b'Its Showtime! NEWScontinued from page 8 AgriworldresponsibilitiesstudentswillCenter Scientists encounter later in life.FonesaddsthatcollaborationisAim to Solve Citrus key to supporting students through-out the process. a team effort, sheGreening First, Then Its definitely says.Educatorsandtheextension officeprovideprogramsthatteachOther Crop Diseasesstructure,educationandguidance,by BRAD BUCK, UF/IFASand families are going to be able to offer day-to-day support and encour-agement.Thatsupporthelpsbuildconfi-dence, particularly through programs like the fairs Ambassador Program.Theyre extremely helpful, Fowl- U a high-tech war against pests and diseases threatening Floridas cropsarming farmers with er says. They help us with the public,UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA SCIENTISTS are joining forces at the Crop Transformation Center (CTC) answer questions and really representto wage the Youth Fair well. cutting-edge solutions to protect the states agricultural lifeblood.The program gives students mean- The urgency to find a solution to citrus greening spawnedtested in the field, Rogers said.ingful opportunities to interact withinterest to include citrus as an initial focus of the CTC. Rogers likens the approach of the CTC to a much-needed the public while supporting the fair. Through the CTC, faculty at the main UF campus innumbers game.Watching those students go outGainesville and at the Citrus Research and Education CenterThe more shots on goal, the more likely you are to find a into our community and be able to(CREC) in Lake Alfred are working to find citrus varietieswinner, he said. Those discoveries made in Gainesville will confidentlyspeakinfrontofbusi- that can tolerate or even resist citrus greening, also known aslikely progress through the pipeline back and forth between nesses and groups of adults is incred- Huanglongbing. Gainesville and CREC, which is better positioned to handle The CTC was established three years ago by the UF In- citrus transformationsat this time.ible, Fones says. stitute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) and theAlfredHuo,aprofessorofhorticulturalsciencesin COMMUNITY SUPPORT ANDstates citrus industry. Gainesville and a CTC-affiliated faculty member, is one of INVOLVEMENT Our purpose is to use cutting-edge toolslike gene ed- about a dozen UF/IFAS faculty members who focus solely iting, precision breeding and artificial intelligence (AI)-driv- on citrus greening.Communitymembersareen- en data analysisto create plants that are healthier, moreWhatsparticularlyexcitingisthepotentialfortech-couraged to attend and support theproductive and more resilient to challenges like disease andnology transfer, Huo said. While we benefit from CRECs fair, even if they do not have a studentclimate stress, said Charlie Messina, director of the CTC andextensivecitrusresources,ouroptimizedtransformation participating. a UF/IFAS professor of horticultural sciences. We use AI toprotocols can help CREC and other Florida citrus research-The youth fair is for everyone,study how proteins in bacteria and plants interact, so we caners produce both transgenic and gene-edited materials more Fonessays.Attendingsupportsstop the bacteria from taking over the plant and messing upefficiently and reliably.how it works. Many other CTC faculty are in Gainesville, where they youth education and hands-on learn- Researchers at the CTC are identifying key genes thatuse advanced technologies such as single cell sequencing, bi-ing. give plants natural tolerance to greening, introducing thoseoinformatics, and gene editing to design and create the trees Supportcanincludeattendingtraits into new citrus varieties and testing them in collabo- of the futureshowsinpersonoronline,partici- ration with Florida growers. CTC scientists study genes toIn labs on the main UF campus, scientists study genes, patinginauctions,volunteeringorenhance the plant-immune system so it can defend itselfdevelop new plant materials and create improved citrus lines encouraging exhibitors. against greening.the stage of a developing plant when it starts showing new Drawing on expertise from Messina and others with deepgenetic traits.Everybitofinvolvementhelpsindustry experience, the center is rethinking the tradition- When researchers see promising plants, those plants go invest in the next generation, Fonesal academic research pipeline by streamlining each step toto CREC, where scientists test them to see how well they says. move discoveries from lab to field faster. grow, Messina said.For Fowler, the mission of the fairOur ultimate goal is simply to accelerate innovation inFor now, theyre still in the research stage, so there are no has remained consistent over the dec- agriculture, protect Floridas signature cropsstarting withfinished products in growers hands yet. ades. citrusand ensure that science in the lab leads to lastingOnce we confirm the tolerance to citrus greening, the impact in the grove, Messina said. improved plants will reach farmers through nurseries that Whatwedoiswork,butitsaScientistsatafewUF/IFASresearchandeducationprovide young trees for planting, Messina said. The CTC, privilegetodoit,hesays.Iwantcenters are working with their colleagues in Gainesville tothrough its affiliated faculty in horticultural sciences, micro-people to be able to say he served, anddeliver data to growers. biology and cell science and plant pathology, has produced he didnt do it out of obligation, butCREC, in Lake Alfred, already had two transformationseveral promising transgenic lines with traits that show the he did it from the standpoint that itlabs, said center director Michael Rogers. plants might tolerate greening. Without overstating results, was a privilege to do it.ag Basically, the idea is to provide more resources to devel- these plants represent meaningful progress toward develop-op even more plants in a shorter amount of time that can being new varieties for Florida growers.24 | CFAN FloridaAgNews.com'