Molecular Breeding Expanding in Pulses
VANCOUVER - Jan 31/13 - SNS -- Molecular breeding technology is being brought to bear on pigeon peas and will be applied to chickpeas now that researchers have sequenced its genome.
In a March, 2010 presentation to the ABCD Congress in Guadalajara, Mexico, Roberto Tuberosa, Dept. of Agroenvironmental Sciences and Technology, University of Bologna, Italy, explained, "In molecular or marker-assisted breeding (MB), DNA markers are used as a substitute for phenotypic selection and to accelerate the release of improved cultivars."
Three main approaches are used:
"Marker-assisted selection (MAS). Selection of individuals with specific alleles for traits controlled by a limited number of loci (up to 6-8)," Tuberosa said.
"Marker-assisted backcrossing (MABC). Transfer of a limited number of loci (e.g. transgene, disease resistance loci, etc.) from one genetic background to another.
"Marker-assisted recurrent selection (MARS). The identification and selection of several genomic regions (up to 20 or even more) for complex traits within a single population."
These techniques are already being used by the University of Saskatchewan to improve pea, lentil and chickpea varieties grown in Canada, including developing varieties with improved nutrient profiles.
Three Year Pigeon Pea Project
The three-year, U.S. $2 million molecular breeding project for pigeon pea is being supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) India Mission. It will be implemented by the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) headquartered in Hyderabad, India, along with the National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR), New Delhi; the University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS), Raichur, Karnataka; Acharya NG Ranga Agricultural University (ANGRAU), Hyderabad; and other partners in India and Africa.
In a press statement, the project participants said while traditional breeding has generated some hybrids to enhance yield, there is an urgent need to deploy molecular breeding approaches for improving varieties and hybrids.
Because of limited genetic diversity and non-availability of genomic tools, molecular breeding has not been used in pigeon pea breeding programs. With the decoding of the pigeon pea genome sequence by an ICRISAT-led global research team in November 2011, the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India together with ICAR and ICRISAT started to develop a road map for pigeonpea improvement using molecular breeding. That road map has led to the implementation of this USAID India Mission sanctioned project.
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