Genetic researchers have made strides on two fronts this
week.
In New York State, researchers have identified about 17
billion base pairs that make up about 90,000 genes in current bread-quality
wheats grown around the world.
Wheat is a combination of several ancient grasses and plant
breeders have occasionally sought out those grasses for genes that can be
incorporated to deliver resistance or tolerance to challenges such as rusts and
bugs.
Knowing the genetic code will make plant breeding more
precise and hasten improvements.
On the other front, Canadian researchers are confident they
will soon develop speedy and accurate genetic tests for pathogenic strains of
E. coli and Listeria.
Listeria testing now takes a week in a laboratory. E. coli
testing for strains such as 0157:H7 takes about a day.
The aim is to have a test that can produce results in as
little as 15 minutes and be conducted on the floor of meat-packing facilities.
E. coli 0157:H7 was the culprit in the record-volume recall
of beef from XL Foods Inc. of Brooks, Alta., and Listeria monocytogenes in the
Maple Leaf Foods Inc. recall of processed meats responsible for the death of at
least 21 Canadians.
