National Plant Germplasm Coordinating Committee (NPGCC) Notes

June 9 - 10, 2014

USDA George Washington Carver Center, Beltsville, MD

 

Attendees: Tom Burr, Peter Bretting, Jim Moyer, Ann Marie Thro, Gan-Yuan Zhong, David Baltensperger (by phone), Eric Young, Tim Cupka, Jerry Arkin, Joe Colletti (by phone), and Dan Upchurch

Guests: Michelle Esch, Andrew Hammond, Steve Shafer, Kay Simmons, and Chavonda Jacobs-Young, Dorrie Main

 

1.       ARS Report (P. Bretting see powerpoint )

·         Accessions in NPGS up to ~560,000 in 2013

·         Germplasm demand ~ 250,000 samples (333,000 in '12)

·         Total ARS budget for NPGS 2014 44.8 Million

·         October '13 furlough did not cause any loss in collections

·         FAO Int. Treaty on Plant Genetic Res. For Food & Agriculture

o   Covers most major food crops, except soybeans, tomato, and  peanut

o   Establishes system for exchange under uniform rules

o   Maintains conservation and encourages benefit-sharing

o   Most countries have signed and ratified, but not US, China, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, and a few other nations.

o   Seed industry is strong advocates and Obama administration supports ratification

o   Senate needs to provide advice-and-consent for ratification

o   US is signatory, but not a party because it hasn't been ratified, so US can't enter discussions on any proposed changes

o   Some transfer terms are a problem, but we can't help change if not a party

o   Senate staff to be briefed this Thursday by ARS, USAID, FAS, and State Dept

o   Senate has a general problem with multi-lateral treaties

o   Don't want it to go for a vote unless sure it will pass

o   Senate Foreign Relations Committee is key at this point

·         International partnerships are becoming more extensive and stronger

o   CGIAR genebanks

o   Global Crop Diversity Trust

o   Canadian, Mexican and Columbian, China genebank personnel training at NPGS facilities

 

2.       Regional Intro Stations (G.-Y. Zhong; see powerpoint)

·         Starting to look at accessions distributed per request because it indicates how well-focused the request is relative to the total collection

 

3.       NIFA (A.-M. Thro)

·         AFRI- Plant Breeding for Ag Production

o   2014 proposals are in

o   126 letters, 96 proposals, fund ~10

·         Interest in plant breeding in past couple of years from stakeholders has increased a lot

·         Need to report monthly on variety releases supported by NIFA funds

·         Need to track NPGS accessions used in varieties released

 

4.       ARS Transgene Procedures and Practices (D. Upchurch; see handout)

·         The document focuses on cotton, maize, soybeans, alfalfa, and sugar beets

·         Document is now  in internal review in ARS, comments are in and will be incorporated into the document

·         External review will likely occur sometime this summer

·         Procedures and practices will apply to ARS genebanks and ARS breeding stocks

·         Testing procedures are still not determined;  waiting for external input on details

·         External review will be done by numerous public, private, and industry stakeholders involved with germplasm

·         It's impossible to guarantee zero presence of transgenes for such crops

·         Industry is strongly behind this policy to be implemented in the public sector

·         NPGS needs help from industry to ensure appropriate testing by providing information on testing parameters and assistance with defraying the cost.

 

5.       USDA Plant Breeding Working Group (A.-M. Thro)

·         ARS, FS, NIFA, ERS, NRCS form working group to oversee department's effort related to plant breeding

·         Currently working on a Plant Breeding Road Map that should be out for review in couple months

 

6.       National Genetics Resources Advisory Committee (M. Esch and P. Bretting; see handout)

·         Second meeting was in Ft. Collins and focused on AC21 recommendations

·         Developed a response to the AC21 report recommendation

·         Primary recommendations are

o   NPGS needs to continue making non-GE accessions available

o   NPGS needs to maintain original genetic identity of accessions

·         Recommended that cost of testing germplasm should be shared by industry

·         The NGRAC is currently filling 4 vacant positions, 3 science and 1 general public

·         Next meeting in late July or August

 

7.       ASTA (T. Cupka)

·         Pushing for $72 Million in ARS funding for NPGS

·         Goal is to reduce volatility of US food supply

·         If can't increase federal funding then would like NPGCC to help identify priority areas

o   At risk collections

o   Key commodities

o   Etc.

·         Seed industry needs the NPGS germplasm and information on the accessions; e. g., genotype, GM traits, virus presence, stress tolerance

·         ASTA employs a lobbying firm to push favorable federal legislation and budget lines

·         National Sorghum Check-off Board invited a targeted proposal from S-9 that went thru their normal competitive process and was awarded.  First time a targeted proposal for germplasm curation was invited by a group like that

·         Other industry groups might be open to similar targeted proposal more than general germplasm support

·         Industry is currently genotyping all new accessions they receive, so different companies are genotyping same accessions

·         Companies could help fund the NPGS to do "chip" genotyping for one accession lot to certify its type.

·         ASTA could coordinate the companies' support for this process

·         Genotyping would be conducted by one or more private labs contracted to do this

·         If a lot is regenerated then it would be genotyped again

 

8.       NAPB (D. Baltensperger)

·         Still very active with numerous subcommittees

·         Meeting in Minneapolis, MN in August, includes a strategic planning effort prior to meeting

·         Plant Breeding Coordinating Committee (SCC-80) is associated with NAPB and will plan for next 5-year proposal

·         SCC-80 has a unique role in interacting with ARS & NIFA

 

9.       Crop Genomics Database NRSP Proposal (D. Main; see powerpoint & proposal)

·         Database will be sustained long term by industry support and user fees

·         ARS could take on this type of database if funding were available

 

10.   ARS Update (Chavonda Jacobs-Young)

·         FY'14 ARS budget restored to pre-sequestration levels, plus some extra targeted funds

·         Restored funds were used primarily for high priority, ARS unique areas, which included NPGS

·         Concerned about personnel pipeline to fill vacancies from retirement

·         Working on ARS travel restrictions

o   New rules and exemptions

§  Travel to professional meetings now considered professional development and are ok

§  Travel supported by non-appropriated funds (e.g., grants) no longer count against the ARS Agency travel cap.

§  NIFA grant panel and compliance review travel is no longer included in agency travel cap calculation

·         Reorganization of Area offices

o   Consolidation from 8 ARS Areas to 5 ARS Areas, combined areas are -

§  South Atlantic and Mid-Atlantic= Southeast Area

§  Beltsville and North Atlantic= Northeast Area

§  Southern Plains and Northern Plains=Great Plains Area

 

11.   NPGCC Chair

·         Tom Burr is stepping down as chair end of 2014

·         Jim Moyer has agreed to be chair starting January 2015

 

12.   Next NPGCC Meeting

·         College Station, TX in June, David Baltensperger and ARS-College Station to host, visit cotton and pecan germplasm collections