1. Corn Breeding Overview
Ankeny Investor Field Day
August 22, 2005
Mark Messmer, Corn Commercial Breeding Lead
Monsanto Company

2. MON Corn Breeding Keys To Success
• Structured to support
commercial strategy
– Multiple channels
Line Review Worksheet
• Automating the Breeding 08_01DKD2*2/7640:@>0003.1001.
Show selected lines only Export
Add Filter?
Lines Nursery notes
YLD % of
Check
Keep Plot Lineage
Mean
Select Pedigree Trait 1 Trait 2 Trait 3 Comments
x 08_01DKD2*2/7640:@>0003.1001. 110 14011 :@>0003.1001.4001. 7 5 22 nice
Process
08_01DKD2*2/7640:@>0102.1001. 95 X 14012 :@>0003.1001.4002. 6 6 24 better
08_01DKD2*2/7640:@>0126.1001. 85 Breeder Comments
Advance this line into PCM1 on 6 testers
x 08_01DKD2*2/7640:@>0160.1002. 120
08_01DKD2*2/7640:@>0171.1003. 101
x 08_01DKD2*2/7640:@>0175.1002. 105
08_01DKD2*2/7640:@>0179.1003. 87
Data GCA SCA Checks Check mean
Select Below and update above?
Line Data Double click entry to show Set data sheet
– Driving experimental product
Select Set Entry Tester Gen # Loc SELIN YLD MST TWT YM RTLP STLP PHT EHT CZ INT FSP DRP ERM
GCA All 39 120 120 105 97 120 220 105 100 75 75 100 114
X C7201 5 19HGZ1 F4 13 140 250 18.5 56.3 14 15 115 53 1 99 113
C8202 4 80IDM2 F4 13 103 229 19.1 56.7 12 2 116 44 3 4 100 114
X C8207 12 LH283 F4 13 113 226 19 57 12 1 118 42 5 4 100 115
C8101 26 :@>0003+ F3 7 132 241 18 56 13 6 112 51 2 99 113
numbers game Rank Data Ranks Data
Set Entry Tester Overall Loc 1 Loc 2 Loc 3 Loc 4 Loc 5 Loc 6 Loc 7 Loc 8 Loc 9 Loc 10 Loc 11 Loc 12 Loc 13 Loc 14 Loc 15
Sort by Yield Levels
Mean Yield 140 150 160 165 170 175 180 185 190 200 210 215 300
C7201 5 19HGZ1 1 45 55 66 33 20 5 4 4 3 2 2 1 2
Green - Hybrid above chk m
C8202 4 80IDM2 18 50 66 33 21 30 40 5 6 7 8 2 1 3
Red - Hybrid below chk mea
C8207 12 LH283 16 60 12 20 30 8 8 5 4 10 12 2 8 4
• Germplasm Diversity
C7201 5 19HGZ1 2 1 5 8 25 47 36 22 1 1 5 4 3 8
C8202 4 80IDM2 4 2 5 22 44 56 12 11 5 8 22 14 16 55
C8207 12 LH283 16 14 22 11 10 1 17 27 26 5 4 9 8 7
– Broad and deep
• Marker Assisted Line
Development
– An SOP Enhancing the
probability of breeding success
• Pipeline Depth
– More improved products
2

3. Corn Breeding Structure
is Designed to Support Multiple
Commercial Channels
1
0.9
Linkages and
Commercial Development
0.8
0.7
Exchange of information
0.6
Line Development
0.5
Are key to Success.
0.4
Breeding Technology
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
LINE
New BREEDING COMMERCIAL CHANNEL
DEVELOPMENT
Technology TECHNOLOGY BREEDING DEPLOYMENT
Breeding
• Marker Labs • F1 to national • Product • MON Brands
MANAGEMENT
• Statistics Characterization
testing
PRODUCT
• National Partners
• Disease and Insect • Quality grain • Channel Tech • Regional Partners
Support
programs
• Winter Nurseries • Local Partners
• Testing
• Discovery
Breeding • QA/QC
• Channel Strategy
• Channel Needs
• Comm Development
3

