Dr. Murukarthick Jayakodi brings expertise in developing genomic breeder toolkits for crop improvement to his new role as a plant genomicist at the Texas A&M AgriLife Institute and assistant professor in the Texas A&M Department of Soil and Crop Sciences.
Jayakody said the opportunity to work with crops like turfgrass, which has fewer genomic features, is exciting because it leaves room for discoveries and advances that could be useful for other commercial crops as well.
He said being based at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Dallas is ideal for him. That’s because the Texas A&M Aggie Turf Grass Program there has a strong breeding program with new varieties of grass, Bermuda, and St. Augustine grass.
“Many of these grasses are already tolerant to different climatic conditions such as drought, cold and heat, which we have the potential to discover and incorporate into commercial crops,” Jayakody said. Ta.
From turfgrass to grain
Generally speaking, he said, turfgrasses are already highly tolerant and tolerant of a variety of climate conditions, making them suitable throughout the state.
“By investigating these properties at the molecular level, we can apply this knowledge to major grains such as wheat, barley, maize, sorghum and rice,” Jayakody said. “These grasses are more likely to be translated because they are closely related to major grains.”
For example, he said, the grass grass being developed at the Texas A&M AgriLife Center in Dallas shares high genetic similarities with rice and sorghum. Once we understand the molecular mechanism in turfgrass, we can investigate whether translation is possible in major grains as well.
“Rice and wheat do not have the genetics to withstand multiple climate stresses such as drought and heat, whereas turfgrass does. So we can use this as a genetic model system to We can understand how plant responses to stress occur together.”
This work also helps improve the turfgrass itself, he says. As turfgrasses currently face challenges such as water usage and drought, the industry is looking for grasses that use less water and are tolerant of various stresses such as drought, salinity, and disease.
Environmentally controlled crop genetics research
The Texas A&M AgriLife Center in Dallas also specializes in controlled environment agriculture, where fruits and vegetables are grown indoors under controlled watering and climate conditions. Currently, most crop genetics are adapted to field agronomic practices, but these controlled conditions have not yet been investigated.
“Our researchers are studying crop breeding that adapts to controlled environmental conditions, and as a member of the genomics faculty, I am studying the molecular mechanisms or genetic mechanisms that contribute to adaptation to controlled environments. We will try to understand the foundations,” Professor Jayakody said.
Because field crops cannot easily predict drought, heat, and flood conditions, these plants require more flexible adaptation mechanisms. But when grown in a controlled environment, crops experience fewer environmental variables, so research can focus on potential diseases.
Jayakody explained another area of interest in his research and talked about how he studies the genetic mechanisms that control plant structure. This mechanism may need to be modified to allow automated trimming and harvesting in a controlled environment.
“We need to understand the genetics of such traits and how to exploit them under controlled conditions,” he says. “Visually selecting for the desired trait at every generation is time-consuming for breeders, but molecular tools such as markers associated with the trait allow efficient selection.”
Jayakodi brings a wealth of experience
Jayakody received his bachelor’s degree in bioinformatics from the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University in Coimbatore, India, and his master’s and doctoral degrees in crop science and biotechnology from Seoul National University in Seoul, South Korea.
Prior to coming to Dallas, he worked as a group leader at the Leibniz Institute for Plant Genetics and Crop Research in Gatorsleben, Germany. He is also an adjunct professor at the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University.
He founded and leads the Broad Bean Pangenome Consortium, which brings together international researchers from Canada, Germany, Denmark, Spain, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Germany to identify genetic variations and link them to important traits. .
“Pangenome is a hot topic that is being applied to major crops such as wheat, barley, rice and maize,” Jayakody said. “We are trying to apply it to potential minor crops to bring diversity to farmland.”
