Navigation Links
Researchers complete draft genome sequence for cassava
Date:11/9/2009

he Agricultural Development initiative at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Researchers will use next-generation technologies to sample many varieties of cassava and develop a large database of markers that can be used to identify genes involved in many important traits. The team will collaborate with researchers in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania in applying these genetic markers toward identifying resistance to Cassava Brown Streak Disease. All of the information and tools the project develops will be freely available worldwide.

Traditional cassava improvement is slow and difficult. The availability of large numbers of markers will help make breeding schemes more efficient. For instance, traits that may only show up in mature plants can be identified in seedlings with a cheap DNA test. Since cassava is used for industrial starch production, and has potential as a biofuel source, there are commercial applications of these breeding tools. However, the most important applications will be those that improve the lives of those who depend upon cassava for their daily calorie intake.

"With the first cassava genome in hand, we can cheaply and quickly sequence other varieties that will give us thousands of little signposts mile markers if you like that will help us identify key genes for increasing the plant's resistance to the virus," Rounsley said.

"By 2050, 90 percent of humankind will live in developing countries where agriculture is the most important economic activity. Crops grown by small farmers are central to international food security, health, economic growth, energy needs, poverty reduction and social stability," Fauquet said. "The information contained in the cassava genome will provide tremendous opportunities to improve this important crop, bringing it into the mainstream of plant research thereby reducing the time and cost of delivering improved cultivars to farmers who need it most."

This grant is part
'/>"/>

Contact: Johnny Cruz
cruzj@email.arizona.edu
520-621-1879
University of Arizona
Source:Eurekalert

Page: 1 2 3 4

Related biology news :

1. Tags reveal white sharks have neighborhoods in the north Pacific, say Stanford researchers
2. UCLA researchers reconstitute enzyme that synthesizes cholesterol drug lovastatin
3. First draft of the pig: Researchers sequence swine genome
4. Caltech researchers show efficacy of gene therapy in mouse models of Huntingtons disease
5. UT Southwestern researchers use drug-radiation combo to eradicate lung cancer
6. Stanford researchers awarded $6.27 million to study energy efficiency and human behavior
7. LMU Munich researchers highly endowed with EU funding
8. Fighting sleep, Penn researchers reverse the cognitive impairment caused by sleep deprivation
9. UBC researchers find key microbial indicator of ocean health
10. Clemson researchers say algae key to mass extinctionss
11. Texas A&M researchers find new mechanism for circadian rhythm

