Welcome to the Wisconsin Crop Innovation Center

Panelists: • Mike Petersen ‐ Associate Director, WCIC • Dr. Shawn Kaeppler – Campbell‐Bascom Professor of Agronomy and Director, WCIC • Dr. Heidi Kaeppler – Associate Professor, Agronomy • Andrew Bent – Professor, Plant Pathology History of the Wisconsin Crop Innovation Center 1981‐1984 1981

• Cetus of Madison, Inc. opens with UW Bacteriology Professor Winston Brill as Director and WARF funding • Research focus was on isolating and 1982 characterizing Rhizobium species for better nitrogen fixation in soybean • WR Grace Co. purchases 51% equity and name changes to Agracetus • Research focus changes to plant transformation research and 1984 development 1985‐1990 Electric Gene Gun‐1986 • Agracetus scientists invent the electric “Gene Gun” and begin to successfully transform many different plant species including tobacco, peanut, sunflower, soybean, maize, cotton, canola, poplar, wheat, rice, Tobacco among others • 1986 –1st field release of a GMO in the US (herbicide resistance in tobacco) • Transformation services contracted out to private companies (Monsanto, etc.) 1991‐1995 Handheld Gene Gun

• Agracetus research continues in plant transformation and improving their gene gun techniques • DNA vaccine work initiated with a newly designed handheld gene gun • Contract work with Monsanto continues and leads to the Round‐up Ready Soybean event that is taken to market in 1996 as the first large scale, commercially successful transgenic plant sold on millions of acres across the US 1996‐2016

• Monsanto purchases Agracetus • Greenhouse and laboratory space is expanded • Research changes focus to Agrobacterium transformation and high throughput automation of the process • Site becomes the exclusive facility for all soybean, cotton, and canola transformation for Monsanto • Center of excellence for R&D activities including corn, wheat, rice, and alfalfa transformation, automation, gene expression, molecular testing, and seed chipping • In 2015, due to business consolidation, Monsanto generously donates the facility and much equipment to the UW‐Madison

GFP Gene Expression Seed Chipping 2017

• Wisconsin Crop Innovation Center (WCIC) is born • Plant transformation and editing • Phenotyping • Research collaborations • Teaching/Education • Research & Development • Outreach Mission, Business Model, Potential Mission

• The mission of WCIC is to advance basic and applied translational and functional genomic research in crop plants through technology development, collaboration, and fee‐for‐service transformation, gene‐editing, and phenotyping activities. Business Model

• Fee‐for‐service and collaborations • Grants for technology development • Partner with WARF on IP protection • Education and Outreach • Facility Use Agreements to support partnership with local business • e.g Middleton Spectral WCIC will enable UW and U.S. public research WCIC will enable Technology Transfer

Technology Transfer Valley‐ of‐Death Thank you. Questions? WCIC Genetic Engineering and Gene Editing Technologies for Crop Genomics Research and Genetic Improvement Crop genetic engineering/editing applications

• Study plant gene function and regulation

• Introduce novel, useful traits

• Improve current traits

• Turn off negative traits Examples of current and potential traits of engineered/edited crops

• Enhanced yield of food, feed, fiber, biofuels with less inputs and reduced ecological footprint

• Built-in disease, pest and stress resistance

• Built-in herbicide resistance

• Enhanced nutritional value or removal of “antinutritional or toxic compounds”

• Reduced allergenicity

• “Green” pharmaceutical production

Genome editing system for crop plants

Mechanisms of Resistance to Soybean Cyst Nematodes Andrew Bent University of Wisconsin - Madison

TumblingRun / Flickr Soybean cyst nematodes in soybean root (stained red with acid fuchsin)

Photo: University of Missouri Extension Soybean Cyst Nematode (SCN) is the most economically damaging

pathogen or pest of soybean extension.entm.purdue.edu

Photo: Kris Lambert http://

• Widespread in U.S., Brazil, China • Inoculum pool only hatches gradually over a decade Soybean Cyst Nematode Distribution 1957 - 2014

1957 1973

1980 1990

2001 2014

Figures adapted from “ Increased Reproduction of Soybean Cyst Nematode and Yield Of SCN-Resistant Soybean Varieties” – Greg Tylka, Iowa State Syncytium: Biotrophic Interface for 3-4 Weeks Rhg1 is a ~30kb block containing 4 ORFs: 2580, 2590, 2600 and 2610

Three of the gene products contribute to resistance

31.2 kb

Susceptible Varieties: Rhg1 block present in one copy

Resistant Varieties: Rhg1 block present in multiple tandem repeat copies

SCN Resistance: Slow Erosion

Partial breakdown of PI88788 resistance

PI 88788 Zheng and Chen. Journal of Ent. and Nem. 2011 8 Towards the identification of novel soybean cyst nematode resistance genes

UC Davis Katelyn J. Horgan | Ph.D. Candidate Stacking G. soja QTL

L. Brzostowski & B. Diers, unpublished

Rhg1 + Rhg1 cqSCN006 cqSCN007 Chr 10 No QTL cqSCN006 + cqSCN007 + Chr 10 cqSCN007

Chr. 18 146 kb

1 1 CRISPR/Cas9 to mutate targeted genes

1 2 Thank You!

Funding: United Soybean Board USDA-NIFA APS/Pioneer & NSF Fellowships