Scientists at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and partners in the Netherl ands and the United States are a step closer to developing genomic approaches/tools that will expedite the conventional development of improved cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L) varieties with traits such as drought-tolerance.
An IITA-Lukas Brader Postgraduate Fellow, Eugene Agbicodo, who carried out the genetic analysis of drought-tolerance in cowpea and subsequently constructed a linkage map of the crop, identified portions on the cowpea genome where genes that have effects on drought-tolerance and resistance to bacterial blight could be located.
His findings have been hailed by breeders as a l andmark in marker-assisted selection in cowpea breeding.
Similar work has been reported by researchers at the University of California, Riverside, and researchers at the two institutions are comparing notes on the outcomes of their research to see areas of agreement and possible collaboration, according to Christian Fatokun, Cowpea Breeder, who supervised the Agbicodo’s genomic mapping work at IITA.
“If both parties are able to find areas of agreement or concurrence, such areas of the genome would be of immense benefit when marker assisted selection is to be applied in cowpea breeding. So what will normally take about 10 years to accomplish could be done in three years or even less,” he said.
With about 70 per cent of world cowpea grown in the savannah region of Africa, the protein-rich legume provides not only incomes but also improves the health of its consumers. However, cowpea faces several production constraints among which are diseases, insect pests, parasitic weeds such as Striga, and drought which is becoming increasingly important in the cowpea producing zones of sub-Saharan Africa.
Agbicodo phenotyped and genotyped a set of cowpea recombinant inbred lines generated at IITA’s Ibadan station. Phenotyping was carried out in Ibadan and Kano while the genotyping was carried out at the University of Wageningen, The Netherl ands.
Consequently, he constructed a cowpea genetic linkage map using the data obtained from genotyping and phenotyping. The linkage map showed molecular markers that defined quantitative trait loci (QTLs) with effects on drought-tolerance and resistance to bacterial blight among others.
The Lukas Brader Fellow will present his work during the 5th World Cowpea Research Conference to be held on 27 September – 1 October 2010 in Dakar, Senegal. IITA is the lead organizer of this international cowpea confab.
Fatokun described the work as a milestone as scientists seek ways to fast track cowpea improvement. He said that he feels happy that technologies to quicken plant breeding are being developed.
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For more information, please contact:
Christian Fatokun, c.fatokun@cgiar.org
Cowpea Breeder
Jeffrey T. Oliver, o.jeffrey@cgiar.org
Corporate Communications Officer (International)
Godwin Atser, g.atser@cgiar.org
Corporate Communications Officer (West Africa)
Communication Office
IITA – Headquarters
Ibadan, Nigeria
URL: www.iita.org
About IITA
Africa has complex problems that plague agriculture and people’s lives. We develop agricultural solutions with our partners to tackle hunger and poverty. Our award winning research for development (R4D) is based on focused, authoritative thinking anchored on the development needs of sub-Saharan Africa. We work with partners in Africa and beyond to reduce producer and consumer risks, enhance crop quality and productivity, and generate wealth from agriculture. IITA is an international non-profit R4D organization since 1967, governed by a Board of Trustees, and supported primarily by the CGIAR.
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