name, but they are says. It’s a promising step, but it’s also an indirect completely different people,” he explains. “There interaction. Identifying the mediators of these are thousands of strains of Lactobacillus rham- microbe-host interactions is really challenging. nosus. Some may have an effect. Many of them “It’s the dawn of a new field,” Attie says. “We probably don’t.” have 3 or 4 pounds of organisms that are produc- In fact, it is our ability to identify these subtle ing so many molecules, and we don’t know the differences in microbes that sparked the current least of them.” revolution in microbiome science. First came 16S “I’m feeling daunted,” he admits. “We had this ribosomal RNA. Essential to the construction of idea that we would potentially connect the dots proteins, 16S changes very slowly, which allowed genetically. It is enormously complex, and it’s hard. scientists to, finally, reliably identify the members It’s harder than we even thought it was going to be.” in a microbial community. We talk about DNA as the book of life. At first, A BIG GENETIC BLACK BOX just reading a few pages was a chore. Then we devel- Back in Reedsburg, Rey knows the probiotic ques- oped machines to read more pages, faster. Then tion is coming, so he makes a preemptive strike: we learned how to read the sequels: DNA makes “When I talk about microbiota, I’m not talking RNA, which makes proteins and enzymes respon- about probiotics. The probiotics that you can get sible for carrying out cellular processes, including at Walgreens are basically microbes from dairy, the making and breaking of sugar for energy. The microbes that can live in milk. Microbes that are technology responsible for reading these inter- not adapted to live in our intestines.” related genetic codes is called next-generation

SPRING 2018 grow 23 sequencing, and it has powered this first golden age TWO T-BONES A DAY of microbiome research. The challenge now is sift- The microbiome is a dynamic force. Change the ing through that data to find biological meaning. diets of lab mice, and overnight the communi- Postdoc Lindsay Traeger Ph.D. ’15 is one of Rey’s ties that live in their gut change dramatically. So primary number crunchers. “I’m attracted to very why care what microbes are in your gut if you can broad questions that we can throw a data hammer switch it up that quickly? at and see what falls out,” she says. Rey points to his classic Argentinian upbring- Right now Traeger is focused on the next ing as an example. “I grew up eating a T-bone for stage of collaboration with Attie and several lunch and a T-bone for dinner,” he says. “Twenty- other UW–Madison faculty including Joshua five years. And I miss it very much,” he quips, Coon (biomolecular chemistry), Karl Broman evoking another laugh from his audience. “But if (biostatistics and medical informatics), and I became vegetarian long term, I would definitely Brian Yandell (statistics). “We know that the select for different microbial communities. And I gut microbiome is influenced by diet,” Traeger would likely have new microbes colonize me.” says. “But there is also this genetic component, But even while your gut community is adapt- which is a black box.” able, the microbes in your gut can also have Using genetically distinct mouse strains is long-term consequences. That T-bone? “There are advantageous when you’re trying to model a components in meat that microbes love and that particular disease. But if you’re trying to tease out cause problems,” Rey warns. “But you might not broader biological principles, using a single strain have them.” Which could mean several things: of mice could lead to bias. That’s why the labs are You’ve never been exposed to them, or you’ve been using a special breed called Diversity Outbred, a exposed but they didn’t take. Or maybe they’re strategic genetic mash-up of common lab strains there, but other microbes keep them in check. All and some wild strains. of those are open biological questions, which now In one hand, Traeger has the genetic code of makes nutrition even more complicated. each individual mouse. And in the other, she has In 2011, Stanley Hazen of the Cleveland the genetic code of the microbiome of each mouse. Clinic published a paper linking microbes to the Using advanced statistics, she’s searching for pat- breakdown of lipid phosphatidylcholine (leci- terns that suggest some molecular matchmaking. thin) into several choline-related compounds, “I’m trying to identify how the host is selecting particularly TMAO (trimethylamine N-oxide), a for or deselecting for the presence and abun- chemical already found to be a strong predictor of dance of certain microbial functions. Because the heart disease risk. Specifically, microbes metabo- microbes are interacting somehow with the host.” lized choline into trimethylamine (TMA), which One gene of interest is responsible for creating the is then converted in the liver to TMAO. important immune protein TNF-alpha, which While diet is a big part of this risk — eggs, milk, plays roles in cancer and autoimmune disease. liver, red meat, poultry, shellfish, and fish are major Early returns suggest that the TNF gene is also dietary sources — the combination of microbial involved in sensing and responding to bacteria and host biology leading to TMAO accumulation that have flagella. intrigued Kymberleigh Romano Ph.D.’17, who Of course, the TNF gene is only one of about decided to dig deeper for her doctoral work with 23,000 genes, while the genes associated with “Biology is Rey and was co-mentored by Daniel Amador- bacterial flagella are just a few out of potentially Noguez, an assistant professor in bacteriology with never simple. hundreds of thousands. With numbers that big, expertise in metabolomics. Despite years of lab there’s a lot of noise to filter out. And lots of experience, she’d never worked with lab animals If it’s simple, distractions. “It’s a little hard to focus,” she laughs. before, but she knew the time had come. “A lot of “I think I could just spiral off. [Rey] keeps me you’re missing the phenotypes we study exist only in the context of thinking about the biology.” Rey’s endless creative a host-microbe interaction,” she says. “A test tube is something.” energy helps. “He’ll just bust into the office and never going to develop heart disease.” say, ‘I have this idea!’” First she needed microbes. Harvard researcher The immensity of the black box also keeps the Emily Balskus had identified the genes involved work exciting. “We do think we’re going to find in microbial conversion of choline to TMA, and some interesting examples of interaction of host Romano began looking for them in human-asso- and microbiome,” she says. ciated microbes and constructing experimental

