Dr. David Gilstrap, Sports and Commercial Turf Coordinator

Proposal for Research - 2006

A new warm - season turfgrass cultivar for cold climates
Bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon) thrives throughout the MSU campus.  It grows well where it is situated in full sun and particularly well above heating tunnels or alongside pavement.  Historical records indicate that the only intentional plantings were by botanist W. J. Beal.   In the 1886 Report to the Board of Agriculture he wrote “the habits of this grass have been carefully studied for several years, where it has never failed to pass the winter.”   Other historical documents show pictures of the first heating tunnels being built in the 1890s (R. Ellerhorst, personal communication).  In 1991, several cup-cutter selections were transplanted from the main campus to the plot area at the turf center and far away from pavement and tunnels (J. Vargas, Jr., personal communication).   Within a few years the bermudagrass had grown to cover a 3600 square-feet area. 

In 1973, distinguished turfgrass breeder Dr. Glenn Burton stated, “A turf bermudagrass with greater winter hardiness than any now available would have a market in the United States”.  In the early 1970s while on the MSU faculty, James Beard has said that he sent six selections having “long internodes and very coarse leaves” to Ray Keen, Kansas State’s turfgrass and forage-grass (J. Beard, personal communication).  In 1991, Keen’s group released ‘Midlawn’ an interspecific hybrid bermudagrasses (C. dactylon X C. transvaalensis) that is highly self sterile and can only be propagated vegetatively.   The registration document for ‘Midlawn’ states that the maternal parent was “a hardy common bermudagrass collected on Michigan State University campus.”  ‘Midlawn’ is the most cold tolerant and is the latest release of the ‘Mid’ series of bermudagrasses, which is jointly administered by the agricultural experiment stations in Kansas and Oklahoma.
In his 2005 address to the Michigan Turfgrass Conference, Beard stated that the physical appearance, or phenotypic characteristics, of the bermudagrass on campus today is much different in that the plants’ internodal lengths have shortened, and the leaf textures have narrowed (J. Beard, personal communication).   Through the years he has observed its spread across the entire campus and “not just over heating tunnels, either.”   He concluded by urging that research be launched to develop this unique germplasm into a commercial cultivar that would extend the overall range of bermudagrass, most widely used warm-season turfgrass species.  In the university’s sesquicentennial year and after more than 100 years of disregard, it is time for MSU to reinitiate research and development of this treasured resource.

Research goals
A population-genetics study would be conducted during the first year of funding to achieve two short-term objectives:

• Determine the amount of genetic diversity in the MSU bermudagrass and distinguish it from other bermudagrasses.
• Seek to protect the germplasm by applying for a plant patent.

In subsequent years, research funding would be used to realize long-term achievements that generate royalties:

• Screen selections and designate one for release.
• Grow foundation stock for seed or sod to be used in national trials.
• License propagation and resale rights to a seed or sod company
• License use-rights to other breeders for varietal development.

Materials and methods
This principal investigator will employ student labor, collaborate with the Douches Lab, and solicit the assistance of the Office of Intellectual Property in Steps 1, 2, and 3, respectively, as described below:

1. Collect 48 samples from discreet bermudagrass patches on campus, note each of their locations using GPS, and grow them in the greenhouse under optimum conditions along with selected varieties of bermudagrass obtained from outside sources.
2. Extract DNA from each sample and identify appropriate molecular markers and primers to be used in effective techniques to distinguish the degree of genetic diversity that exists within the campus-based population and compared to that found in the outside varieties.  Use statistical differences in the DNA data to construct a phylogenetic tree that establishes lineage(s) for MSU bermudagrass and the outside varieties. 
3. If MSU samples are genetically similar and distinctively different when compared to the outside varieties, initiate the process for obtaining a plant patent.  Further documentation needed for the patent application is found in Crop Science articles by de los Reyes et al. (2001) and Anderson and Taliaferro (2002).  Both of these articles document samples of MSU bermudagrass as having unique physiological characteristics as they relate to cold hardiness.