Manipulation of apomixis for the improvement of tropical forage grasses

Objective

The programme aims to gain an understanding of the genetic control of apomixis in the tropical forage grasses Brachiaria and paspalum, and the manner in which it may be manipulated for the production of improved cultivars.. The project will consist of three main topic areas (i) improving breeding efficiency, (ii) selecting new varieties and (iii) manipulation of apomixis. The first topic will concentrate upon the determination of the genetic control of apomixis in these species, the breaking of apomixis by the production of new sexual forms through the development of novel tetraploids by means of cell and tissue culture procedures and the diploidisation of tetraploids by means of androgenesis. Biometrical analysis of the novel germplasm produced will be undertaken to ascertain the optimum strategy for varietal development. Area (ii) will concentrate upon the production of new cultivars using existing and the novel germplasm and will involve the agronomic assessment of potential breeding material particularly for productivity, quality and pest and disease resistance. The third topic will be concerned with obtaining knowledge of the genes controlling apomixis by means of molecular techniques. Potential genes will be isolated, cloned used as probes for determining their relationship to the apomictic trait. They will be associated with promoters and used in the transformation of temperate forages for which transformation systems are available. A transformation system for the tropical grasses will be developed. Protoplast fusion will be examined as a means of manipulating apomixis. The role of callose in megasporogenesis will be investigated as it appears to play an important role in the development of apomicts.
Training will form an important component of the programme.

Fields of science

• social sciences › economics and business › economics › production economics › productivity
• agricultural sciences › agriculture, forestry, and fisheries › agriculture › industrial crops › fodder

Programme(s)

• FP3-STD 3 - Specific research and technological development programme (EEC) in the field of the life sciences and technologies for developing countries, 1990-1994

Topic(s)

Data not available

Call for proposal

Data not available

Funding Scheme

CSC - Cost-sharing contracts

Coordinator

BBSRC Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research

Address

Aberystwyth Research Centre Plas Gogerddan
SY23 3EB Aberystwyth
United Kingdom

Participants (4)

Centre for Plant Breeding Research

Netherlands

Address

6700 AA Wageningen

Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas

Argentina

Address

2131,sargento Cabral
3400 Corrientes

Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária

Brazil

Address

Campo Grande

Institut Français de Recherche Scientifique pour le Développement en Coopération (ORSTOM)

France

Address

213 Rue Lafayette
75480 Paris