24 grow SPRING 2018 mixes of microbes. As she tinkered she found that, in mice at least, you need a TMA producer present in the intestinal microbiota to see TMA accu- mulation. And as you add more TMA-producing species, less choline is left for the host. Even though she’d narrowed down the difference to a single organism in her custom microbiota, it still wasn’t enough. One bacterium contains anywhere from 3,000 to 5,000 genes — that’s a lot of variables. Fortunately, her collabo- rator from Harvard had identified a genetically tractable choline consumer and knocked out the TMA production gene. “Now the only difference in my communities was a single gene.” Cardiovascular risk aside, choline is an under- appreciated nutrient contributing to the process of epigenetic regulation of gene expression, and Photo by Michael P. King those without enough of it are more likely to suffer But “I don’t know” is his most honest answer. A germ-free mouse in its metabolic disease. In mice and rats, there is even It’s a conundrum: The microbiome is hot in sterile quarters on the a two-day window during pregnancy where lack part because of some stunning findings. Most UW–Madison campus. of choline can impact fetal brain development. remarkable is the use of fecal transplants to cure “Biology is never simple,” says Romano. “If it’s drug-resistant Clostridium difficile infections, with simple, you’re missing something.” cure rates running above 90 percent in some studies. That extraordinary outcome certainly got the EAT YOUR VEGETABLES attention of both the medical community and the Talking about poop makes people laugh, and fad diet community. And even as it validates the as Rey wraps up in Reedsburg, the crowd has power of the microbiome, that outcome actually stayed engaged, surviving even his brief foray runs against the grain of all the variation Rey is into 16S sequencing. trying to figure out. “My lab is very interested in His advice for microbial health is folksy and understanding the consequences of our interper- charming. “Spouses share more microbes than sonal differences,” he explains. people that don’t live together,” Rey tells the “I can sequence your microbes, and I would not crowd. “We have found that spouses who get be able to tell you what vegetables to eat,” he says. along together share more microbes than spouses “Maybe in 5 or 10 years personalized nutrition will that don’t. There is a lot of exchange going on be a reality, but it is not today. The one recommen- there.” (In fact, if you’ve had to take antibiotics, he dation we can give right now is try to think about suggests family time will do more to restore your feeding your microbes. Because we cannot tell you microbes than probiotics.) what will be the best for your microbiota.” And, noting that the most diverse microbi- In other words, eat your vegetables. Let’s say omes are found in places like the Amazon, he says you eat pizza, with regular flour dough and cheese. being exposed to dirt is probably a good thing. Your body can digest every single ingredient of “Get your hands dirty working in your garden,” that pizza. By the time it reaches your large intes- he says. “I think that’s a health that we have tine, where most of your microbes live, your body lost over the years.” has absorbed everything of nutritional value. Still, stubborn ideas persist among those “You’re not sharing any of your food with your gathered in the room. About a dozen times people microbes,” he explains. “That’s one of the things bring up their pet microbiome theories for valida- we are doing with our Westernized diets: we are tion: probiotics, kombucha, fermented food, raw starving our microbes.” food, red wine vinegar, minimal vegetable wash- “Maybe broccoli is the best for your microbiota ing, fecal transplants. whereas cabbage is the best for my microbiota,” he “The microbiome has come to mean anything concludes. “But in general, if you eat a diverse diet you want it to mean,” Rey says disarmingly, for that contains plant polysaccharides, eventually you another laugh. are going to help the good guys.” g

SPRING 2018 grow 25 Gerry Weiss stands in a soybean field that was planted using only two tilling passes (instead of a typical four to seven), narrower rows, and a preemergent herbicide to yield a fuller crop that blocks out weeds. It’s just one example of the innovation found at his Grant County farm.

26 grow SPRING 2018 Gerry Weiss, a Grant County farmer, scientist, and permaculturist, recounts a lifetime of innovation and collaboration with CALS and UW Cooperative Extension

BY DAVID TENENBAUM PHOTOS BY MARK HIRSCH

Gerry Weiss BS’67 admits he knew age. He reveals to me that he is still nothing about the steep-valleyed fields the only FFA member to be named of southwestern Wisconsin when, back State Star Farmer, State FFA Speaking in 1975, he bought 350 acres in Grant Contest winner, and State FFA Officer County and started raising forage, row all in one year. That prodigious resume, crops, swine, and beef cattle. A native combined with his incisive nature, of flatter lands in Dane and Columbia propelled him to earn a B.S. (with counties, he knew the unfamiliar geog- honors) in animal sciences at CALS and raphy would present a true challenge, a doctorate from Iowa State University, perhaps decades of trial and error. But though he occasionally mocks his Ph.D. Weiss began farmwork at age five, and as standing for “piled higher and deeper.” he was taught to appreciate an experi- Weiss is intelligent, erudite, and mental attitude right from the start. challenging, with an unpredictable, “My father and my two uncles were probing sense of humor and a procliv- innovators,” says Weiss, now 72, as we ity to pun in English and German — a sit at his kitchen table, stacked high vestige of his time as a postdoctoral with papers, research studies, and farm researcher in the Netherlands and magazines. “I learned that you advance Germany in the 1970s. He followed his by being more efficient, more focused. work abroad with a stint as senior meat They told me, ‘The answers are in front scientist at Union Carbide and then a of you. Keep your eyes open.’” job as assistant to the president, focused Following their advice helped him on technology and science integration, earn agricultural accolades at an early at Dubuque Packing Company.

