ASTA Participates in Science Fellows Symposium on Seed Quality

  • On August 16, 2018
  • ASTA, Monsanto, Research and Development Center, Science Fellows Symposium

ASTA’s Senior Director for Seed Health and Trade Ric Dunkle was invited along with a group of scientists to attend the 2018 Monsanto Science Fellows Symposium, August 7-8 at Monsanto’s Research and Development Center in Chesterfield, Missouri. The symposium focused on the application of new innovations in basic science, molecular genetics and seed testing to enhance seed quality.

Leading scientists were invited from universities in the U.S and Europe, as well as from the International Seed Testing Association (ISTA) and the American Frozen Food Institute (AFFI). Topics included: the current state and future directions of seed-health testing; use of whole genome sequencing (WGS) technology for determining and enhancing seed quality; multispectral imaging as a new approach for seed analysis; finding new genes that govern various aspects of seed quality via analysis and mapping of Quantitative Trait Loci (QTLs) factors that govern dormancy and seed performance; and the use of laser ablation tomography to produce high resolution 3-D images of seed external and internal structure for phenotyping and other purposes.

This Symposium was a unique opportunity to get a better sense of how new science and technologies are rapidly changing the landscape of the seed industry. For more information, contact Ric Dunkle.