Comparative genomics to improve cereal yields in high-aluminium and low-phosphorous soils

Product Delivery Coordinator: Leon Kochian

Executive summaries:

The Comparative Genomics Challenge Initiative was officially launched in May 2010 at a workshop held Eldoret, Kenya. Current projects in this CI are:

G3007.04: Tailoring superior alleles for abiotic stress genes for deployment into breeding programmes: a case study based on association analysis of AltSB, a major aluminium tolerance gene in sorghum (PI: Jurandir Vieira Magalhaes, EMBRAPA)
G3008.04: Drought from a different perspective: Improved tolerance through Phosphorous acquisition (PI: Sigrid Heuer, IRRI)
G4008.10: Assessment of the breeding value of superior haplotypes for AltSB, a major Al tolerance gene in sorghum: linking upstream genomics to acid soil breeding in Niger and Mali (ALTFIELD) (PI: Robert Schaffert, EMBRAPA)
G4008.41: Application and validation of the major QTL phosphate uptake 1 (Pup1) (PI: Sigrid Heuer, IRRI)
G7009.07: Cloning, characterization and validation of AltSB/Al tolerance in rice (PIs: Susan McCouch/Leon Kochian, Cornell University and USDA-ARS)
G7010.03.01: Cloning, characterization and validation of PUP1/P efficiency in maize (PI: Leon Kochian, USDA-ARS/Cornell University)
G7010.03.02: Validation of ZmMATEs as genes underlying major Al tolerance QTLs in maize (PI: Claudia Guimaraes, EMBRAPA)
G7010.03.03: Establishing a molecular breeding program based on the aluminum tolerance gene, AltSB, and the P efficiency QTL, Pup-1, for increasing sorghum production in Sub-Saharan Africa -(SorghumMB) (PI: Eva Weltzien, ICRISAT - Mali)
G7010.03.04: Developing Rice with Dual Tolerance of Phosphorus Deficiency and Aluminum Toxicity: Marker-Assisted Pyramiding of Pup1 with Novel Tolerance QTLs (PI: Sigrid Heuer, IRRI)
G7010.03.05: Marker-assisted breeding for improving phosphorus-use efficiency and tolerance to aluminum toxicity in maize (PI: Samuel Gudu, Moi University/KARI, Kenya)
G7010.03.06: Improving phosphorus efficiency in sorghum by the identification and validation of sorghum homologs for Pup1, a major QTL underlying phosphorus uptake in rice (SorghumPup1) (PI: Jurandir Magalhaes, EMBRAPA)

Past events

Comparative Genomics CI Launch workshop, 14–15 May 2010, Eldoret, Kenya

Workshop materials (link to program & pdfs)