THE HEALTH AND PRODUCTION OF AGRICULTURAL PLANT SYSTEMS DEPEND ON BOTH INCREASED YIELD AND SUFFICIENT RESISTANCE AGAINST HERBIVOROUS INSECTS. MODERN BREEDING PROGRAMS FREQUENTLY SELECT PLANTS IN HIGHLY CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENTS RESULTING IN HIGH YIELDS UNDER SUCH OPTIMAL CONDITIONS. HOWEVER, WITH CLIMATE CHANGE, INCREASED INTEREST IN ORGANIC AND NO-SPRAY AGRICULTURE, AND PESTICIDE RESISTANCE, CROPS ARE OFTEN GROWN IN LESS OPTIMAL CONDITIONS THERE IS AN INCREASED NEED FOR BOTH HIGH-YIELD AND HIGH-RESISTANT CROP PLANTS. GLOBALLY, RAPESEED (BRASSICA NAPUS AND B. RAPA) ARE SOME OF THE MOST IMPORTANT OILSEED CROPS, AND NORTH AMERICA IS A MAJOR PRODUCTION AREA FOR THIS IMPORTANT FOOD AND BIOFUEL CROP. THE MODEL PLANT, B. RAPA FAST PLANT FROM WISCONSIN FAST PLANTS®, HAVE BEEN EFFECTIVELY UTILIZED TO STUDY POLLINATION SELECTION UNDER HERBIVORY PRESSURE IN THE SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE, MAKING IT AN IDEAL STUDY SYSTEM TO DETERMINE THE DEFENSE-YIELD TRADE-OFFS UNDER SELECTIVE PRESSURE. I PREDICTTHAT IT IS POSSIBLE TO DEVELOP HIGH-YIELDING CROPS WITH INCREASED INSECT RESISTANCE BY SELECTING PLANTS FOR YIELD WHILE UNDER HERBIVORE PRESSURE. I WILL ALSO MEASURE DEFENSE, YIELD, AND HERBIVORE RESISTANCE TRAITS, AND PERFORM RNA-SEQ TO EXAMINE THE GENETIC UNDERPINNINGS OF THESE TRADE-OFFS. I EXPECT THAT RESULTS FROM THIS PROJECT WILL BENEFIT GROWERS BY PROVIDING NEW INFORMATION TO DEVELOP CROPS THAT WILL COMBINE HIGH YIELD WITH IMPROVED HERBIVORE RESISTANCE. LONG-TERM THIS STUDY WILL HELP IMPROVE BREEDING STRATEGIES TO MAXIMIZE YIELD WITHOUT COMPROMISING RESISTANCE, IMPROVE OPTIONS FOR ORGANIC AND NO-SPRAY GROWERS, AND INCREASE THE UNDERSTANDING OF PLANTS EVOLVE IN RESPONSE TO SELECTION FOR YIELD UNDER HERBIVORE PRESSURE.

Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University

Investigators