NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – The US Department of Agriculture has granted $11 million to four research universities to study plant genomics and ways to improve the nutrition and health values of important crops, USDA said on Wednesday.
The Coordinated Agricultural Project awards will fund applied plant genomics research and education on using genomics to inform breeding of crops such as tomato, potato, barley, soybean, and trees.
The CAP awardees include: North Dakota State University, which received $4 million; the University of Minnesota, which won $955,000; Michigan State University, which was awarded $3.75 million; and the University of California, Davis, which won $2.5 million.
"CAP grants represent an investment in improving the human condition," Agriculture Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics Rajiv Shah, said in a statement. "These research dollars yield the best returns because we are focusing on the areas we know advances … a high likelihood for real impact."
The largest of these grants, the $4 million to NDSU, will focus on legume genetics and genomics, specifically on health and nutritional aspects of these crops.