Soybean aphids can cost Illinois growers millions of dollars in lost yield, insecticide and spraying costs. Genetic resistance to aphids is the cheapest, most reliable and most environmentally benign of all the methods for aphid control. Cloning Rag1 and Rag2 resistance genes will both facilitate the creation of aphid-resistant elite germplasm and speed the discovery of new aphid resistance genes, especially when aphids that can begin to defeat these resistance genes actually increase in frequency.
An additional benefit of this work is that it will provide opportunities for patents and other intellectual property for the University of Illinois and will safeguard these genes from being...
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#breeding & genetics