SPRING 2018 grow 27 His education and private sector By turning over the soil and exposing it ies have slashed through the landscape. career did not, however, teach Weiss to rain and wind, the moldboard plow Many Wisconsinites look upon this much about permaculture, rotational raises conservation questions, at least to unique geography — and the adapta- grazing, humane ways to wean cattle, a visionary like Weiss. tions necessary for living within it or a hundred other systems, tactics, — with genuine pride. Likewise, many and processes that he invented, honed, are proud of the connections between or proved on his land and in his barns. “WE ATTITUDE” CALS and the economic engines of Thinking of these innovations, I suggest Weiss’s sloping farm, located just a few farming and food processing. These to Weiss that he seems to have carved his miles from UW–Madison’s Lancaster linked industries are vital to the state; own furrow, but he balks at my words. Agricultural Research Station, sits they employ 413,500 people and gener- “I have not plowed a single furrow in inside Wisconsin’s Driftless Area. The ate $88.3 billion in economic activity. Grant County,” he says. region is known for its exceptionally Weiss resides at the heart of all of What he means is that, in 40 years rugged terrain due to the utter lack of this — a born innovator who adjusts of farming, he has not used a moldboard glacial bulldozing (i.e., drift) and for the to the conditions thrust upon him and plow — the device that John Deere meandering paths that the Wisconsin exemplifies the connection between invented in 1837 and is still used today. and Mississippi rivers and their tributar- academic experts and those who make a

28 grow SPRING 2018 The seven pastures on Weiss’ terraced farmland converge at this point (above) to promote the easy movement of his herd of Gelbvieh cows (left). “After five days of grazing in one pasture, they come here to let me know they’re ready to move,” he says. “All you have to do is swing a gate. No trap pens, no catching cattle, no hauling them to the next pasture.” The use of this system of rotational grazing in Wisconsin was cultivated by Richard Vatthauer, an emeritus professor of animal sciences, and Bill Paulson, former superintendent at UW’s Lancaster research station, Weiss says. Rotational grazing keeps weeds in check while stimulating grass growth, which helps prevent soil erosion.

creativity. Despite the name, permacul- tality has led to fruitful partnerships ture is not, Weiss says, a “set-and-forget” with two land-grant institutions (UW– operation. It takes real work to manage Madison and Iowa State University) acres of permanent pasture. Fortunately, and their associated extension units and Weiss is energetic — and relentless. agricultural research stations, as well as “I have never worked with ter- the Natural Resources Conservation races that have had so much constant Service (NRCS) at the U.S. Department maintenance,” says Grant County soil of Agriculture. “I don’t know all of the conservationist Kevin Lange, who has answers,” he says. “And if I don’t know living raising crops and animals. And it’s worked with Weiss for almost 30 years. it, I’m on the phone, and I’ll admit that a pipeline that flows in both directions. “He’ll fix the rodent holes, scrape the I don’t know it.” Weiss credits Bill Paulson, former soil back to the top.” To find the answers, Weiss asks some superintendent at the Lancaster station, Weiss does all of this in addition to tough questions. Lange admits that he with valuable suggestions for weed testing the soil, fertilizing as needed, can be an acquired taste. “Sometimes control and a seed mix for improved pas- winning the war on weeds, and con- when he calls, you have to take a certain tures and other conservation practices, ducting his own research. The last one, amount of his guff and give back a little such as waterways, that still thrive today. according to Lange, is special — most bit of lip of your own,” he says. “But it’s It was the first of many connections that farmers lack the time for it. “If they are not too insulting. That’s just our thing. have benefited Weiss — and CALS — interested in research, they are inter- Somehow, I got to be his guy.” over the course of four decades. ested in reading somebody else’s work,” Some of this collaboration per- he says. “He’s always checking in, always “THE ANIMALS TAUGHT US” tains to permaculture, that basket of got something new he wants to try.” approaches to farming that develops Any success he’s had, Weiss attri- Weiss’s agricultural education, and his sustainable agricultural ecosystems butes to what he calls a “we attitude,” a unusual approaches to the hurdles of through thoughtful observation and propensity for collaboration. This men- farm life, began with his father’s wisdom

SPRING 2018 grow 29 “My father and my two uncles were innovators. I learned that you advance by being more efficient,

