Texas Tech University

Texas Tech Hosts Borlaug Fellow to Work in Center for Biotechnology and Genomics

Malaysia's climate is perfect for growing rice. The problem is how to store it for long periods of time.

Muhamad Shakirin Mispan is a Borlaug Fellow working in Texas Tech University's Center for Biotechnology and Genomics. His goal: find ways to prolong the storage life of rice and other grains improve food security in his country.

"We mainly grow rice in Malaysia, but our diet is very diverse," Mispan said. "We also eat wheat and corn and we need grain to feed our livestock, but we cannot grow these other grains, so we must import and store them."

Long-term storage can lead to losses due to fungi and other spoilage related to the countries wet and humid climate. Mispan, a senior lecturer in the ecology and biodiversity program in the Institute of Biological Science, Faculty of Science at the University of Malaya, is spending October and November at Texas Tech to learn new technologies and techniques to take home to further his own research into what genetic traits might create better seeds for longer-term storage.

"I want to tackle this problem from a genomic standpoint: how can we improve the crop, develop new breeding techniques" he said. "I'm not an engineer I can't build a machine or building, but I can work from the crop aspect."

The Borlaug Fellowship, named for Nobel Peace Prize winner Norman Borlaug, is administered through the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The program's materials state it is designed to "help developing countries strengthen sustainable agricultural practices by providing scientific training and collaborative research opportunities to visiting researchers."

Researchers apply to the program and are matched with a suitable university. In Mispan's case, Texas Tech. David Knaff, director of the Center for Biotechnology and Genomics, believes that the world class genetic sequencing equipment at Texas Tech is what made the university a perfect match for Mispan's goals.

"I'm pleased that we were matched to a Borlaug Fellow," said Knaff. "Biotechnology and genomic research is a major focus at Texas Tech. I believe that the high-quality equipment and research personnel in our center made the university competitive in the eyes of the Borlaug Fellowship Selection committee."

Mispan will utilize the genomic sequencing equipment in the center to look at what genes in rice and other grains.

"Shakirin will look at which of the genes in rice might be useful in improving storage of rice," said Ruwanthi Wettasinghe, senior research associate in the center, and Mispan's mentor during his stay. "The longer you can store rice, or other grains, the more people can be fed."

Mispan also will visit a grain storage facility in Beaumont to look at modern grain-management technology. "There is a consortium of scientists involved in the Beaumont facility from Texas, Kansas Arkansas, Oklahoma and Louisiana," said Wettasinghe.

Mispan and his Texas Tech hosts view the fellowship as a win-win situation for all involved. While Mispan's time in Lubbock will conclude at the end of November, the opportunities the fellowship offers will continue. Wettasinghe will make a trip to the University of Mayala and attend a Borlaug Fellowship conference next year.

For Mispan, this isn't his first experience in the U.S. He earned his doctorate in agriculture from South Dakota State University. He hopes to learn much more than new research techniques during his stay at Texas Tech.

"This is important for my research," Mispan said. "But it also is important to me as a teacher. I am a young lecturer so I'm hoping to learn how to improve my teaching and build a network of international researchers who I can draw on as I continue to grow as a researcher and teacher."