The United States Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has approved a new state-of-the-art laboratory on the University of Minnesota's St. Paul campus to conduct research on plant pathogens. The approval means that scientists will be allowed to use the Plant Pathology Research Facility to research pests that cause diseases such as Asian Soybean Rust, Ug99 stem rust in wheat and Sudden Oak Death.
Such facilities are rare. Only three universities in the United States have approval to conduct research on exotic plant pathogens in a combined laboratory and greenhouse containment facility. "The University of Minnesota is the only university in the Midwest with this type of research capability for plant pathogens," said Robert Bruininks, president of University of Minnesota. "The University has a long history of excellence in this field and related disciplines, and these facilities will serve as a magnet to attract top scientists who are driven to find the best ways to protect plants from deadly diseases."
The University's Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station and the Minnesota Department of Agriculture will jointly operate the facility. "Crop diseases are a constant threat to our agricultural community, and the state has an important role to play in helping protect them," said Minnesota Agriculture Commissioner Gene Hugoson. "This facility is a valuable resource that will help us cope with these threats for years to come."
Research in the building will focus on plant pathogens that could damage crops or forests if they were introduced to Minnesota. Plant pathogens can be inadvertently spread by wind, travelers, food products or shipping, or deliberately spread to cause economic, political or human health problems. Special security and air filtration systems in the new facility will ensure the pathogens aren't released into the environment.
Two of the pathogens the facility will study are ones that cause stem rust on cereals and Asian Soybean Rust. Ug99 is a new race of stem rust damaging wheat crops in Africa and winds usually carry new races of wheat rust worldwide. Nobel Peace Prize laureate Norman Borlaug recently warned that Ug99 could reduce world wheat production by 60 million tons and cause a global crop failure. Asian Soybean Rust is prevalent in South America and first showed up in the Southern United States in 2004.
Plant pathologists and plant breeders at the university are coordinating a major effort together with the USDA Cereal Disease Lab and Tel Aviv University to identify new sources of rust resistance and breed new Ug99-resistant wheat varieties. The effort is a key part of the $26.8 million international Cornell Durable Rust Resistance Project funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, announced in April.
"This is a great day for Minnesota soybean growers, Minnesota wheat growers, the state of Minnesota and the university. New diseases like Ug99 in wheat and Asian soybean rust are spreading and now researchers have a unique tool to come up with solutions before these diseases get here," said Larry Muff, New Richland, Minn., farmer and vice president of the Minnesota Soybean Growers Association.
Support from Minnesota soybean farmers played a key role in securing funding from the Minnesota Legislature to build this facility.
The Plant Pathology Research Facility is the final piece of a $24 million plant growth facilities project at the U of M that includes classrooms, 15,000 square feet of growing space in state-of-the-art greenhouses and the Insect Quarantine Facility. The Insect Quarantine Facility opened in 2003 and allows researchers to analyze the potential usefulness of beneficial insects in the control of soybean aphids, buckthorn, garlic mustard and other pests.
The University of Minnesota, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the USDA Forest Service will all use the Plant Pathology Research Facility.