Department & Program:
Awards:
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) Postgraduate Scholarship
- Canadian Wheat Board Postgraduate Fellowship
Experimental lines of transgenic wheat have been developed with traits such as herbicide resistance and within the next decade, it is likely that many types of transgenic wheat will be ready for commercialization including varieties with higher yields, greater tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses, and resistance to herbicides. One of the most important risks associated with these crops is transgene movement, which can result in genetic contamination and the adventitious presence of genetically-engineered (GE) crop seeds in material destined for non-GE markets. If GE wheat were grown commercially in western Canada, the large scale production of wheat in this region would undoubtedly result in a considerable portion of GE wheat cultivars containing non-GE volunteers within, or grown alongside non-GE cultivars with little to no separation between. In these cases, flowering behavior and synchrony will be fundamental factors in determining gene flow and transgene movement. Consequently, the objectives of my PhD research are to characterize the factors contributing to flowering synchrony and intraspecific gene flow in bread wheat and also to examine gene accumulation at low frequencies to determine whether it will be possible to maintain coexistence between GE and non-GE wheat. In a series of three independent studies, my research will examine the flowering phenology and synchrony of volunteer and cropped wheat and the level of gene flow between the two at various volunteer and cropped wheat densities, heights, and emergence times. In addition, my research will provide information regarding the accumulation of genes adventitiously present at varying levels in wheat seedlots, providing an indication as to the tolerance levels that need to be implemented at the farm scale in order to meet threshold purity levels further down the supply chain. The results of these studies will identify the factors contributing to flowering synchrony and how each of these factors in turn affects intraspecific gene flow in bread wheat. Moreover, my research will provide an indication of the importance of flowering synchrony in potentially facilitating transgene movement between cropped and volunteer wheat. Coupled with previous knowledge regarding the biology and ecology of volunteer wheat, the results will be used to develop a mechanistic model that describes flowering synchrony and gene flow between cropped and volunteer wheat and create recommendations that will potentially minimize flowering synchrony and gene flow in bread wheat.
