Table Of Contenti
New Directions for
Biosciences Research in
Agriculture
High-Reward Opportunities
Committee on Biosciences Research in Agriculture
Board on Agriculture
National Research Council
NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS
Washington, D.C. 1985
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ii
National Academy Press 2101 Constitution Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20418
NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the
National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy
of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of
the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard
for appropriate balance.
This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to procedures
approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sci-
ences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.
The National Research Council was established by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916
to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of further-
ing knowledge and of advising the federal government. The Council operates in accordance with
general policies determined by the Academy under the authority of its congressional charter of
1863, which establishes the Academy as a private, nonprofit, self-governing membership corpora-
tion. The Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sci-
ences and the National Academy of Engineering in the conduct of their services to the government,
the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. It is administered jointly by both
Academies and the Institute of Medicine. The National Academy of Engineering and the Institute of
Medicine were established in 1964 and 1970, respectively, under the charter of the National
Academy of Sciences.
———
This project was supported under Agreement No. 59-32R6-3-217 between the Agricultural
Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Academy of Sciences.
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 85-60530
ISBN 0-309-03542-2
Printed in the United States of America
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iii
Committee on Biosciences Research in Agriculture
RALPH W. F. HARDY (Chairman), BioTechnica International, Inc., and Cornell
University
C. EUGENE ALLEN, University of Minnesota
CHARLES J. ARNTZEN, E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., Inc.
DALE E. BAUMAN, Cornell University
OLLE BJÖRKMAN, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Stanford
WALTER E. BOLLENBACHER, University of North Carolina
ROBERT H. BURRIS, University of Wisconsin
JOHN E. CASIDA, University of California, Berkeley
J. M. DALY, University of Nebraska
WILLIAM C. DAVIS, Washington State University
ROBERT M. GOODMAN, Calgene, Inc.
BERNARD O. PHINNEY, University of California, Los Angeles
WILLIAM R. PRITCHARD, University of California, Davis
GEORGE E. SEIDEL, JR., Colorado State University
WILLIAM H. STONE, Trinity University
CHAMP B. TANNER, University of Wisconsin
ANNE M. K. VIDAVER, University of Nebraska
MILTON ZAITLIN, Cornell University
Subcommittee on Animal Science
WILLIAM R. PRITCHARD (Subchairman)
C. EUGENE ALLEN
DALE E. BAUMAN
WILLIAM C. DAVIS
GEORGE E. SEIDEL, JR.
WILLIAM H. STONE
Subcommittee on Plant Science
ROBERT H. BURRIS (Subchairman)
CHARLES J. ARNTZEN
OLLE BJÖRKMAN
ROBERT M. GOODMAN
BERNARD O. PHINNEY
CHAMP B. TANNER
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iv
Subcommittee on Plant Diseases and Insect Pests
MILTON ZAITLIN (Subchairman)
WALTER E. BOLLENBACHER
JOHN E. CASIDA
J. M. DALY
ANNE M. K. VIDAVER
Consultants
BRUCE HAMMOCK, University of California, Davis
JAMES TRUMAN, University of Washington
THOMAS WAGNER, Ohio University
ROBERT K. WASHINO, University of California, Davis
Staff
JAMES E. TAVARES, Project Officer
PHILIP ROSS, Senior Staff Officer
SELMA P. BARON, Staff Officer
CARLA CARLSON, Editor
AIDA NEEL, Administrative Secretary
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Board on Agriculture
WILLIAM L. BROWN (Chairman), Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc.
JOHN A. PINO (Vice Chairman), Inter-American Development Bank
LAWRENCE BOGORAD, Harvard University
ERIC L. ELLWOOD, North Carolina State University
JOSEPH P. FONTENOT, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
ROBERT G. GAST, Michigan State University
EDWARD H. GLASS, Cornell University
RALPH W. F. HARDY BioTechnica International, Inc., and Cornell University
ROGER L. MITCHELL, University of Missouri
CHARLES C. MUSCOPLAT, Molecular Genetics, Inc.
