Luther Burbank, his methods and discoveries and their practical application

Burbank, Luther; Whitson, John.; John, Robert W.; Williams, Henry Smith

doi:10.5962/bhl.title.54007

Cited by 32 publications

(41 citation statements)

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“…The power of breeding is that large improvements in phenotype can be achieved by recursively screening only a small subset of all theoretically possible progeny 13,14 . It is therefore important to determine the most efficient and selective breeding strategies.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolution of a cytokine using DNA family shuffling

et al. 1999

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DNA shuffling of a family of over 20 human interferon-alpha (Hu-IFN-alpha) genes was used to derive variants with increased antiviral and antiproliferation activities in murine cells. A clone with 135,000-fold improved specific activity over Hu-IFN-alpha2a was obtained in the first cycle of shuffling. After a second cycle of selective shuffling, the most active clone was improved 285,000-fold relative to Hu-IFN-alpha2a and 185-fold relative to Hu-IFN-alpha1. Remarkably, the three most active clones were more active than the native murine IFN-alphas. These chimeras are derived from up to five parental genes but contained no random point mutations. These results demonstrate that diverse cytokine gene families can be used as starting material to rapidly evolve cytokines that are more active, or have superior selectivity profiles, than native cytokine genes.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolution of a cytokine using DNA family shuffling

et al. 1999

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“…Initial studies on the grafting of plants by Darwin () and Mitchurin () demonstrated the passage of genetically retained characters from the stock (mentor) to the scion (pupil) and, subsequently, such results were repeated in several studies (Liu, ). These include those of Burbank (1914–15) in the USA with plum and Glouchtchenko () in the USSR with tomato. There were many earlier reports of such experiments from China, although these were not so well documented and, subsequently, from the USSR (Liu, ).…”

Section: Graft Hybrids: Evidence Of Spontaneous Transfer Of Nucleic Amentioning

confidence: 99%

Circulating nucleic acids: possible inherited effects

Gahan

2013

Biol J Linn Soc Lond

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The presence of circulating nucleic acids in man, animals and plants is well documented. It is clear that such nucleic acids can not only circulate freely within an organism, but can also enter cells when their biology may be changed either epigenetically or genetically. Evidence is presented concerning a possible influence of these nucleic acid fragments on the genetics of the F1 generation of man, animals and plants. The data presented also offer a mechanism by which the incorporation of horizontally transferred genes between organisms may be achieved. The role that circulating nucleic acids might play in modifying the F1 generation and possibly the evolutionary process is considered.

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“…''The successful plant developer must be able to look beneath the surface of his [her] plants to discover and utilize the underlying harmonies. ''-Luther Burbank (Burbank, 1914) Luther Burbank (7 Mar. 1849to 11 Apr.…”

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“…He made many forays into the development of berries from wild species from around the world. He educated and encouraged other breeders and nursery people to improve small fruits (Burbank, 1914). Burbank loved children and welcomed the opportunity to teach them about nature and the plant world.…”

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Luther Burbank’s Best Berries

Hummer

Finn

Dossett

2015

horts

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Luther Burbank, the quintessential nurseryman of the early 20th century, remarked that small fruit was the “Cinderella of the pomological family.” He stated that although tree fruits had been improved to the point of an almost uncountable number of cultivars, it was the time and responsibility of his generation and those to follow to develop the small fruit for human consumption. Burbank had a penchant for detecting potential qualities of unusual plants and his broad association with plant explorers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and elsewhere allowed him to examine diverse wild berry species. He obtained seeds of many small fruit species from throughout the world. He made wide crosses within and between these genera and species. Burbank selected and named many cultivars to be introduced through his nursery and elsewhere. He named and released ≈40 blackberries, raspberries (Rubus L.), and strawberries (Fragaria L.); four grapes (Vitis L.); and a hybrid Solanum that he named ‘Sunberry’. He sometimes exaggerated their descriptions for promotion or public recognition. For example, Rubus ×loganobaccus ‘Phenomenal’ was, he stated, “far superior in size, quality, color, and productivity…” to ‘Loganberry’. Unfortunately, this cultivar was not a commercial success. Burbank made a few crosses and sold what he considered to be improved species, e.g., ‘Himalaya Giant’ blackberry (R. armeniacus). He created new common names for foreign species, e.g., balloon berry (R. illecebrosus) and Mayberry (R. palmatus), to better market them. However, his amazingly keen observations of thornlessness, pigment diversity, and recognition of repeat flowering and fruiting in blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries, were insightful of the needs of future industry. Burbank was a disciple of Darwin and his theory of natural selection. Burbank’s classic breeding approach, to make wide crosses, produce large numbers of hybrid seedlings, choose significant seedlings with his traits of choice, and backcross to the desired parent for several generations, was successful, although he did not know of ploidy or gene recombination. Unfortunately, the ‘Himalaya blackberry’, now ubiquitous in hedgerows and fields throughout the Pacific Northwest in the United States, is designated as a federal noxious weed. Although not presently in commercial production, three of his Rubus cultivars (‘Burbank Thornless’, ‘Snowbank’, and ‘Phenomenal’) are preserved in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Clonal Germplasm Repository, in Corvallis, OR.

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Luther Burbank, his methods and discoveries and their practical application

Cited by 32 publications

References 0 publications

Evolution of a cytokine using DNA family shuffling

Evolution of a cytokine using DNA family shuffling

Circulating nucleic acids: possible inherited effects

Luther Burbank’s Best Berries

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