COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURAL, CONSUMER AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

1. Preparing for Careers in Genetic Crop Improvement at the Illinois Plant Breeding Center Rita Mumm, PhD Director, The Illinois Plant Breeding Center Associate Professor, Quantitative Genetics and Plant Breeding November 2011 COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURAL, CONSUMER AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN

2. Plant Breeding…. • Is the science of applying genetic principles to improve plants for human use • Impacts the life of every individual because it involves the creation and manipulation of economically important traits in plants used for food, animal feed, fuel, fiber for clothing and wood products, and landscape aesthetics • Has been enormously successful!

3. The Grand Challenge • World population estimated at >9B by 2050 • Increased meat consumption in emerging economies as the standard of living increases • No appreciable change in available crop land • Falling water tables globally • Climate change will increase risk Crop yields must increase 2- to 3-fold by 2050 to meet the projected global demand for food, feed, fiber, and fuel

4. The cycle of creating and exploiting genetic variation in cultivar improvement Exploit genetic variation to achieve genetic gain toward targeted goals Create useful genetic variation

5. The cycle of creating and exploiting genetic variation in cultivar improvement Exploit genetic variation to achieve genetic gain toward targeted goals Create useful genetic variation • Biotechnology • Prediction • Genomics-assisted selection • e.g. via molecular markers • Analytics • Phenomics Define genetic specificity underlying phenotypic expression

6. Multiple disciplines come into play to create improved cultivars Agronomy/Botany Plant Physiology Plant Biology Soil Science Pathology Entomology Conventional Breeding Genetics: Quantitative, Population Plant breeding methods Selection theory Statistics & experimental design Knowledge of germplasm Phenotypic evaluation Engineering Profiling equipment • Analytics e.g. grain • composition Robotics Nanotechnology Molecular Biology Biochemistry Molecular genetics Genomics Transformation & tissue culture Sequencing Molecular marker technologies Gene cloning Data Management, Analysis, Display Bioinformatics Information Technology Information Management Computer programming • Simulation & Modeling • Statistical and mathematical theory

7. Largest players in agricultural seeds, biotechnology, and chemicals • Monsanto • DuPont / Pioneer Hi-Bred International • Syngenta • Dow AgroSciences • BASF • Bayer CropScience

8. World’s 10 largest seed companies account for 67% of $26.7B market * From ETC Group, Jan 2008; www.etcgroup.org

9. Acute shortage of plant breeders • Eight US universities that routinely contribute the majority of new MS/PhD graduates are now producing only about 2/3 of the plant breeders needed to fill jobs in seed industry • Need was estimated at ~110 per year. However, there may be additional need beyond this estimate as 3 major seed companies have recently announced plans to double research outputs by 2013! • Quality of education also key. In addition to broad base of knowledge, need exposure to meaningful research problems, business environment, collaborative approach, international dimension

10. Illinois Plant Breeding Center Its Mission…. • Educate future generations of plant breeders (i.e. those involved in all areas related to cultivar improvement and seed product development) and provide on-going support through continuing education • Conduct contemporary research that fosters education goals in terms of relevance, quality, impact at the Illinois/US/global levels, and multi-disciplinary team orientation

11. Illinois Plant Breeding Center Its Vision…. • Become the premier institution in the US supplying skilled and innovative plant breeders to the seed industry and the public sector • Represent a new paradigm in plant breeding education • Become the national model for education and research in plant breeding Its Commission…. • Demonstrate ‘genomics in action for food, feed, fuel, and flora’ • Blaze the trail for use of new genomic information in crop improvement including the development of new tools

12. Research specializations include… • Biofuels • Nutritional aspects of food/feed • Genetic regulation • Production stability/sustainability: yield, biotic and abiotic stress • Genotype by environment interaction: genomic to phenotypic levels • Climate change • New sources of useful genetic diversity • Improved efficiency of plant breeding systems

13. The Illinois Plant Breeding Center • The Illinois Plant Breeding Centeris a virtual center, recognizing that cultivar improvement requires a range of knowledge and expertise across scientific disciplines for innovation and implementation • 28 world class faculty plus emeritus scholars specializing in • Plant breeding • Genomic aspects • Computational aspects • Agronomics

14. Illinois powerhouse Widely recognized as world class • UIUC ranked #15 among public universities* and #47 nationally by US News & World Report (2011) • UIUC ranked #25 in the world by The Academic Ranking of World Universities (2010); 18th world rank in Life and Agriculture Sciences (2010) • UIUC ranked #3 nationally by WSJ, based on corporate recruiters of undergraduates • See http://illinois.edu/ for more accolades

15. Illinois powerhouse (cont) Rich campus-wide resources, including • Institute of Genomic Biology • National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) • Roy J. Carver Biotechnology Center • Center for Advanced Bioenergy Research • Center for Informatics Research in Science and Scholarship • Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology • UI Library System • National Soybean Research Laboratory • Germplasm banks: maize, soybean • Ag Experiment Station, greenhouse facilities

16. Building value for students • Financial support for education • 31 fellowships specifically for graduate students in crop improvement, Corporate Supporters include; • Monsanto • Pioneer • Dow AgroSciences • Illinois Corn Marketing Board • Other fellowship opportunities • Research assistantships

17. Building value for students • Enhancing curriculum • 3 New Plant Breeding courses available • 2 Courses are under development • Significant upgrades to 3 existing courses • Expanding capacity • 2 new faculty members added for bioenergy crop genetics, genomics and plant breeding • Professional development opportunities • Degree recognition • Alum status

18. Building value for students • Expanded opportunities to interface with industry • Research collaborations • Immersion experiences • Mentors from industry • Guest lectures, lunch time discussions, etc with industry scientists / leaders • Benefits • Understand the R/D/C process • Experience corporate cultures and values • Visibility with potential employers

19. Careers in plant breeding, whether in an industrial or an academic setting…. • High demand • High tech • Highly innovative • High impact • High compensation • Inclusive • Global opportunities • GREAT JOB!

20. For More Information • Contact • Wendy White, Assistant Director, Illinois Plant Breeding • wgwhite@illinois.edu 217-244-0484 • Plantbreeding.illinois.edu

21. “The greatest service which can be rendered any country is to add a useful plant to its culture...” - Thomas Jefferson US president and agronomist