Post Your Comments:
*Name:
*Comment:
*Email:
(Date:11/19/2009)... the genetic instructions inside corn, one of the ... the most complex sequences of DNA ever analyzed, ...vid Schwartz, who was one of more than 100 authors... maize genome is a true maze full of confusing re...quencers for years," says Schwartz. , Publicatio...
(Date:11/19/2009)...-FirstCall/ -- BIO-key International, Inc. (OTC Bu...afety and finger-based biometric identification so...eting held today was adjourned without any action ..., (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/2005...f the 35 million votes cast voted in favor of the ...
(Date:11/19/2009)...tified thousands of diverse genes in genetically i... may allow breeders and researchers to use this ge...reate new varieties that were not easily possible ...ience , the researchers, whose senior and first au... of haplotypes sets of closely linked gene varian...
Breaking Biology News(10 mins):Sweet corn story begins in UW-Madison lab 2Sweet corn story begins in UW-Madison lab 3BIO-key(R) Provides Update to Special Shareholder Meeting 2BIO-key(R) Provides Update to Special Shareholder Meeting 3New map of variation in maize genetics holds promise for developing new varieties 2American Heart Association Late Breaking Clinical Trial Report 3A New Blood Thinner for Angioplasty Patients Not Superior for Primary Endpoint but Di 6268 1American Heart Association Late Breaking Clinical Trial Report 3A New Blood Thinner for Angioplasty Patients Not Superior for Primary Endpoint but Di 6268 2American Heart Association Late Breaking Clinical Trial Report 3A New Blood Thinner for Angioplasty Patients Not Superior for Primary Endpoint but Di 6268 3American Heart Association Late Breaking Clinical Trial Report 3A New Blood Thinner for Angioplasty Patients Not Superior for Primary Endpoint but Di 6268 4American Heart Association Late Breaking Clinical Trial Report 3A New Blood Thinner for Angioplasty Patients Not Superior for Primary Endpoint but Di 6268 5American Heart Association Late Breaking Clinical Trial Report 3A New Blood Thinner for Angioplasty Patients Not Superior for Primary Endpoint but Di 6268 6American Heart Association Late Breaking Clinical Trial Report 3A New Blood Thinner for Angioplasty Patients Not Superior for Primary Endpoint but Di 6268 7Materials Science and Mathematics Research Honored at Nations Premier High School Science Competition 61365 1Materials Science and Mathematics Research Honored at Nations Premier High School Science Competition 61365 2Materials Science and Mathematics Research Honored at Nations Premier High School Science Competition 61365 3Materials Science and Mathematics Research Honored at Nations Premier High School Science Competition 61365 4Materials Science and Mathematics Research Honored at Nations Premier High School Science Competition 61365 5Materials Science and Mathematics Research Honored at Nations Premier High School Science Competition 61365 6In touch with molecules 14836 1In touch with molecules 14836 2
...ancer that are important to treatment can be ident... research team led by scientists at The University...Lancet Oncology online. , Researchers developed an...ntifies whether a tumor,s growth is fueled by the ...actor receptor known as HER-2 that makes a tumor v...
...thod for developing wrinkled hard skins on the sur...y controlling the direction and intensity of the i...ns on flat areas of polydimethylsiloxane, a silico...e primary ingredient in Silly Putty). The techniqu...rofluidic devices and may offer new ways to build ...
... past events like an exciting holiday or a jolly b...in keeps track of the temporal sequence in such me...fter Mary left the party? , Previous findings fro...rsity of Lübeck have confirmed the widely held vie...during sleep, and that this process relies on the ...
Other Biology News:Gene expression test reveals ER and HER-2 status of breast tumors 2Applied scientists create wrinkled 'skin' on polymers 2
(Date:11/19/2009)...rstCall/ -- NeoStem, Inc. (NYSE Amex: NBS ), anno...to its shareholders, discussing the Company,s acqu...uticals Holdings, Inc. (CHBP), an integrated bio-p...ic of China. The merger gives NeoStem a controllin...td., CHBP,s primary operating subsidiary and a pro...
(Date:11/19/2009)... Aegera Therapeutics Inc. announced today the dosi...tudy of AEG35156, a targeted antisense therapeutic...dications. ,, The study, entitled "An Open-Labe...or of Apoptosis (XIAP) Antisense AEG35156 Given in...cin in AML Following Failure of a Single Standard ...
(Date:11/19/2009)...r 19 AFFiRiS AG will focus its,Alz...at an unexpectedly early,stage of development: the...hase II clinical trial early in 2010. This decisio...n of two Phase I trials with the candidates,AD01 a...e first interim,analysis of the secondary endpoint...
(Date:11/18/2009)... postage stamp that can sniff out poisonous gases ... reported in the Sept. 13 issue of the journal Na...he University of Illinois have developed an artifi...trial chemicals (TICs) that is simple, fast and in...ensor array could be useful in detecting high expo...
Breaking Biology Technology:NeoStem Outlines to Shareholders Near-term and Long-term Business Strategies Following Acquisition of Chinese Pharmaceutical Company 2NeoStem Outlines to Shareholders Near-term and Long-term Business Strategies Following Acquisition of Chinese Pharmaceutical Company 3Aegera Therapeutics Initiates a Randomized Phase 2B Study with AEG35156 for the Treatment of Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) 2AFFiRiS AG: Interim Analysis of Clinical Phase I Data Triggered Decision to Move Alzheimer's Vaccine Candidate AD02 into Clinical Phase II Testing 2AFFiRiS AG: Interim Analysis of Clinical Phase I Data Triggered Decision to Move Alzheimer's Vaccine Candidate AD02 into Clinical Phase II Testing 3Opto-electronic nose sniffs out toxic gases 2Opto-electronic nose sniffs out toxic gases 3
... Wis. - NimbleGen Systems, a Madison-based manu...ts products sold worldwide as the result of licens...logy , a microarray consultancy service headquarte...supply agreement, the British firm will obtain DN... the molecular level, from NimbleGen for use in it...
...ombom, the retiring vice president and CIO of Mer...ago, when a physician stopped him in the hallway t...d just finished installing its existing phone syst...are your physicians not consulted in the selection...shaped a key process improvement for many informat...
...e, Wis. - Michael J. Dunn , who has served as ex...llege of Wisconsin for the past 12 years, has ann...til a successor is named. , ,Dunn, 70, will becom...,s Department of Medicine once a replacement is fo... the Medical College, said the institution will be...
Other Biology Technology:CIO Leadership Series: Peter Strombom, Meriter Hospital 2CIO Leadership Series: Peter Strombom, Meriter Hospital 3CIO Leadership Series: Peter Strombom, Meriter Hospital 4
Anti-Bunyavirus (G1) Monoclonal Antibody, Unconjugated, Clone 8C2.1 from CHEMICON
Rabbit Anti-BI-1 Polyclonal Antibody, Unconjugated from BioVision
Capped Xef-1 RNA 0.05 ml from Ambion
Human TIMP-1 ELISpot Kit from R&D Systems
Biology Products: