needed to identify
and isolate the genes
underlying the desired traits.
“Knowing which genes are responsible
for yield will enable us to optimize gene
combinations through breeding, discover
even better versions as well as engineer
some genes to increase the efficiency of
those pathways leading to higher yields,”
explains Feuillet. All approaches that lead
to greater diversity in wheat cultivars are
therefore part of the wheat tool box that
Bayer CropScience is currently developing.
For this reason, experts at Bayer are col-
laborating with a variety of external part-
ners, including biotech companies such as
KeyGene in the Netherlands, the Australian
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial
Research Organisation (CSIRO) and the Na-
tional Agricultural Research and Develop-
ment Institute in Romania. The University
of Nebraska, South Dakota State University
and Texas A&M University, which have ex-
pertise in drought-resistant varieties, and
Kansas State University, a world-renowned
center for characterizing and using wild
wheat varieties, are also on board.
But the future of this golden grain cannot
be ensured purely by developing premi-
um wheat varieties. New, more effective
crop protection products are also part of
Bayer’s strategy, as is working together
closely with farmers. “Even today, pro-
ducers can achieve significantly higher
yields by making full use of every oppor-
tunity for good agricultural practice, from
crop rotation to optimum use of fertil-
izers and crop protection products,” says
Patterson. Digital technology is also in-
creasingly being used to develop tailored
regional solutions. For instance, sensors
and cameras mounted on farm ma-
chinery provide valuable data about the
soil, moisture content, plant growth and
yields. “With new varieties, effective crop
protection products and optimal manage-
ment strategies, wheat yields could again
significantly increase to meet the needs
of the growing population,” estimates
Patterson. This would effectively amount
to a revolution in wheat and make a vital
contribution to global food security.
Precision work: sterile tweezers are used to remove stamens from a wheat ear (photo left) to ensure that the plant cannot self-pollinate
and can thus be selectively cross-bred. In the greenhouse, Céline Zimmerli and Guillaume Plé (photo right, left to right) test how the devel-
oped varieties behave under different light, temperature and nutrient conditions.
International network for an
effective wheat strategy
www.research.bayer.com/
wheat
More information on this topic
Source: FAO Statistical Yearbook 2013
How wheat is used
Wheat is not just used to make bread and pasta. The cereal is also used in the
manufacture of industrial products such as biofuel and in animal feed for livestock
and companion animals.
Miscellaneous
Food
Animal feed
Industrial
applications
6 %
17 %
65 %
12 %
Bayer research 28 July 2015
9
Dangerous beauty: lung cancer,
shown here in purple, is one of the most common and dangerous forms of cancer. Novel immu-
notherapies might be able to help even those patients who have already reached an advanced stage of the disease in the future.
IMMUNOTHERAPIES: NOVEL APPROACHES IN ONCOLOGY
Unleashing the immune
response to cancer
Our bodies possess an extensive array of defense weapons for successfully fighting
disease. Now cancer researchers want to systematically enhance the capabilities of
the human immune system: scientists from Bayer HealthCare are collaborating with
international experts in oncology on novel immunotherapies that could help cancer
patients mobilize their body’s resistance forces in the fight against this disease.
10
Bayer research 28 July 2015
Photos: P
eter Ginter/Bayer AG (8), Matthias Sandmann/Bayer AG (1), Eye of Science/Agentur Focus (1), private (2)
Cover story
MEDICINE
Bayer research 28 July 2015
11
Microscopic watchmen continuously police our bloodstream,
tirelessly tracking down microorganisms that cause disease. Bac-
teria and viruses are eliminated by the immune system as quickly
as possible. Our body’s police force is equipped with various re-
ceptors for this purpose, which it uses to scan the surface of all
cells and particles it encounters, as if patting them down with
tiny hands. If immune cells detect a foreign structure, they im-
mediately sound the alarm. This molecular patrol is even capable
of identifying cancer cells – a fact that has recently revolution-
ized cancer therapy. Researchers are employing a new approach
called immunotherapy to enable our immune system to autono-
mously combat tumors. But to do so, the immune cells must first
complete rigorous training. In the lymph nodes, they learn how
to distinguish between the body’s own tissue and foreign struc-
tures. The researchers’ immunotherapy approaches essentially
equip the body’s police force with a special training unit: the
immune cells learn to very reliably detect disguised cancer cells,
and can then eliminate them. “One of the most promising areas
of immunotherapy research is the checkpoint blockade,” says Dr.
Bertolt Kreft, Head of Immunotherapy & Antibody Conjugates in
Oncology Research at Bayer HealthCare in Berlin. This approach
focuses on the interaction between cancer and immune cells.
Through various signals, the body controls for how long and how
strongly the immune system should fight tumor cells or patho-
gens. After a certain time, inhibitory signals make sure the body’s
police force does not get overenthusiastic and attack healthy
tissue. “It is this security system in the body, however, that cancer
cells manipulate,” Kreft says, “because tumors are also capable
of emitting inhibitory signals. They suppress the attack by the
body’s molecular watchmen, while remaining intact themselves.
In a sense, cancer cells engage the immune system’s emergency
brake, turning it into an idling engine that cannot shift into gear.”
The checkpoint blockade releases this brake: it reactivates the
body’s immune system, which can then successfully fight the
cancer. Doctors, researchers and patients have high hopes for
this new treatment approach. “We are all very excited to see
how the checkpoint strategy influences cancer therapy,” says
Dr. Fred Aswad, Head of the Immunoprofiling group in Biologics
Research at Bayer HealthCare in San Francisco. Advanced lung
10
years
In some patients with metastatic
malignant melanoma, the overall survival
time was increased to more than 10 years
following immunotherapy compared to
ten months previously.
Source: European Cancer Congress 2013
Cooperation partners: Giovanni Mastrogiulio and Dr. Yingzi Ge (photo left, left to right) are working on immunotherapeutic approaches at the
Bayer / German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) Joint Immunotherapy Laboratory. Bayer antibody specialist Dr. Fred Aswad (photo right), meanwhile,
analyzes cell cultures in San Francisco.
Checkpoint blockade releases the immune
system’s hand brake
MEDICINE
Cover story
12
Bayer research 28 July 2015