
Nigerian Scientists Make Progress on Cowpea Breeding
March 31, 2010 |
Through genome mapping, scientists at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Ibadan, Nigeria, will soon be able to "facilitate progress in the conventional development of improved cowpea varieties with traits such as drought-tolerance."
Researcher Eugene Agbicodo at IITA worked on the genetic analysis of drought-tolerance in cowpea and was able to construct a linkage map of the crop and identify portions on the cowpea genome where drought tolerant and bacterial blight genes are located. Researchers are now discussing similar research outputs of the University of California, USA to see areas of agreement.
"If both parties are able to find areas of agreement or concurrence, such areas of the genome would be of immense benefit when marker assisted selection is to be applied in cowpea breeding. So what will take about 10 years to accomplish could be done in three years or even less," said Christian Fatokun, cowpea breeder, who supervised the work at IITA.
Visit http://www.afrol.com/articles/35815 for the full article.
|
Biotech Updates is a weekly newsletter of ISAAA, a not-for-profit organization. It is distributed for free to over 22,000 subscribers worldwide to inform them about the key developments in biosciences, especially in biotechnology. Your support will help us in our mission to feed the world with knowledge. You can help by donating as little as $10.
-
See more articles:
-
News from Around the World
- FAO Conference Reexamines Role of Biotechnology
- Addressing Growth and Poverty in Asia and Latin America
- CGIAR Awards of Excellence
- Nigerian Scientists Make Progress on Cowpea Breeding
- Biosafety South Africa to be Launched
- Peru Biotec Pronouncement on Defamation Case
- Manipulating Carotenoid Content of Orange Corn
- Rethink Rotations Before Switching to Organic Grains
- Genome Mapping Technique Speeds Process of Finding Specific Genes
- Submission for Novel Food, Feed and Unconfined Release of HT Soybean in Canada
- Photoperiod Sensitivity in Tropical Maize Up for a Change
- No-till Cropping Revolution Drives Widespread Change
- GM Bananas Premier in Australia
- PhilRice Promotes New Rice Varieties for Adverse Environments
- European Approach to GM is a "Zero Sense" Policy
- Plant Scientists Awarded Queen's Anniversary Prize
-
Research Highlights
- Single Gene Dramatically Boosts Yield and Sweetness in Tomato Hybrids
- Researchers Look at Reducing Yield Loss for Crops Under Stress
-
Announcements
- ISU Symposium on Biotech
- USDA Grants for Research, Extension and Education
-
Resources
- Website About Safety of GM Crops
-
Read the latest: - Biotech Updates (February 12, 2025)
- Gene Editing Supplement (February 12, 2025)
- Gene Drive Supplement (February 22, 2023)
-
Subscribe to BU: - Share
- Tweet