more focused. They told me, ‘The answers are in large animal internal medicine at the UW–Madison School of Veterinary front of you. Keep your eyes open.’” Medicine. “It’s something pertinent, relevant to the state, and it’s definitely made a big contribution.” about “open eyes.” One outcome of that Within days, both sides have quit sing- observant nature appears as soon as we ing the separation blues. “WE DEVELOPED BIOSECURITY enter Weiss’s cattle housing. At first, Decades later, fence-line weaning is BEFORE IT WAS A WORD” I wonder whether I’m in a barn or a gaining acceptance in beef operations. carnival fun house lightly scented with The benefits, Weiss says, are measurable. To Weiss, continuous improvement manure. The floor is nowhere close to “We weigh when we wean and again is simply common sense. “You make level, the gates are built to telescope to before we sell the calves as feeders. They advances step by step,” he says. “We saw different lengths, and odd angles are as are gaining 1.8 or 2 pounds per head per the same attitude at CALS and at Iowa common as right ones. day. With high-stress weaning, they are State. Once you do something, you see These peculiar features are all pacing, bellering. They’re pretty wound- an opportunity to do it even better.” designed to get cattle to move where up little critters, and the gain is more He learned this method early he wants, Weiss says, and they’re built like 0.75 or 1 pound per head per day.” through his father and uncles, who were to suit the innate tendencies of a herd. Defying conventional weaning early adopters of farrowing crates for “The animals taught us,” he says. “They wisdom led to another example of swine. “Originally there was a 5-foot like to stick together, to walk along the the “Weiss method,” one designed to by 7-foot pen, but we transformed that wall, and to walk downhill. We don’t address what he calls “another part of to put mother in a more confined area use sticks or prods to move them. Don’t the horrible tradition” with calf wean- so it would be harder to lay on her little need to.” ing. “You would jab them with needles ones,” he says. “Then we hung a heat The highway guardrails outside the for antibiotics and vaccine,” Weiss says. lamp to draw them away from mother. barn also represent lessons learned from “Talk about making a calf feel great! It Then we raised the farrowing crate to the cattle. They’re part of a humane, would take four to six weeks to get past keep the young pigs off the cold concrete common-sense system that started all that.” floor, and manure would fall through with fence-line weaning, the practice That was the way it had always the grate so the babies stayed clean.” of allowing cows and their young to been done. But Weiss had better ideas, Demonstrating the ingenuity that associate — but not nurse — to ease a many of them related to vaccinations. has helped drive Wisconsin to the fore- traumatic separation. The technique In the late 1970s, he helped Norden front of animal agriculture, the Weiss presented itself as the solution to an Labs of Lincoln, Nebraska, demon- farmers developed a system that involves obvious need if your eyes — and ears — strate a protocol designed to prevent E. washing the sows to remove worm were open, Weiss says. coli infection and rotavirus in calves, eggs and manure and then washing After weaning, “You could look at a method that involves no stress- the crates as well. “A clean mom with a the anxiety of the calf and its mother ful catching or needle pricking. “We clean udder is a whole lot better than a and could tell it was pretty high,” he administered this to the beef cows two dirty mom,” Weiss says. “We progressed says. “The calf would stand in the gate weeks prepartum to generate maternal to a much-improved, higher-growth area, bellering until it lost its voice, and antibodies for the mom to pass on to performance with a much lower load of the cow would stand at the pasture gate the newborn calf,” Weiss says. “Our calf bacteria and worms. We helped develop somewhere and beller. Nobody was scour [diarrhea] incidence dropped to biosecurity before it was a word.” happy. You could bring a baton and zero and has remained at zero since our Weiss found other ways to focus his direct the orchestra.” working with this vaccine.” creativity on animals. In 1994, he built But the whole equation changes if “That vaccine … which originally a specialized pig barn designed for scien- the pair can see, smell, and even touch goes back to the Norden product, is tific investigation. As proprietor of the each other. “They have less stress,” one of the most, if not the most, com- on-farm science business Progress Plus Weiss says. “Baby can talk to its mother, monly used methods to prevent E. coli LLC, Weiss has used the barn to per- and she can look through the fence [or and rotavirus diarrhea in calves,” says form contract research for the late Mark guardrail] and see that her baby’s okay.” Simon Peek, a clinical professor of Cook, professor of animal sciences, as

30 grow SPRING 2018 The entrance and exit to special swine housing on Gerry Weiss’ farm sits at trailer height for ease of loading and unloading pigs. The ramp has shallow steps that are easier for animals to navigate and makes a 45-degree turn so pigs are urged on by their own curiosity rather than being driven. “They want to know what’s around the corner,” Weiss says. “I have never carried a weaned pig up that ramp.” The system, which he says he borrowed from Madison’s Oscar Mayer plant where he made swine deliveries in his youth, reduces stress for pigs and hassle for farmers and processors.

well as private firms in the hog industry. licly supported science. “I grew up on “It may seem obvious, but I’ve never The building has five rooms, each with the Arlington prairie,” Weiss says. “I had anybody mention [hay harvest from its own feed supply and manure pit, to didn’t know anything about this stuff waterways] to me,” says Dan Schaefer enable side-by-side comparisons of input out here.” From the USDA NRCS, he BS’73 MS’75, longtime head of the and output in swine. received advice on filling gullies and Department of Animal Sciences, when “There are so many variables, so this constructing terraces, diversions, and asked about Weiss’ permanent seeding barn was ideal for conducting complex waterways to halt soil erosion that had of these erosion protections. Meanwhile, trials quickly,” Weiss says. measured 13.1 tons per acre per year on Weiss is happily hauling hay, which is It’s also the perfect place for a his land. Some of those gullies, he says, profitable in today's market. data-obsessed farmer-scientist, one were deep enough to hide the bulldozer This initial interaction with Paulson who listens to an inner voice and never that he hired to repair them. led to many more collaborations with settles for “good” when “great” is beg- A despiser of waste, Weiss was loath CALS. Weiss has opened his own land ging to be invented. to take the waterways out of production, and crops for pesticide trials conducted and he figured hay or conservation prac- by the departments of agronomy and “I DIDN’T KNOW ANYTHING tices would yield a saleable crop while entomology. Last summer, the only row preventing erosion. And so, unembar- crop on the farm was a soybean trial ABOUT THIS STUFF” rassed by his ignorance, he contacted that assessed weed resistance to herbi- Bill Paulson, then the superintendent cide. All in all, Weiss has taken part in As we cruise Weiss’ farm on a tractor of UW–Madison’s nearby Lancaster more than 220 research trials related to road, I notice the ride is exceptionally experimental station. animals and crops. smooth — no ruts, wallows, or wash- “USDA had its own seeding specifi- outs. So he tells me about the 10-inch cations,” Weiss says, “but the difference layer of breaker run and gravel beneath “PEOPLE THOUGHT I WAS NUTS” was that Bill had actually done it. He’d his pickup. The overkill design is not perfected the seed mixture; it was an Decades ago, the process of account- needed on this dry summer day, but unbelievably positive addition to what ing for homegrown organic fertilizer when he has to tend the cattle or haul we were doing. Bill knew what would became another element of the Weiss manure in the rain, it prevents wheels work here.” method. Working with UW research- churning through the mud, which Thirty-eight years later, Weiss ers, he developed systems to track the would translate into erosion. continues to do soil tests and fertilize nitrogen and phosphorus added to the Even after July’s staggering rainfall, as needed, but he has not had to reseed soil by manure and legume crops. there’s no mud, no hint of a gully, no his pasture. “We just take the hay off,” “I was one of the first to utilize erosion in sight throughout our drive. he says. When waterways and terraces manure in a nutrient management plan, The subject of erosion returns us are always covered, soil and stream bank working with [Grant County] UW to the 1970s and to the role of pub- erosion are practically zero. Cooperative Extension agent Ted Bay