4. Regional Breeding Teams
Tie Breeding Functions Together
North
W. Central E. Central
South
Regional Breeding Team Objectives:
1. Focus on most elite germplasm
2. Maintain important germplasm types
3. Enhance Product diversity
4. Enhance breeder germplasm
knowledge and info exchange
5. Breeder synergy to identify and
support customer needs
4

5. Expansive breeding and
testing geography enables
effective product identification and placement
5

6. State of the Art Automated
Experimental Seed Processing
Sets the Stage for Outstanding Field Data Quality
Shelling Grading Waste Discard
Color Sorting
Finished Product
Seed Treatment
Culls and Keeps
Ready to Packet
6

7. Investment in State of the Art
Field Plot Equipment Enables Direct Mimicking
of Farmer Practices and Timing
~50% Increase in Plot Testing Capacity Over the Past Two Years
7

8. Plant Breeding:
What do we actually do?
• Plant Breeding – is the science, art, and business
of improving plants for human benefit.
• Easy Description
– Cross good germplasm by good germplasm
– Generate a series of genetically different exptl. parents
– Pick the right tester
– Select the best experimental line via extensive field
testing
• More complicated Description
delta(G)=1/C(0.25*k1*V(a)1.2/sqrt(V(P)1.2) + 0.25*k2*V(a)2.1/sqrt(V(P))2.1)
8

9. Vast germplasm
resources enable deployment
of differentiated product portfolios
12 countries and 3 companies/country = 36 major germplasm acquisitions
Asgrow
DEKALB
Int’l
Int’l
Asgrow USA
DEKALB
USA Inter-company
Crosses
Cargill Int’l
Holden’s
Agroceres
Sensako
50% of breeding pop’n are “inter-company” crosses
9

10. The Dilemma:
Germplasm Sources X Genes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Corn has many
thousands of genes,
hundreds of which
probably affect yield
Over 3 billion different
genotypes result from
just 2 forms of each of
20 genes
Yield from Parent 1 Yield from Parent 2
10

11. Marker-Assisted Recurrent
Selection (MARS) rapidly
increases the frequency of favorable genes
Breeder
1.0
F requency of F avorable G ene
Selection and
Tissue 0.9
Recombination
Sampling 0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
Data C0 C1 C2 C3
Multiple
DNA extraction Analysis
cycles Multiple cycles of MARS
increases the frequency
of favorable marker
alleles associated with
Generate Marker Fingerprint
agronomic traits
Genotyping
Lab

12. Marker Assisted Breeding:
Sorting the Germplasm and Genes…A Vastly
Enhanced Numbers Game
Mapping QTL position, size, and favorable parent
Yield from Parent 1 Yield from Parent 2
Fr eq u en cy o f :
Cycle o f A Favo r ab le Th e Best
Select io n A llele Gen o t yp e
0 0 .5 1 2 p er t r illio n
Start
1 0 .6 2 5 p er b illio n
2 0 .8 1 1 p er 5 0 0 0
3 0 .9 6 1 in 5
End
*Assumes 20 independent regions and 5% selection intensity
12

13. Breeders Build an Optimized
Genetic Model for Every Breeding
Population and use MARS to Toward the Model
Select Traits
Quality metrics
Predicted Model Response
Parental Contribution
Data
Data Decisions
Identify and Select QTLs
RUBICON: Integrate
and Analyze Field
and Marker data
13

14. Marker Characterization
Early in the Breeding Enhances
Probability of Success Late in the Process
Genotypic and phenotypic X
Year 1
selection of parents
Recombine
genes
6- to 8-year process
6- to 8-year process
Marker
Characterization 120,000+
Select best based on
ted phenotype
sis ction
As
er- t Sele
rk
Ma urren
Yield test
c
Re
Years 2-6
Select best
Yield test 10’s
Year 7 Commercial product success rate <
Commercialize
1%
14

15. Marker Assisted Breeding
Drives Increased Genetic Gain
1.8
1.6 2x Improvement
MTI value (Parent = 0)
1.4
1.2
1.0
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0.0
2002 2003 2004 All Years
Conventional Markers
MTI = Multiple Trait Index that combines multiple traits like grain yield, grain moisture, standability, and test weight.
15

