Molecular Tools for Quality Improvement in Vegetatively Propagated Crops Including Banana and Cassava

Vegetatively propagated crops, those crops whose planting materials include among others stem cuttings, vines, suckers, or tubers, rather than biological seeds arising from sexual reproduction, are critical for food security in the tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, Asia and Latin America. Increased and stable yields in these crops are required in order to meet the calorie needs of the rapidly growing populations in these regions. The challenges are particularly urgent in sub-Saharan Africa, where rapid population growth and an alarming rate of climate change are making vegetatively propagated crops even more vital for achieving food security. The production of improved varieties that are nutritionally acceptable, minimize post-harvest losses, show tolerance to such important abiotic stresses as drought and salinity, and biotic stresses such as pests and diseases, while still satisfying the diverse preferences and agro-ecologies across the tropics and sub-tropics is a daunting task. This is because starting materials in the genetic improvement of vegetatively propagated crops usually lack the uniform genetic background that greatly simplifies the genetic improvement of seed propagated crops. However, new powerful neutral tools of molecular biology that can circumvent the confounding effects of non-heritable factors while evaluating crop germplasm can, when applied in concert with induced mutations (deliberate artificial change to the genetic make up of individuals) and cell culture techniques, facilitate the improvement of these crops. This Coordinated Research Project (CRP) will make every effort to ensure that the existing molecular resources and information on the genetic make up of banana and cassava (i.e. genomics tools) are brought to bear on efforts to produce improved varieties of both crops. It will achieve this goal by the development of exhaustively characterized populations structured for the discovery of genes influencing traits of interest while building upon the experiences of the Agency in the use of induced mutations for the genetic improvement in both crops. This CRP will also facilitate access to information resources on the genetic make up of these 2 crops currently being held by advanced labs, and the development of plant populations that make genetic improvement easier and facilitate the location of the genes controlling traits of interest. The above tools will be aggressively applied to improve the efficiency of enhancing quality traits, and the equally important tolerance to biotic and abiotic stress constraints in banana and cassava in active cassava and banana breeding programs in Member States. The results of these activities will also be documented to provide a proof of concept on the use of these new methodologies and tools in concert with induced mutations to understand the biological bases of important genetic traits and their application in crop improvement.