SPRING 2018 grow 31 MS’80,” Weiss says. In two growing “The program helps to maintain crop seasons, using soil analyses from the fertility without wasting money or Marshfield Agricultural Research endangering natural resources.” Station, he cut his fertilizer bill by 70 Just like manure, legumes are a criti- percent. As with his work with cattle, cal part of permaculture. Aided by soil one improvement begat another. To microbes, plants like alfalfa and clover maximize savings, Weiss bought a absorb nitrogen from the atmosphere manure spreader able to change applica- and put it back in the soil to make it tion rates to supplement nutrients based more fertile. Decades ago, when most on variations in soil tests. farmers dedicated fields to pasture or But the simple logic in favor of buy- row crops, Weiss planted legumes in ing only as much fertilizer as you need his permanent pastures and pioneered would have been plowed under had the use of “rotational grazing.” Moving Weiss listened to his neighbors — or his cattle from field to field not only pro- fertilizer dealer. “People thought I was tects the pasture from trampling and nuts, yes, for 25, 30 years,” Weiss says, overgrazing but also reduces tilling and “but we were supported by the agronomy hauling of feed and manure. At the same and soil science faculty in Madison.” time, it increases fertility and productiv- If you spend enough time with ity, so any given field can support more Weiss, you begin to assume that any animals. The practice of moving cattle allusion to conventional wisdom will be is now a mainstay of organic and other chucked to the wayside if not squarely low-impact agriculture. need to do this! We are reducing labor, onto the dung heap of history. It’s how soil compaction, and fuel burn, and also he stays ahead of the curve. Today, the “YOU DON’T NEED TO DO THIS!” recreational tillage.” “nutrient credits” that can reduce fertil- But having a motive to disbelieve izer use and environmental damage are Weiss’s collaborations with CALS have can overpower the evidence of open required on many Wisconsin farms. also involved planting innovations. At eyes, he adds. “I’ve had salesperson They’re also integral to SnapPlus, a a time when planting and cultivating after salesperson come here to look at software program created by experts at corn entailed at least a half dozen passes a field after the soybeans have been the Department of Soil Science. across the field, he teamed up with fre- drilled and shake their heads,” Weiss quent collaborator Paulson, soil science says. “The field is still relatively rough, professor Larry Bundy, and agronomy which I want for rain erosion preven- professor Ron Doersch BS’58 MS’61 tion. I’ve had many of these guys come "He’s a land-grant PhD’63 to develop a two-pass corn- back at harvest, and say, ‘This is really a planting system. tremendous plant environment.’ When creation. To me, “You disk in manure and cornstalk I respond, ‘But four months ago, you he epitomizes the residue with a heavy disk, doing primary told me this was a disaster,’ they get tilling in one pass,” he says. Then, real quiet. But it always seems easier to application of science aggressive trash whippers on the planter criticize than to try to understand why I clear a seven-inch row for the corn as the keep doing it.” to agriculture.” planter sprays a preemergent herbicide. A different attitude, both positive “We found that most years, with and more open-minded, prevails at normal rain, we got such tremendous UW–Madison and the other land-grant “SnapPlus solves several problems activity from the preemergent herbicide institutions, Weiss says, and the attitude at once, related to distributing manure that we did not need a second pass of is mutual. “He has always been respect- and fertilizer efficiently, while meeting spraying, but a very limited number of ful of faculty, though he will speak out guidelines for protecting groundwa- people have picked that up,” Weiss says. if someone has a loony idea,” Schaefer ter and surface water,” says associate “They are locked into four to seven says. “He’s principled, all about accurate scientist Laura Good MS’88 PhD’02, passes for tilling, planting, spraying, and data, accurate communication. There’s who has led its development and testing. then spraying again. People, you don’t no varnishing, no window dressing.