16. 16
85
90
95
100
105
110
115
120
85
90
95
100
105
110
115
120
D 40
K4
D 57
K3
D C70
K 5- 1 D C 62
K 4- 6
N 50N R
A6 5 R 1
D C 44
K 4- 6
N 50
B5 1
D C 71
K 4- 0
N 50
B9 1
Denotes YG hybrid
N 50
C3 1 N 40
C5 4
N 50
C3 5
N 40
C7 2
N 50
C3 8
N 40
C5 5
N 51
C3 0
MON New 2005 Commercials
N 40EA
C5 1 Z 1
95 RM
N 50
C4 6
105 RM
N 50
B4 5
N 40
B6 1
N 50
C5 2
N 40
B7 3
N 50
C6 7
N 40
C6 3
N 50
C7 2
N 50
C7 6 N 40
C9 2
P N6 0
I 3 B8
O
P N8 2
I 3 A4
O
A full pipeline enables
P N5 5
I 3 Y4
O
P N8 2
I 3 A5
O
P N5 6
I 3 Y5
O
MON 2005 PCM4s
85
90
95
100
105
110
115
120
85
90
95
100
105
110
115
120
continued support of growth
D C14
K 5- 3
DC01
K6- 5
MON Brand Leader hybrids
R70
X4
D 57
K3
DC01
K6- 9
N 40
B6 2
R78 R G
X1R/Y
N60
C14
N 40
C8 1
N50
C81
N 50N R
B1 1 R 1
N50
C82
N 50
C2 5
N50
C88
`
N50
C89
N 50
C2 8
N50
C92
via the commercial strategy (95 - 109 RM)
Competitive Leader Hybrids
N 50
C2 9
N50
C93
100 RM
108-109 RM
N50
C97
N 51
C2 0
N51
C90
N 50
B1 1
P N4 3
I 3H1
O
P N8 6
I 3 H7
O
P N4 9
I 3M
O 4
P N4 9
I 3M
O 5
P N6 7
I 3 N0
O
P N3 4
I 3N4
O

17. 17
85
90
95
100
105
110
115
120
85
90
95
100
105
110
115
120
D C01
K 6- 5
D C3 0
K 6 -5
R70
X4
D C3 9
K 6 -7
D C01
K 6- 9
D C3 8
K 6 -7
R78 R G
X1 R /Y
D C4 0
K 6 -1
N 60
B1 4
N 60EA
B62 Z 1
N 60
B1 6
N 60
C67 N 60
C0 9
`
N 61
C2 0
N 60
C68
N 61
C2 3
N 60
C69
116-117 RM
N 61
C2 4
N 61E 1
C 6 1 ZA
N 61EA
C2 5 Z 1
110-112 RM
P N1 9
IO 3 G 8
P N4 3
I 3 H1
O
New commercial and
P N3 3
IO 3 D 1
P N4 9
I 3 M4
O
P N3 5
IO 3 B 1 P N4 9
I 3 M5
O
P N3 4
I 3 N4
O
P N3 6
IO 3 P 7
experimental products appear
85
90
95
100
105
110
115
120
DKC63-50
DKC63-79
DKC63-78
DKC64-10
NB6402NRR1
NB6504EZA1
NC6304
NC6307
MON 2005 PCM4s
Denotes YG hybrid
NC6313
NC6315
NC6403
MON Brand Leader hybrids
Competitive Leader Hybrids
NC6407
MON New 2005 Commercials
NC6505
NC6509
NC6510
ready to allow growth in later RMs (110 - 117 RM)
PION33B50
113-115 RM
PION33D31
PION33B51
PION33P67

18. Invention is the Best Way to Predict the Future
Yield
Test Weight
Total Damaged
Plants
Stay Green
(5 log(pvalue) units between marks)
Rind
Penetrometer
Protogyny
Plant Height
Moisture
Intactness
GDU pollen
shed
Ear Height
Gray Leaf Spot
Chrom
Markers
18 (10 cM between marks)