ELDOR A. PAUL, University of California, Berkeley
VERNON W. RUTTAN, University of Minnesota
JAMES G. TEER, Welder Wildlife Foundation
VIRGINIA WALBOT, Stanford University
CHARLES M. BENBROOK, Executive Director
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vi
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PREFACE vii
Preface
In April 1982 the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) of the U.S.
Department of Agriculture began a major ongoing review by sponsoring an
internal symposium aimed at defining comprehensive, long-range planning goals
in bioregulation. The agency also recently completed a program document that
includes an accompanying six-year implementation plan focused on more
1
immediate goals in research.
As a part of this ongoing review and planning process, Terry B. Kinney, Jr.,
administrator of the ARS, requested that the Board on Agriculture of the National
Research Council undertake a study of the ARS research programs concerned
with bioregulation. Administrator Kinney asked that the board identify and
recommend ARS programs in bioregulation that should be initiated or
strengthened to ensure the highest dividends to agriculture. In the organization
and execution of this request, bioregulation was interpreted broadly as basic
studies of key processes in the biosciences.
The Board on Agriculture appointed a committee of 18 members with
wide-ranging expertise to undertake this study. The Committee on Biosciences
Research in Agriculture represents a breadth of knowledge across the disciplines
of science and also represents a combination of experience in research,
management, and administration in both academe and industry.
The committee was divided into three subcommittees to explore current and
proposed ARS research efforts on mechanisms that regulate the biology of
animals, plants, and insects and plant
1 U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. 1983. Agricultural
Research Service Program Plan: 6-Year Implementation Plan, 1984-1990. Miscellaneous
publication number 1429. Washington, D.C.
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PREFACE viii
pathogens, respectively. Committee members interviewed a large number of
research scientists and laboratory chiefs during 23 separate visits to 19 of the 147
ARS research centers throughout the United States and abroad (see Appendix).
Some of these included ARS units that are affiliated with universities.
Although it was not possible for subcommittee members to meet with all
ARS scientists in each laboratory group, open periods were arranged during many
site visits so that any ARS scientist who wished to present ideas on priority
research areas had an opportunity to do so. At university-associated laboratories,
discussions included some of the university scientists who were conducting
related research.
The committee members sought, through discussions with ARS scientists
about both current and future programs, to obtain a clear view of the present
capabilities of the ARS and to specify how these capabilities might be augmented
to take advantage of the newer biotechnologies. They also recognized the
importance of making recommendations about the conditions that combine to
create an optimal climate for research, based on visits to ARS laboratories and on
general experiences with changing climates in some of the outstanding
laboratories practicing the new biology.
Committee members were pleased with the open and enthusiastic
discussions that took place at all centers. The interest, cooperation, and
contributions of ARS scientists were exemplary.
It is significant to note that the final conclusions—on both research
opportunities and the optimal climate for basic research—of the Committee on
Biosciences Research in Agriculture were prepared in response to the request
from ARS, but they apply broadly to the agricultural research community. The
conclusions are based on the thoughts and suggestions of many of the ARS
scientists themselves, coupled with the experience and ideas of the committee
members. Although other reports have addressed new opportunities in
agriculture, especially in the plant sciences, this report provides a uniquely
holistic view of agriculture, generated by an integrated committee of plant and
animal scientists.
RALPH W. F. HARDY
CHAIRMAN
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ix
Acknowledgments
The committee wishes to express its appreciation to the ARS area and center
directors, laboratory leaders, and scientists at the 19 locations visited for
preparing background materials and research summaries for subcommittee
members prior to their visits, and for assistance in organizing the visits. The
committee acknowledges the staff of the Board on Agriculture—Selma P. Baron,
Staff Officer; Philip Ross, Senior Staff Officer; and James E. Tavares, Project
Officer—and their support and guidance during committee meetings and
subcommittee site visits. The committee wishes to thank Aida Neel, Project
Secretary, for her technical support during meetings and in the preparation of this
report.
The committee members wish to express special gratitude to James E.
Tavares and Carla Carlson, consultant and editor of this report, for drawing our
ideas and conclusions into final form.
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