Building an arsenal against soybean cyst nematode

摘要

Over the last several years, soybean cyst nematode (SCN) has caused yield losses of up to 60 percent in some areas. Nematodes also have been found to carry the fungus that causes sudden death syndrome, another major yield robber. To complicate matters, new races of SCN sprang up for which there was no commercially available genetic resistance - that is until CystX~(R) entered the picture. Jointly developed by Purdue University and the Indiana Crop Improvement Association with partial funding from the Indiana Soybean Board, the CystX technology has four genes that provide complete genetic resistance to all known US races of soybean cyst nematode. The technology is owned and patented by the Purdue Research Foundation and is represented exclusively worldwide by ACCESS Plant Technology, Inc., Plymouth, Ind. The latter's mission is to transfer technology between technology developers, such as Purdue, and seed marketers. JGL, Inc., also of Plymouth, Ind., has the rights to license varieties with the CystX technologies in them, says Greg Gerard, CEO of JGL, Inc.