Clair Hershey

Cassava at CIATAnnual Program Review 2011

Nairobi, Kenya 9 May 2011

Cassava at the vortex

Cassava: in a unique position to respond to some of the trends of the global economy and to the ramifications of climate change:

• Higher food prices and food security for urban poor• Income generation for poor farmers• Cost of inputs and resource use efficiency• Variable rainfall patterns and higher temperatures due to

climate change• Demands for renewable, eco-efficient energy sources

This presentation

• Supporting farmer income and human health through value-added traits

• Identifying gender-sensitive varietal traits and management

• Developing and applying the basic tools for genetic improvement

• Preparing for new challenges of biotic constraints

Supporting farmer income and human health through value-added traits

- Starch mutants- Carotenoids- Post-harvest storage

Cassava can lead the way among tropical crops to support expanding food, feed and industrial markets

Waxy (amylose-free)Combines highly desirable traits for the processed food industry, especially frozen products

Small starch granulesClear advantage for ethanol: rapid hydrolysis (starch to sugar conversion) and lesser use of enzyme for same rate

Source

Storage stability (4°C)

Freeze-thaw

stability (-18°C) Clarity Taste

Maize * * * CerealRice *** * * CerealPotato * * *** bland

Cassava *** ** ** bland

Waxy Maize *** ** ** CerealWaxy Rice *** *** * CerealWaxy Potato ** ** *** blandWaxy Cassava *** *** *** bland

• = low suitability** = moderate suitability*** = high suitability

Extracted from: Sánchez T., Dufour D., Moreno I. X., Ceballos H. (2010). Comparison of Pasting and Gel Stabilities of Waxy and Normal Starches from Potato, Maize, and Rice with Those of a Novel Waxy Cassava Starch under Thermal, Chemical, and Mechanical Stress. Journal of agricultural and food chemistry, 58, 5093–5099. http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/jf1001606

Some starch traits important for the food industry:suitability of normal and mutant sources

“Amylopectin starch has the potential to provide added value estimated at approximately €100 million per year to the European starch potato industry and associated farmers.”http://www.basf.com/group/corporate/en/innovations/innovative-solutions/amflora (2008)

What is the waxy trait worth?

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 1400.00

2.00

4.00

6.00

8.00

10.00

12.00

Time (hours)

Glu

cose

(%g/

g)

Highest rate of hydrolysis for Small Granule Cassava -- Lesser use of enzyme for same rate of hydrolysis

Waxy cassava starch

Normal cassava starch

Glucose content during simultaneous saccharification & fermentation of cassava starch for ethanol production

Enzyme: Stargen 2; Genencor

Jackapon Sunthornvarabhas, Pathama Chatakanonda, Kuakoon Piyachomkwan and Klanarong Sriroth, Bangkok (Thailand)

62nd Starch Convention 2011, 13-14 April, 2011, Detmold

Cassava-based material in medical and packing application:

Cassava-based composite fibers were fabricated for skin tissue scaffold application

Development of double mutants to generate new starch phenotypes

Waxy starch (wxwxSGSG) Small Granule WxWx sgsgX

F1 (Wxwx SGsg)

Self-pollinated or crossed

Wx -- SG--(Normal starch)

wx wx SG--(Waxy starch)

Wx -- sgsg(Small granule)

wx wx sg sg(Double mutant)

784 S1 and 188 “F2”, transplanted at the end of 2010, will be harvested and tested by the end of 2011

Progress in breeding for total carotenoids content (A nutritional goal of 15 µg/g established in 2005)

TCC

(µg/

g)

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Minimum

Average

Maximum

Year

y = 2.346x + 8.6995R2 = 0.7763

y = 2.4242x - 1.7686R2 = 0.6247

-20

-10

0

10

20

30

40

50

2 6 10 14 18

All trans β-carotene

Sele

ction

inde

x

Rapid screening: use of a colorimeter for quantifying β-carotene

First evaluation of post-harvest physiological deterioration in Thailand (April 2011)

1. Training on the procedure

2. Introduction of potential sources of tolerance

Most women in Africa are involved in weeding cassava fields (typically for the first two months of the crop).

