Dar es Salaam (IITA) – The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and its partners the Agricultural Research Institute (ARI), Tanzania, and the National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO), Ug anda, have received a US$2.4 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to identify and use molecular markers for faster and more accurate breeding of cassava varieties resistant to Cassava Brown Streak Disease (CBSD).
The disease, which is caused by the Cassava Brown Streak Virus (CBSV) and results in a dry rot in the tuberous roots rendering them inedible, is one of greatest threats to food security in sub-Saharan Africa.
Cassava is an important staple food from which over 200 million people derive over 50% of their carbohydrate intake. It is a hardy crop that does well during times of drought and in poor soils. It requires little inputs such as fertilizer and the whole plant is useful from the leaves to the roots.
IITA and ARI have identified a few varieties with some level of resistance to the disease. The four-year project aims to identify the DNA markers associated with the resistance genes in these varieties and integrate marker-assisted selection into cassava breeding programs.
Marker-assisted breeding will enable the breeders to determine whether or not the desired genes of CBSD resistance have been successfully transferred from the parents to the offspring at the seedling stage using DNA testing. This will dramatically reduce the size of the working populations and the time taken to develop improved varieties.
According to Dr. Morag Ferguson, IITA Plant Molecular Geneticist and team project leader, breeding for disease-resistant cassava is the most cost-effective and sustainable way to control the devastating effects of the virus. However, conventional breeding takes 8 to 12 years to produce improved varieties.
“The use of molecular markers can reduce this time by allowing selection earlier on in the breeding cycle and by increasing the accuracy of selection. It is like using a magnet in a game of ‘find the needle in the haystack’!” she said.
“This project will enable one of the first applications of marker-assisted selection for cassava breeding by the National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) in Tanzania and Ug anda. The markers identified will also be applicable to all countries either struggling with the disease, or concerned with pre-breeding in anticipation of the spread of the virus” she added.
“Diseases like Cassava Brown Streak have devastating impacts on small farmers in the developing world who rely on staple crops for food and income,” said Lawrence Kent, a senior program officer in the Agricultural Development initiative at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “By leveraging recently discovered scientific information, this project will enable African crop breeders to create enhanced varieties of cassava that are resilient to local diseases.”
This grant is part of the foundation’s Agricultural Development Initiative, which is working with a wide range of partners in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia to provide millions of small farmers in the developing world with tools and opportunities to boost their yields, increase their incomes, and build better lives for themselves and their families. The foundation is working to strengthen the entire agricultural value chain-from seeds and soil to farm management and market access-so that progress against hunger and poverty is sustainable over the long term.
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For more information, please contact:
Dr Morag Ferguson, m.ferguson@cgiar.org
Plant Molecular Geneticist
IITA-Kenya
Catherine Njuguna, c.njuguna@cgiar.org
Corporate Communications Officer (Eastern and Southern Africa)
IITA – Regional Hub for East and Southern Africa
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Jeffrey T. Oliver, o.jeffrey@cgiar.org
Corporate Communications Officer (International)
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 founded in 1967, governed by a Board of Trustees, and supported primarily by the CGIAR.
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