A noted soybean plant developer will discuss "Genomics in the Age of Plant Breeding" on April 4 at the University of Nebraska.

Phillip E. McClean works on dry bean genetics and biotechnology and is the director of the Genomics and Bioinformatics Program at North Dakota State University in Fargo.

His lecture is part of the Dermot P. Coyne Graduate Student Distinguished Lectureship Series. The 1 p.m. lecture in the Nebraska East Union is free and open to the public. A reception will follow.

McClean received his doctorate and master's degrees in agronomy from Colorado State University. He has been a member of the NDSU faculty in the Department of Plant Sciences since 1985 and has been director of the Genomics and Bioinformatics Program since 2002.

His lecture will review the history of the plant breeding industry and how genomic science provides new data for plant breeding. This latest data provides new directions and challenges.

In his lecture abstract, McClean wrote, "A major challenge for crop improvement efforts is to develop approaches that effectively incorporate that new knowledge into current breeding practices, and to modify breeding programs to maximize the utility of genomic information."

McClean's visit is courtesy of the Coyne Lectureship Series which was established by Dermot P. Coyne in the area of plant breeding and genetics. Coyne, a George Holmes Professor of Agronomy and Horticulture in the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, developed new varieties of dry edible beans and squash while a plant breeder at UNL for more than 40 years.

He released many popular dry bean varieties in support of the Nebraska and High Plains bean industry. Coyne, who died in 2002, also developed several varieties of pinto, pompadour and great northern beans that were resistant to bean common mosaic virus, rust, common bacterial blight and other bacterial diseases.

His disease-resistant germplasm releases and varieties are parents of numerous bean varieties grown in the Americas, Africa, Asia and Europe.

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Plant breeding, genetics to be discussed at UNL

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