Biotech Updates

“Community of Practices” Concept for Rice Production in the Mekong Region

June 15, 2007

The Rice Gene Discovery Unit, a specialized lab jointly set up by BIOTEC and Kasetsart University, has launched the project “Community of Practices” Concept (CoP) applied to Rice Production in the Mekong Region. This project aims to promote the implementation of marker aided selection (MAS) into the current rice breeding program in the Mekong region, particularly Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar through comprehensive hands-on training program and sharing of genomic information.

Six researchers from Cambodia (Cambodian Agricultural Research and Development Institute, CARDI), Laos (National Agricultural and Forestry Institute, NAFRI) and Myanmar (Department of Agricultural Research, DAR), as well as two Thai researchers from Ubon Ratchathani University, will perform the MAS breeding on their own rice varieties in Thailand for 2 weeks. Emphasis will be on drought, salinity and grain quality improvement. The project, funded by Generation Challenge Programme, was designed to address the limitation of short-term workshops as well as the limitation of research facilities in these countries.

Read more at:
http://www.biotec.or.th/biotechnology-en/newsdetail.asp?id=2508