32 grow SPRING 2018 You can give it back.” Later that day, as we tour the fields, I tease Weiss about a lone Canada thistle proudly blossoming above a pasture. Even a city fellow knows that those splendid purple flowers are one of Wisconsin’s premier pasture pests, and Weiss immediately promises to annihi- late it to block it from reseeding. I mention the thistle to Lange, the Grant County conservationist, and he remarks, “I’m surprised that he did not write down the location. If he was younger, he would have put it on GPS, Gerry Weiss surveys his farm from the seat but I’m sure it’s gone by now.” Indeed, of his pick-up truck while parked at a high when Weiss later meets me for lunch point in one of the pastures. in Spring Green, he hands me a thorny, withered thistle. “Some salad from the farm!” he says. “He’s very conservation conscious,” says weed expert Jerry Doll, professor ‘Tell it to me the way it is.’” Such an expansion, Weiss says, would emeritus of agronomy. “He once called In this way, Weiss has managed best be carried out by the next genera- after an 8-inch rain, happy that his grass to survive in the ever-changing farm tion of stewards of his land. He is now waterways and terraces had no visible economy for 40 years. Today growing on the hunt for a “very special person erosion, while his neighbors were look- forage is profitable, so hay is what he or people” to continue where he ing at gullies.” sells, usually delivered to horse owners off. When students of the agricultural “His mind is always churning,” in small bales. sciences visit his farm to learn from its Doll adds. “I don’t know how he sleeps The swine barn is now empty innovations, he tells them his successor at night. I know his power of observa- — another victim of harsh market just might be among their ranks. tion. When he sees something he can’t conditions — so the Gelbvieh cows “I also tell them,” Weiss says, “that I explain, he’s on the phone.” that Weiss collaborated to import from haven’t made all of the mistakes yet, but Like Doll, others who have worked Germany in the 1970s are his only live- I'm getting close.” with Weiss typically cite his inquiring stock. Having grown to understand (so mind and diligence, as well as his devo- I think) the many labor-saving and cow- “THE BARBS ARE QUITE DULL; tion to conservation. They also like to saving innovations on the farm, I ask mention his low-grade combative nature. why he has only 60 head. As the ques- THEY ARE JUST GERRY WEISS” “Gerry is very bright and quite tion hovers above the kitchen table, I self-deprecating,” Schaefer says. “He Thinking back, Weiss’ meticulous immediately realize that I have plunged can be prickly and takes pride in barbed attention to the land and his charac- into the manure pit called conventional comments, but he does that mostly for teristic dry wit are both on display the wisdom. Bigger is not necessarily better, effect. He wants to know if he’s getting moment we first meet. I drive onto the and the answer is in front of my face, through to you. The barbs are quite farmstead with my road bike racked though Weiss is kind enough not to dull; they are just Gerry Weiss.” behind my economy Honda and mention that. But underneath Weiss’ thorny exte- approach a weathered, white-haired guy “I match the cow herd to the rior, Schaefer sees the embodiment of a pitchforking Canada thistles from the rotational grazed pasture program,” he precept of the great Midwestern public back of a white Ford pickup. says. “Sixty head is my carrying capacity universities. “He’s a land-grant creation. By way of introduction, I ask, “Aren’t with my current 68 acres of permanent To me, he epitomizes the application of you too old for that?” He responds, “Oh, pasture, but we have plenty of room for science to agriculture.” g I think we’re going to get along just fine. more pasture here.”

SPRING 2018 grow 33 Working Life

in the field by Gilliane Davison

DARYL BUSS MS’74, PhD’75 KRIS ELLINGSEN BS’79 KATHY HUNTINGTON MS’91 Daryl Buss grew up on a small Spending your workday surrounded by If you ask Kathy Huntington how she Minnesota farm where he enjoyed fluffy felines may sound like a fantasy chose a career in animal pathology, she daily work with a variety of animals. for cat lovers, but for Kris Ellingsen may argue that it chose her. “Pathology On the farm, Buss quickly realized the it’s just another day at the office. As a is like a big puzzle to figure out, and I importance of the local veterinarian veterinarian with a special interest in love that challenge,” she says. “That, and regarded him as an early role model. cat care, Ellingsen enjoys interacting along with my love of wilderness and This early fascination with veterinary with both the feline patients and their wildlife, makes it a pretty amazing medicine propelled Buss down a path of owners while helping make cats better combination for me.” In hindsight, academic accomplishments, beginning understood and cared for properly. Her it seems like an obvious fit, but her with a veterinary medicine degree from journey to feline medicine began at age path to pathology wasn’t so simple. the University of Minnesota and fol- 16 with her first job, working for a local Huntington began her career with a lowed by a lifetime of accomplishments veterinarian — a job she kept while degree in zoology before coming to at UW–Madison. Buss received his pursuing her CALS undergraduate the UW–Madison campus, where she master’s degree from the Department degree in bacteriology. After the UW received a D.V.M. followed by a master’s of Veterinary Science in 1974 and School of Veterinary Medicine (SVM) degree in veterinary science and wildlife rolled straight into his Ph.D., focusing opened in 1983, Ellingsen realized she diseases. She relocated to Alaska upon his research on the cardiopulmonary could combine her passion for medicine graduation and began practicing as a system. From there, Buss held a variety with her love for animals. She applied small animal veterinarian. After a few of academic and research positions at and was accepted into the Class of 1988. short years, Huntington was sure of two numerous institutions such as the Max After graduation from the SVM, she things: she loved Alaska, but she was not Planck Institute for Physiological and headed to the Pacific Northwest, where content as a small animal veterinarian. Clinical Research in Germany and the she spent 11 years in Seattle and the Luckily, her degree in wildlife diseases University of Florida, Gainesville. In past 18 in Portland, Oregon. In Seattle, was there to rekindle a forgotten passion 1994, Buss returned to Madison and Ellingsen found her ideal position at and jump-start her career in wildlife was hired as the dean of the UW School Cats Exclusive Veterinary Center, one pathology. Huntington now works as of Veterinary Medicine. He served for of the first feline-only clinics in the U.S. a diagnostic pathologist and owner of 18 years and helped solidify the school’s She currently lives in Portland, where Alaska Veterinary Pathology Services. position as one of the top professional she works as a veterinarian for Cat Care There she acts as a consultant and schools of veterinary medicine in the Professionals. Aside from her daily vet- research pathologist on projects with country. Today, Buss utilizes his years erinary medical practice, Ellingsen has marine and wildlife agencies such as the of expertise as the editor-in-chief of the also been involved with the non-profit Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Journal of Veterinary Medical Education. Feral Cat Coalition of Oregon since the U.S. Geologic Survey, and the U.S. “After many years in academic adminis- 2001. In 2008, she was elected president Fish and Wildlife Service. In the field, tration, this role has offered a new and of the organization, which helps to feed, Huntington is able to learn all about complementary venue for continued treat, and spay or neuter more than the diverse species that inhabit what national and international engagement 6,000 feral and stray cats annually. she calls one of the United States’ most with veterinary medical education,” transformative and scenic states. Buss says.

