ICAC Researcher of the Year: The Best Is Yet to Come
January 5, 2012 Each year, during the opening session of the International Cotton Advisory Committee’s (ICAC) plenary meeting, the association names the recipient of its “Researcher of the Year.” On Sept. 4 in Buenos Aires, that individual was announced to be Dr. Sukumar Saha, a research geneticist with the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture. Recognized as an international authority on the development of genetic and cytogenetic resources, he has developed, evaluated and released backcrossed interspecific chromosome substitution lines from other tetraploid cotton species.
His research opens new paradigms in cotton breeding and genetics studies, providing a tool to overcome the problems of interspecific introgression and in the discovery of some novel genes or traits. He also made a major contribution in developing PCR-based SSR markers, a critical first step for the use of PCR-based marker technologies in cotton breeding.
It has been a good year for Dr. Saha. In January 2011, Dr. Saha was named the 2010 Cotton Genetics Researcher of the Year at the 2011 Beltwide Cotton Improvement Conference, providing two major bookend honors to open and close this year.
Cotton International sat down with Dr. Saha in Buenos Aires to capture his thoughts about the recent achievements and recognition:
Q: What do you think the next great breakthrough in cotton research will be? Are we on the cusp of any groundbreaking new developments?
A: Due to globalization in agriculture, it is expected that commodity prices are likely to decline and efficient production will be the key factor in the competitive world market. In my opinion, the next great breakthrough in cotton research will be on manipulating the genetic system using biotechnology tools to promote sustainable cotton production under safe and diverse environment, making the most out of our limited natural resources, including the limited water supply.
We are very close to a groundbreaking discovery of tetraploid cotton genome sequence through both private and public research programs. Decoding the cotton genome will open up a new paradigm for efficient use of genomic technologies in the improvement of Upland cotton. Sequencing cotton genomes will unveil the relationship of functional genome and agronomic performance, the significance of polyploidy and genome size variation within the Gossypium genus. Knowledge gained from decoding the cotton genome will improve our understanding of gene function and ultimately benefit the growers with improved yield and fiber quality. Information from cotton genome sequencing will be very helpful to develop tools for making cotton plants resistant against biotic and abiotic stresses.
Q: You have come a long way since you began your career as an assistant agronomist in 1983. What is next for you, professionally?
A: There is a great saying: “Life is a journey, not a destination.” These awards are humbling as well as a clarion call to remind me that I have a long way to travel to my predestined role as an agricultural scientist. No matter where our journey leads us in our lives, we must always remember to look back. The most profound effect surrounding my professional life happened when I started my career as an assistant agronomist in a remote village of a developing country like India. I will always remember the poor farmers who worked so hard to feed others, but could barely save enough food for their own family. They taught me about the moral and professional responsibility that an agricultural scientist has and deeply connected me with their hopes and aspirations. As you know, we are facing a challenge of two opposite forces: the scientific power of food production and the biologic power of human reproduction. The increase in population demands the doubling of current production of food and fiber by 2050. Farmers will have to fulfill this demand under conditions of rapidly declining agricultural resources, including land and water. Professionally as an agricultural scientist, I aspire to be a part of a discovery team to rekindle the fire of the Green Revolution by unlocking the mystery of genetics to assure sustainable agricultural production under safe environment in the battle against hunger and poverty.
Q: What does it mean to you to be recognized at both the beginning and end of the year with such major awards? Were you aware as you were conducting your research that it was going to have such a significant impact on the industry?
A: I have received these awards with deep gratitude and great humility. Compared to some of the giants of cotton science who have received these awards before me, my accomplishments are trivial. I am blessed throughout my career to have support from an outstanding group of collaborators. My awards are tributes and testimonies to their outstanding work. I am also earnestly grateful to those farmers who taught me long ago, in the early phase of my career as an agricultural extension worker, the responsibility of an agricultural scientist to help farmers to feed and clothe the world. Finally, I have derived the strength to challenge myself and perform better at each stage of my career because of the sacrifice, inspiration and dedication of my family.
As agricultural research scientists, we have learned from the beginning of our careers that the primary responsibility of our research is to solve the problems of our stakeholders, including farmers and industries. Today’s cotton breeding programs are increasingly focused on adding value to the cotton crop in ways never before contemplated. Commercial breeding has used most of its resources to quickly develop acceptable transgenic lines that combine insect resistance and herbicide tolerance with desirable characteristics of previously developed cultivars. As a consequence, there is very little effort for germplasm improvement. The genetic diversity is very low in current Upland cotton cultivars, yet genetic diversity is the foundation of any crop improvement program. Superior fiber quality is one of the driving forces of the current global cotton market. Cotton industries need germplasm with improved productivity and fiber quality because farmers receive reduced prices for poor fiber quality.
It is difficult to realize the full impact of our research because we are still conducting it with many of these new genomic tools and resources. But I strongly believe that the best is yet to come.
Cotton Life Cycle Assessment ‘not a Marketing Ploy’
The LCI data collection and LCA modeling were spearheaded by PE International and adhere to ISO-14040 standard. The LCI data sets will be made available through such widely used databases as Ecoinvent and the U.S. Life Cycle Inventory, as well as via a reporting tool slated for availability in early 2012.
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