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Looney funds animal sciences assistantship
Charles R. Looney, president and founder of OvaGenix of Bryan, Texas, has established a graduate assistantship in the Department of Animal Sciences. The first recipient is Casey Ballard from Atlanta, Texas, who began his program of study fall semester 2004.
Looney received his Ph.D. from LSU in 1983 in reproductive physiology, a program established by Robert Godke, his major professor.
"The best opportunity for success is right here," Looney said of the LSU Ag-Center’s Embryo Biotechnology Laboratory, which is part of the Reproductive Biology Center near St. Gabriel, La., where Ballard will conduct his research. "This is one of the leading scientific centers in the world."
The two-year assistantship will lead to a master’s degree and includes the cost of research support and supplies, said Richard Denniston, the center’s director. Ballard, who is a graduate of Texas A&M University, will concentrate his studies on the use of cryopreservation in Brahman breeding. Cryopreservation, a process of subjecting live tissue to extremely low temperatures, is used in the cattle industry as a way to preserve embryos.
"We have limited success in trying to cryopreserve the embryos from Brahman cattle," Denniston said. "We need to find out why. Cattle breeders are much more successful with Angus, for example."
Cryopreservation in animal breeding is extremely important, Denniston said, because of new restrictions on transporting cattle across state lines and international borders.
"The threat of BSE has changed the rules," Denniston said. BSE stands for bovine spongiform encephalopathy, also known as mad cow disease. A few instances of this disease in recent years have had devastating effects on the cattle industry.
Brahman and Brahman-influenced cattle make up 60 percent of the cattle population in the world, Denniston said.
OvaGenix, which began operation in 1999, is a biotechnical company specializing in cattle breeding.
Linda Foster Benedict
‘Golden’ rice could help reduce malnutrition
LSU AgCenter researchers are assisting a humanitarian group with a genetically engineered product known as "golden" rice that could help reduce malnutrition. The rice was grown in tests at the Rice Research Station in Crowley, La., in the summer of 2004 – the first such testing in the world. It has been genetically modified to produce beta-carotene, which humans convert to vitamin A. The distinctive amber hue from beta carotene led to its name.
Vitamin A deficiency causes numerous health problems, including blindness and a weakened immune system.
In 1999, scientists in Europe successfully inserted genes from daffodils and bacteria into rice DNA. Those cause rice to express beta carotene.
In 2001, scientists in Japan inserted the genes into the Cocodrie rice variety, which was developed at the AgCenter in 1998. It has become the most widely used variety of rice grown in the United States.
After evaluation and seed increase in growth chambers and greenhouses, golden rice was brought to the Rice Station to be grown in test plots.
Preliminary results indicate the yield of the genetically modified Cocodrie is comparable to conventional Cocodrie.
"This may not be anything U.S. producers actually grow, but it may be. We don’t know what its potential is," said Steve Linscombe, director of the Southwest Region.
Bruce Schultz
Top researchers honored
The top research awards presented during the 2004 LSU AgCenter Annual Conference went to Michael Chamberlain, assistant professor in the School of Renewable Natural Resources; Gene Reagan, professor, Department of Entomology; and the corn hybrid test team, led by Steve Moore, professor at the Dean Lee Research Station in Alexandria.
Theresia Lavergne, assistant professor in animal sciences, received the Excellence in Extension Award. Lavergne serves as the state extension poultry specialist. She was instrumental in the development of a broiler litter pasteurization project that has allowed poultry producers to reuse poultry litter – thus reducing the amount of litter being disposed. She also is active with the 4-H program and is the poultry coordinator for the state livestock show.
Chamberlain, a wildlife biologist, received the Rogers Excellence in Research Award, which is made available through contributions from Larry Rogers, former vice chancellor for research. Chamberlain has studied more than 20 species of animals including threatened species such as the Louisiana black bear. He helped develop a relocation plan for the Louisiana black bear, which enjoyed success where other plans had failed. Chamberlain is examining why northern bobwhite quail numbers are diminishing across the South.
Reagan, whose specialty is insect problems in sugarcane, won the Doyle Chambers Research Award, which is presented to a researcher for long-term contributions to science. Much of Reagan’s recent work has focused on the Mexican rice borer – a pest already in Texas and expected to make its way to Louisiana. Reagan plays a vital role in the sugarcane variety development team that revolutionized the cane industry with the release of the successful variety LCP 85-384.
The Tipton Team Research Award went to the group that tests corn hybrids for their yield and agronomic performance. In 2004, 92 different hybrids were tested. In addition to Moore, the team includes Mildred Deloach, research associate at the Dean Lee Station; Jim Rabb, professor, and Jose Liscano, research associate, at the Red River Research Station at
Bossier City; Rick Mascagni, professor, and Robert Bell, research associate, at the Northeast Research Station at St. Joseph; and Warner Hall, research associate in the Department of Agronomy and Environmental Management.
Sue Hagius, research associate in the Department of Veterinary Science, was selected for the 2004 Outstanding Service Award for Associates.
Linda Foster Benedict
Jack Hamilton endowed chair created
The LSU AgCenter will have a $1 million endowed chair in cotton production as the result of industry donations honoring a man who was a driving force in Louisiana cotton production.
The Jack Hamilton Chair in Cotton Production will be a memorial to Hamilton of East Carroll Parish, an innovator and major player in the cotton industry, until his death in 2001.
Donations totaling more than $600,000 qualify the chair for state matching funds in the amount of $400,000 through the Louisiana State Board of Regents.
Hamilton’s activities included serving as an organizer and president of the Louisiana Cotton Producers Association and as president and chairman of the board of the National Cotton Council of America. A native of Mississippi, Hamilton was an LSU graduate and lived in Lake Providence for many years.
The person named to the Hamilton Chair must have demonstrated excellence in cotton production research and must have a research program showing potential to provide significant contributions to improving the productivity, profitability and environmental friendliness of the Louisiana cotton industry. This person will be named later in the year.
Tom Merrill
Tiny rice pest discovered
Boris Castro, LSU AgCenter entomologist, has discovered a new pest of rice – a tiny fly.
And Howard Cormier, LSU AgCenter county agent in Vermilion Parish, said the insect’s damage was devastating on two fields he inspected last year.
Castro said the pest has so far been referred to as the rice whorl maggot because of its similarity to a fly in Asia that afflicts rice fields there. But he said a taxonomist at the Smithsonian Institution has concluded this fly probably is a new, unidentified species.
Castro said research this year will include spraying different insecticides, which are already labeled for other rice pests, on test plots where the insect is found.
Bruce Schultz
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