34 grow SPRING 2018 CALS graduates highlighted here represent the depth and breadth of alumni accomplishments. About In the Field Selections are made by Grow staff and are intended to reflect a sample of alumni stories. It is not a ranking or a comprehensive list. For more about CALS alumni, visit cals.wisc.edu/alumni.

Alumni making their mark in VETERINARY MEDICINE

TRAVIS KUHLKA BS’03 GAYLE LEITH MS’85 DAVID LUNN MS’87 Travis Kuhlka became inter- Gayle Leith says she has achieved her David Lunn was born in Wales and ested in animal agriculture when childhood dream. “I grew up in southern received his bachelor’s degree in veterinary he was a freshman in high school. California riding horses and was fortunate science at the University of Liverpool in He accepted a job at a local hog to realize my career goals as an equine 1982. After spending two years practicing farm, where he found his niche veterinarian at a very young age,” she says. as a veterinarian, he ventured to America caring for sows and piglet litters. Leith earned her master’s degree in veteri- and earned his master’s degree in veteri- When it came time to choose a nary science and D.V.M. at UW–Madison. nary science from UW–Madison. In 1988, career, Kuhlka stuck to his expe- Today she is an owner and partner of an he returned to the U.K. and received his rience and pursued a bachelor’s equine referral practice through Arizona Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge degree in animal sciences from Equine Medical and Surgical Centre. in 1991. Just a year later, Lunn became CALS. Here he worked as a large There she acts as a self-named “family a certified diplomate of the American animal reproduction technician practitioner for horses,” making routine College of Veterinary Internal Medicine for a campus lab and acted as and emergency visits to stables. But these and returned to UW–Madison. Here the head student veterinarian at stables aren’t always nearby. Once a year, he served as a professor in the School of the UW–Madison Veterinary Leith organizes a group of veterinar- Veterinary Medicine for nine years before Medical Teaching Hospital. This ians and hikes into the Grand Canyon accepting a job as an associate dean and clinical experience solidified his to provide veterinary medical care to director of the UW–Madison Veterinary career path into veterinary medi- the horses of the Havasupai Tribe. “My Medical Teaching Hospital. Today, Lunn cine. Upon graduation, Kuhlka favorite part of my work is helping horse serves as the dean of the North Carolina applied to the UW School of owners maintain the health of their four- State College of Veterinary Medicine. He Veterinary Medicine, where legged friends,” Leith says. Now a seasoned is a renowned expert in equine immunol- he earned his D.V.M. Today, veterinarian, Leith enjoys passing on her ogy and infectious disease, backed by more Kuhlka lives in North Dakota expertise to students and interns. In 2010, than 90 academic publications, 16 book and practices as a large animal Leith took her passion for teaching a step chapters, and service on countless boards, veterinarian through his private further by completing a master of arts committees, and review panels. At NC company TK Veterinary Services. degree in learning with technology, and State, he enjoys a busy but exciting career. As Though his technical training is she has been teaching an undergraduate the veterinary medical college’s dean, Lunn in veterinary medicine, Kuhlka science class at Ashford University ever is responsible for many, many things, but credits CALS for his founda- since. Keeping horses healthy and happy student education continues to be his top tional skills, such as how to safely may be her dream, but Leith also enjoys priority. “Our most important role is mak- handle cattle, relate to farmers’ a rewarding life outside of the office. She ing better vets,” he says. “We are constantly lifestyles, and understand clients’ loves to travel and enjoy the outdoors trying to find ways to improve education at needs. “I attribute my back- with her husband, Preston, and daughter, every level and find the best opportunities ground in livestock handling to Jordyn, but horses never stray too far from for these young people.” Even the busiest my relationships and experiences her mind. Some of her favorite equine careers require occasional rest and relax- with those in the Department of activities include trail rides with her family ation. In his downtime, Lunn hikes with Animal Sciences,” Kuhlka says. and training her young thoroughbred geld- his wife, Kathy, raises terrier pups, and skis ing for the show ring. inexpertly but enthusiastically.

SPRING 2018 grow 35 Working Life Catch up with…

Anna Snider BS’98 Horticulture

Anna Snider’s recent volunteer work has taken her HOW DID YOU BECOME INTERESTED IN Ato Nigeria, Bangladesh, and beyond, but her love of WORKING IN AGRICULTURE AND FARMER-TO- FARMER LEARNING? horticulture and farming started in Wisconsin. She grew up in a rural area outside of Fond du Lac, where After my undergraduate degree, I worked for horticul- ture professor Jiwan Palta, and that was my first job with she served as president of the local FFA chapter and international experience. I managed projects in Wisconsin, spent most of her time outside — either in the gar- California, Ecuador, and Florida, and it prepared me for den or at her uncle’s and grandparents’ farms. international work. During my master’s degree work, I At UW–Madison, Snider immersed herself in became fascinated with the social issues that affect agricul- ture and food security in developing countries. I wanted to her horticulture major. She became president of understand the reality in these countries, including how the university’s Horticulture Society and organized agribusinesses and consumers in developed countries can its first tour of Costa Rica with the help of faculty have a positive influence on environmental and social condi- mentor Jim Nienhuis PhD’82. That trip marked the tions. When I started working for Cornell Cooperative Extension, I felt that there was really a lack of experience in first of many related to the world of international sustainable agriculture in many places, and I wanted to help. agriculture. As a volunteer with the USAID-funded Winrock International Farmer-to-Farmer program, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE ON YOUR TRIPS WITH she travels to developing countries all over the THE ORGANIZATION? world to provide technical assistance for farmers, My earlier projects focused mainly on sustainable produc- farmers’ organizations, and agribusinesses. tion practices and composting. Those projects were in Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, and Bangladesh. In Nigeria and Senegal, I worked with the leaders of farmers’ organizations on strategic planning, leadership, and engaging women and youth in entrepreneurship. Farmers’ organizations in these countries rely heavily on funding from the govern- ment or support from nonprofit organizations, and we work together to figure out how they can become more self-reli- ant and resilient.