Tolerance to herbicides could have a positive impact on the lives of these women. We are focusing on this trait by screening for naturally occurring mutants.

Gender-sensitive traits

Women in Africa and LAC are involved in peeling cassava for small processing facilities (i.e. gari,farinha, etc.)

Thick peel facilitates peeling, but is undesirable for starch extraction.

The article “Genetic variability of root peel thickness and its influence in extractable starch from cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) roots” to be published in Plant Breeding address this issue.

Gender-sensitive traits

Developing and applying the basic tools for genetic improvement

A M 3 2 0

TAI8 BW BY 3 7 8 10 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 25 26 27 29 30 31 33 35 36 37 38 39 41 42 43 44 45 47 48 49 51

C o l o r 4 2 8 4 8 5 4 2 2 2 8 5 8 2 5 2 4 5 1 1 2 8 4 8 8 4 8 1 5 2 4 4 1 8 3 3 3 4 3 8

Inbreeding in cassava through the production of double haploids: 2010-2013

supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Project partners: CIAT Colombia Anther & Microspore technology; Crosses with wild Cassava relatives H. Ceballos, B. Dedicova, P. Perera

ICESI, Colombia Ovule technology Z. Lentini , A. Gonzales

SChIB, China ( South China Institute of Botany, the Chinese Academy of Science),

Microspore technology Ch. Wang

ISBS, China (Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of

Sciences),China Microspore technology Z. Peng

NaCRI, Uganda (National Crops Resources Research Institute),

Anther.& Microspore& Ovule technology Y. Baguma, M. Namutebi

IITA,Nigeria (International Institute of Tropical Agriculture)

Crosses with wild Cassava relatives Peter Kulakow

Anther culture

• Tested factors for embryogenesis induction of the microspores in the anthers– Stress pretreatment – Basal medium– Pollen developmental

stage• Successfully induced

microspore embryogenesis

• Plant regeneration is in progress

Microspore Culture • Tested factors for embryogenesis

induction of the microspores– Stress pretreatment – Pollen developmental stage

– Based on the size of the flower

– Based on the size of the microspore/pollen

• Successfully induced microspore embryogenesis

• Cytological observations proved the origin of the callus is from the microspore/pollen grain

Induced tetrads and micro callus formation

Induced pollen grains and micro callus formation

Growth of pollen tube in female flowers (a-b); one hour after pollination (c-d) and three hours after pollination (e-f)

New research on reproductive biology

Natalia Ramos (Ph.D. student, wide crosses)

Training

Segregation for root color in an advanced breeding family

17 μg

0 μg

Genetics and Genomics

Genetics and GenomicsMAS for carotenoids

IPP

Geranylgeranyl diphosphate

Phytoene

Lycopene

-carotene(vitamin A precursor)

Phytoene synthase

Phytoene desaturase

Lycopene-beta-cyclase

ξ-carotene desaturase

-Carotene Pathway in Plants

Genetics and GenomicsMAS for whitefly resistance

White paper on cassava information resources in collaboration with IITA and DOW. Draft circulated to the community in early April

Analysis of Sanger + 454 sequences from CIAT-RIKEN biotic stress full length cDNA libraries

6100

3-1-

002

6100

3-1-

003c

6100

3-1-

004

6100

3-1-

005

6100

3-1-

006

6100

3-1-

007

6100

3-1-

008

6100

3-1-

009

6100

3-1-

010

6100

3-1-

011

6100

3-1-

012

6100

3-1-

014

6100

3-1-

016c

6100

3-1-

017

6100

3-1-

018

BNL3989 H B H H H B H X H H H B H H HBNL1160 A B H H H B B H A H H H H A HBNL3895a A C A C C C A A A A C C A A CBNL3895b B D B B D B B B B B D D B B DBNL3806 B H X B X X X B X X B H B X BBNL0834a H H A X B H H H H H A A B A HBNL0834b D D D X B D D D D D D D D D BBNL0252 B A A H H A B B A A H H H B BBNL3811 H H H A B A H H A B A A B A ABNL0358 H H B H A H H H H H H B A H B

