5. Theme Goal
• Undertake world-ranking plant biology
and crop improvement research …
• To support small holder farmers, by
expanding and diversifying the use of RTB
crops as renewable sources of …
• high-value food, feed and industrial
biomaterials (carbohydrate and fiber)
6. Science Challenges
• To stay at the cutting edge in the
successful RTB crop production for
food, feed and industrial
applications, strong linkage between basic
plant science with delivery of new tools
and genes for next-generation plant
breeding needs to by consolidated.
• To unravel novel metabolic processes in
RTB crops that enable the creation of new
market opportunities for small holder
farmers with access to added value
food, fiber and carbohydrate products
(i.e., high pVA or waxy starch).
7. Breeding
• We need to establish ………
• The current rate of yield increase by RTB
growers.
• How much of the gains are explain by plant
breeding…
• The level of research investment required to
double the genetic gain through improved:
• YIELD POTENTIAL + YIELD PROTECTION
10. Products and Product Lines 2012
YIELD POTENTIAL + YIELD PROTECTION
Complete delivery
mechanism
Technologies to
enable and exploit
limited inbreeding in
RTB breeding
Analytical
techniques and
procedures for a
Web based access
to NIRs scales
Bioinformatic tools
for functional
genomics studies
Breeding
tools
11. Products and Product Lines 2012
YIELD POTENTIAL + YIELD PROTECTION
Complete delivery
mechanism
Identification of
gene promoters for
efficient expression
of transgenes
Transfer of gene(s)
responsible for
whitefly resistance
from cassava into
other RTB crops
Trait
discovery
12. Products and Product Lines 2012
YIELD POTENTIAL + YIELD PROTECTION
Complete delivery
mechanism
Modern statistical
methodologies for
experiments and
surveys datasets
Variety
develop
13. Products and Product Lines 2013
YIELD POTENTIAL + YIELD PROTECTION
Complete delivery
mechanism
Quantify pollen
mediated gene flow
in vegetatively
propagated crops
Procedures for the
estimation of LD in
outbreeding
polyploids
Breeding
tools
14. Products and Product Lines 2013
YIELD POTENTIAL + YIELD PROTECTION
Complete delivery
mechanism
Global phenotyping
network for key
quality and root
traits (disease and
climate change)
Trait
discovery
15. Products and Product Lines 2013
YIELD POTENTIAL + YIELD PROTECTION
Complete delivery
mechanism
Common RTB Data
management
platforms
Variety
develop
16. Research strategy
Novel Starches
Sequence data mining
Functional specificity
Expression manipulation
GM
Starch enzymes & genes
(SS and GBSS)Natural genetic variation in
amylose vs. Amylopectine
properties
Chemical & physical
structure properties
Final product attributes
Novel End Uses
Breeding and selection
Novel Next uses
NGS - Genotyping
Metabolic -profiling
Genome wide association
Omics
Novel multi traits