Three scientists with The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation recently received a grant worth more than $3.8 million from the National Science Foundation (NSF). It is the largest NSF grant received by the Noble Foundation in its 62-year history.

Drs. Michael Udvardi, Rujin Chen and Kirankumar Mysore received $3,831,732 in funding for their project entitled "Development of Genetic Resources to Dissect Gene Regulatory Networks Governing Nodule Development and Differentiation in Medicago truncatula."

"A central mission of the Noble Foundation is to perform world-class plant research with the goal of benefiting production agriculture and, ultimately, humanity," said Udvardi, Ph.D., lead scientist on the project. "This grant recognizes the value of the Noble Foundation's research and allows us to continue a significant body of research that is integral to our mission."

The Noble Foundation is recognized internationally for its work to advance Medicago truncatula as a genomic model for other legumes, including economically significant crops such as soybean, alfalfa, clover and peanut. The Noble Foundation's actions led to the coordinated sequencing of the DNA (genome) of M. truncatula by an international team of sequencing centers, including the Advanced Center for Genome Technology at the University of Oklahoma.

This NSF-funded project complements earlier investments by the Noble Foundation in M. truncatula research. Using data from the M. truncatula sequencing effort, the NSF grant will enable the Noble Foundation to understand the function of newly discovered genes, specifically genes that control the development of nitrogen-fixing root-nodules of legumes. Root nodules accommodate bacteria called rhizobia that convert atmospheric nitrogen (N2) to ammonia (NH3), which is a source of nitrogen that the plant can use for growth instead of expensive nitrogen fertilizers.

"Because they fix atmospheric nitrogen so effectively, legumes play an important role in the global nitrogen cycle," Udvardi said. "For farmers, legumes help improve the soil for other crops and provide a significant economic advantage because the farmers do not have to purchase nitrogen fertilizer."

In addition to the agronomic and financial benefits, the use of legumes often provides an additional environmental benefit. The natural process of nitrogen fixation in legumes avoids over-use of nitrogen fertilizer, as well as subsequent run-off and nitrogen-pollution of adjacent water resources such as rivers and lakes.

The upcoming research project focuses on understanding the genes responsible for regulating nodule functions and how these genes interact. By clearly defining the function of these genes, Noble Foundation scientists hope to discover methods to improve the nitrogen fixation process within legumes, thus increasing the benefits not only to agricultural producers, but also to consumers and the environment.

Furthering the Noble Foundation's dedication to the global scientific community, the project also includes the development of genetic resources that will be accessible to all scientists worldwide.

During the project, Noble Foundation scientists will collaborate with scientists from across the country and around the world, including Drs. Pascal Ratet (France), Giles Oldroyd (United Kingdom), Georg Weiller (Australia), Rebecca Dickstein, Chris Town, Steve Gantt and Janine Sherrier (United States), and Richard Dixon, Jiangqi Wen, Patrick Zhao, Elison Blancaflor and Yuhong Tang at the Noble Foundation.

07-058

###

News Release Issued: November 2, 2007

The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, Inc. (www.noble.org), headquartered in Ardmore, Okla., is a nonprofit organization conducting agricultural, forage improvement and plant biology research; assisting farmers and ranchers through educational and consultative agricultural programs; and providing grants to nonprofit charitable, educational and health organizations.