Previously developed genetic maps

Cassava informatics

CIAT Cassava Informatics Sequences cleaned, assembled and annotated To do: integration of 454 and Sanger

sequences into single assembly, alignment to reference genome Cassava4, annotation updates

Illumina sequencing of AM560-2 (with Yale) to improve reference assembly. Awaiting sequence from Yale's sequencing center

Phenotyping

Genotyping

There is a rapidly growing gap between our capacity to genotype and our capacity to phenotype

Preparing for new challengesof biotic constraints

Pest Major Species America Africa AsiaMites

Mealybugs

Whiteflies

HornwormsLacebugs

Borrower bugsStemborers

Thrips

Scales Frutflies

Shootflies

GallmidgesWhite grubs

Termites

Leaf cutter ants

Root mealybugs

Grasshoppers

Mononychellus tanajoaTetranychus urticaePhenacoccus manihotiPhenacoccus herreniAleurotrachelus socialisAleurothrixus aepimBemisia tabaciErinnyis elloVatiga illudensV. manihotaeCyrtomenus bergiChilomima clarkeiCoelosternus spp.Frankliniella williamsiScirtothrips manihotiAonidomytilus ubusAnastrepha pickeliA. manihotiNeosilba pereziSilba pendulaJatrophobia (Eudiplosis)

brasiliensisLeucopholis roridaPhyllophaga spp.Coptotermes spp.Heterotermes tenuisAtta spp.Acromymex spp.Pseudococcus mandioStictococcus vayssierreiZonocerus elegantsZ. Variegatus

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- Larger plantations, monocropping, genetic uniformity (e.g. Brazil)

- Increased area planted, continuum of cassava farms

- Changing management practices to meet industrial needs: constant source of roots needed for cost-efficient processing (e.g. overlapping planting dates)

-- Increased chemical pesticide use/misuse

Effects on cassava pest occurrence and severity

MANAGEMENT FACTORS

- Climate changes: rainfall patterns and cycles, warmer temperatures, affect on planting patterns

Effects on cassava pest occurrence and severity

CLIMATE CHANGE

Climate change models suggest that the greatest impact on cassava will be from biotic constraints, and much less from

abiotic (drought; higher temperatures)

Potential distribution of B. tabaci,based on known distribution of Biotype A.

Source: Herrera et al. (in press)

Potential distribution of Cassava Mosaic Disease

Source: Herrera et al. (in press)

Potential distribution of Cassava Green Mite

Source: Herrera et al. (in press)

• Source: Herrera et al. (in press)

• Source: Herrera et al. (in press)

Source: CIAT

CIAT Roles1. RISK ASSESSMENT: Lead a global assessment of

threats from cassava pests2. MONITORING: Establish comprehensive monitoring

with national/international partners3. MANAGEMENT: Establish or strengthen core

capacities to meet global pest management needs4. CAPACITY BUILDING: Work with partners for

sustainable capacity to respond to pest challenges

Expected Impacts of CIAT Research(CIAT Business Plan)

• Increased income from marketing varieties with higher value

• Improved health due to increased macro and micro nutrient components in new varieties

• Reduced health and environmental risk from pesticide use

• Profitability and reduced risk of climate-related shocks

• Reduction in adverse environmental impacts from processing

How do we get there?

• Initiation of the Root, Tuber and Banana CGIAR Research Program (RTB-CRP) and rationalized research agenda– Strengthened ties with IITA– A comprehensive priority-setting exercise up front

• Aggressively exploit the opportunities to promote cassava’s comparative advantages to donors as a multi-purpose, pro-poor, climate change-resilient crop

• Build headquarters and Asia capacity to, and beyond, minimum critical level

• Build capacity of partners through training and policy advocacy

Thank you