SRA has installed a new DNA extraction robot at IRIS Laboratories which will speed up the process of identifying superior cane varieties.

The equipment is designed to increase the number of extractions of DNA needed for genotyping (determining specific sugarcane traits), which can be done in the laboratory every year.

The robot features a multi-channel pipette layout. Eight tubes with 96 wells are operated simultaneously by the robot, macerating and centrifuging sugarcane leaves for DNA extraction.

Variety Development Manager, Dr Garry Rosewarne, said the purchase was made as part of the current deployment of genomics within the breeding program and was a huge step forward in efficiency.

“Done manually, somebody in the laboratory must grind up leaf tissues by hand using liquid nitrogen and then centrifuge the contents to separate them to extract and sequence the DNA. The total number of plants that can be analysed is around 1,000 in a fortnight,” Garry said.

“However, with a DNA extraction robot that figure can be increased to 10,000 completed in two to three weeks while the technicians can be employed in more strategic tasks.

“The collected genotypic data will be added to SRA’s database that already has the data established from 8,000 clones, including all the parents in the crossing plot at Meringa, and all the FAT clones for the past 10 or 13 years.

“This ‘training population’ has been grown in the field to establish the strength of the traits in the field compared with the data we have collected in the laboratory.

“The result is the development of ‘prediction equations’ for each sugarcane trait which can then be used for analysing new seed that has just been crossed at Meringa.”

The traits identified as important are: tonnes of cane per hectare, CCS, fibre, and resistance to smut and Pachymetra. In the future the same method will be used to identify other useful traits, for instance, for resistance to other diseases, for plant height, the tiller number, maturity … the list goes on. The future just got closer!

As a grower, what sugarcane traits are particularly important to you on your farm and which you would like to see developed? Write to us and let us know.

(Above): Dr Jenny Sun, Genomics Scientist in Variety Development at SRA’s IRIS Laboratories will work with the new robot.