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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Pour plus d'informations, veuillez contacter :
Christian Fatokun, c.fatokun@cgiar.org
Sélectionneur de niébé
Jeffrey T. Oliver, o.jeffrey@cgiar.org
Chargé de communication d'entreprise (international)
Godwin Atser, g.atser@cgiar.org
Chargé de la communication d'entreprise (Afrique de l'Ouest)
Bureau de la communication
IITA – Siège
Ibadan, Nigéria
URL : www.iita.org
À propos de l'IITA
L'Afrique est confrontée à des problèmes complexes qui minent l'agriculture et la vie des populations. Nous développons des solutions agricoles avec nos partenaires pour lutter contre la faim et la pauvreté. Nos recherches pour le développement (R4D), maintes fois récompensées, reposent sur une réflexion ciblée et autorisée, ancrée dans les besoins de développement de l'Afrique subsaharienne. Nous travaillons avec des partenaires en Afrique et au-delà pour réduire les risques pour les producteurs et les consommateurs, améliorer la qualité et la productivité des cultures, et générer de la richesse grâce à l'agriculture. L'IITA est une organisation internationale de R4D à but non lucratif créée en 1967, dirigée par un Conseil d'administration et soutenue principalement par le CGIAR.
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