WHAT DO YOU LIKE BEST ABOUT THE WORK? I love working with farmers to solve problems. I also love that it gives you opportunities to see places, interact with locals, and understand the country in a way that you never could if you were just traveling. For example, in Senegal, I was invited to the hut of the village chief to discuss chal- lenges and concerns with the administrative council of the local banana cooperative. The group was quite frank about the problems of trust or conflict among the members and how they deal with that according to their cultural tradi- tions of arbitration with tribal elders. It was fascinating.

Photo courtesy Anna Snider Anna Snider meets with a family in Abuja, Nigeria, following a work- Farmer-to-Farmer is always looking for volunteers. Visit shop in which she taught methods for growing vegetables in sacks to winrock.org to find opportunities. conserve space and improve household nutrition.

—Caroline Schneider MS’11

36 grow SPRING 2018 give

Dan Truttmann (foreground), owner of Trutt- man Dairy, answers questions from “Team Guernsey” — students Abigail Martin, Court- ney McCourt, and Anthony Schmitz — during the 2015 Badger Dairy Challenge.

example, an annual golf outing raises between $25,000 and $30,000 each year for scholarships and high-impact learn- ing opportunities. Photo courtesy UW–Madison Department of Dairy Science “Our alums have either financially supported the program or they’re very education in dairy management have ‘Dairy Challenge’ willing to contribute their time to serve an opportunity to be mentored in the as officials or mentors for the students Badger Dairy Challenge, and it’s less Offers More than during the events, which is every bit as about competition and more about valuable,” Halbach says. experience and learning.” Competition There are also incentives for people Senior dairy science major Anthony in the dairy industry to be involved in Schmitz BSx’18 competed in his here’s no better place than the competition. According to Schmitz, sophomore year and is hoping to gain America’s Dairyland for a dairy the program provides a convenient T a spot on the national team this year. farm management competition that opportunity for employers to make “You have to work your way up and try helps undergraduates learn firsthand connections with potential hires, and out,” Schmitz says. “It’s competitive, about the industry. vice versa. actually, because a lot of students are The Badger Dairy Challenge, “It’s a great way to get your name out interested in it, and it’s a good way to hosted by the Department of Dairy there because the contests are officiated use the skills and the knowledge that Science, brings teams of four or five by industry professionals, so it’s a really we have learned in the classroom in a students together to analyze real farm good way for you to make an impression practical, real-life situation.” records, cow management data, and on that kind of person,” Schmitz says. While there are similar programs nutritional information. After a site “Most of the students competing have at schools across the country, as well as visit, the teams then develop sugges- already been locked in by somebody regional and national dairy challenges, tions for improvement and present because they are sought-after talent.” them to a panel of industry profession- Halbach believes that Wisconsin is best als. The challenge was last held in fall positioned to provide a positive impact —Andrew Pearce 2015 in partnership with the University on the careers of these students. of Minnesota and will make its return “Within a half-hour [drive from to campus later this year. campus], we have multiple farms that we After seeing the benefits of the can call on that are different than [those YOU CAN SUPPORT THE BADGER North American Intercollegiate Dairy that participated] a year ago,” Halbach DAIRY CHALLENGE with a gift to Challenge for many years, faculty says. “There aren’t many schools that have that resource, so we’re very fortu- the Dairy Science Department Fund. Visit associate Ted Halbach established the supportuw.org/giveto/dairyscience Badger Dairy Challenge in 2012 to give nate for the willingness of those farms to participate.” and add “support for Dairy Challenge” a broader range of students an early in the text field. Or contact Development Halbach puts a lot of work into it, opportunity to immerse themselves in Director Jodi Wickham at the field. but it takes more than human resources [email protected] “The idea is for beginning-level to sustain the program. The challenge or (608) 308-5315. dairy science students to get involved,” receives funding from a mix of dairy Halbach says. “Students starting their organizations and CALS alumni. For

SPRING 2018 grow 37 From food systems to healthy ecosystems, from bioenergy to community development. These are just some of the fields where CALS faculty, staff, and students are leading the way with new discoveries and innovations. We are grateful to sponsors like Covance for helping to make these advancements possible.

38 grow SPRING 2018 SPRING 2018 grow 39 College of Agricultural and Life Sciences Nonprofit Org. University of Wisconsin–Madison U.S. Postage 136 Agricultural Hall, 1450 Linden Drive PAID Madison, WI Madison, WI 53706 Permit No. 658

A wide range of plants, from and vegetables to grains and spices, are studied at the Walnut Street on the UW–Madison campus. The research primarily benefits Wisconsin agricultural crops.

Photo by Sevie Kenyon BS’80 MS’06 40 grow SPRING 2018