Work in Gene Networks Could Lead to Better Crops

A Washington State University researcher is working with plant breeders, computer scientists and others to map biomarkers and how they impact plant behaviors.

Stephen Ficklin said this could have huge impacts in agriculture.

“My goal is to try to develop what’s called biomarkers to assist breeders in their efforts to try to develop new varieties of crops that they can then go off and producers and growers can raise and hopefully address some of the challenges that they face.”

One of the bigger challenges will be that many plants have hundreds of biomarkers that all behave differently based on climate, plant type, etc.

Ficklin said he’s a partner with plant breeders and wants to create and provide them with the best tools.

“If a breeder has a marker that’s associated with a trait then what they can do is they can screen the individual varieties that they’re crossing and they can either pull out or remove individual genes that they know don’t have that marker.”

Ficklin said this should make the work of breeders go faster, though he says this work will take some time.

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