Skip to main content

research: Genetic resources

Happy Birthday, Norman Borlaug!

Written by on . Posted in Videos.

Today, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center will celebrate what would have been Dr. Norman E. Borlaug’s 100th birthday with the Borlaug Summit on Wheat for Food Security, which brings together wheat scientists, policymakers, and donor agencies to reflect on the successes of the Green Revolution; the new challenges we are facing in terms of wheat production, environmental sustainability, and food security; and the innovations and partnerships we are going to need to meet those challenges. At the Summit, CIMMYT and Biology Fortified will debut a brand new music video produced by John Boswell of Melodysheep featuring Norman Borlaug and some of his signature phrases, fiery outlook, and passion for using science to make the world a less hungry place.

 
The music video combines archival footage of Dr. Borlaug and an inspiring soundtrack to highlight his tireless fight to bring new, useful technologies to farmers. The problems that motivated Dr. Borlaug are still relevant today, and the music video highlights these issues while showing how people can work toward solving them. Boswell, who produced the popular Symphony of Science music video series, transforms the spoken words of famous scientists into music.

The Borlaug Summit on Wheat for Food Security honors the 100th anniversary of the birth and the legacy of Dr. Norman Borlaug, a legendary CIMMYT scientist who developed high-yielding, semi-dwarf wheat that is credited with saving over 1 billion people from starvation. The Summit will look back at Borlaug’s legacy as the father of the Green Revolution, which sparked key advances in food production. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 in recognition of his contributions to world peace through an increased food supply. Borlaug’s wheat varieties were grown in Mexico, Turkey, India and Pakistan, boosting harvests in those countries, avoiding famine in South Asia and sparking widespread adoption of improved crop varieties and farming practices.

In celebration of Dr. Borlaug’s centennial, throughout the year Biology Fortified will produce content – interviews, articles, blog posts, and other interactive features – about wheat and its importance around the world. Biology Fortified will aim to educate about the history and biology of the crop, and spark discussions of critical issues in its future. They will also include videos about how wheat is used in cuisines throughout the world, with recipes that people can try at home.

View the Play Hard video on YouTube.

For more information on the Borlaug Summit on Wheat for Food Security, visit www.borlaug100.org.

CIMMYT seed heads to the frozen north

Written by on . Posted in News.

By Miriam Shindler/CIMMYT

CIMMYT’s Wellhausen-Anderson Gene Bank sent its fifth shipment of seed to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway last week for safeguarding.

Thirty-four boxes containing about 420 kilograms of seed left from CIMMYT’s El Batán headquarters on 7 February for the vault, which is deeply embedded in the frozen mountains of Svalbard. Isolated on the Norwegian Island of Spitsbergen, halfway between mainland Norway and the North Pole, the Global Seed Vault is keeping the genetic diversity of the world’s crops safe for future generations by storing duplicates of seeds from gene banks across the globe.

Tom Payne (left), Denise Costich and Miguel Ángel López help load the seed shipment from the CIMMYT Germplasm Bank, on its way to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway. Photo: Xochiquetzal Fonseca/CIMMYT
Tom Payne (left), Denise Costich and Miguel Ángel López help load the seed shipment from the CIMMYT Germplasm Bank, on its way to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway. Photo: Xochiquetzal Fonseca/CIMMYT

CIMMYT sent 1,946 accessions of maize and 5,964 of wheat accessions to add to that collection. Over the past several years, CIMMYT has sent 123,057 accessions of maize and wheat, which is essential for protecting valuable genetic diversity. CIMMYT is working with the Norwegian government and the Global Crop Diversity Trust, who manage the Global Seed Vault, to keep maize and wheat seed safe against a global catastrophe.

CIMMYT will continue to send backups of regenerated seed to Svalbard each year until its entire maize and wheat collection is represented in the vault, according to Denise Costich, head of the Maize Germplasm Bank. “Our goal is to have 100 percent of our collection backed up at Svalbard by 2021,” she said. “We continually compile a list of accessions that still need to be backed up; these are new introductions or new regenerations of accessions with low seed count or low germination.”

With more than 27,000 accessions of maize and 130,000 of wheat, CIMMYT’s gene bank is a treasure chest of genetic resources for two of the planet’s most important crops. Nonetheless, the Wellhausen-Anderson Gene Bank does not just help insure against seed loss – CIMMYT actively makes use of these collections, distributing seed, free of charge, to more than 700 partner organizations in almost every country across the globe.

In addition, through the Seeds of Discovery (SeeD) project, CIMMYT scientists are unleashing the genetic potential of thousands of landraces and improving understanding of traits utilized in current varieties. It is providing scientists and breeders worldwide with new building blocks to develop climate-smart varieties for resource-poor farmers that will safeguard valuable natural resources and provide affordable and more nutritious food to current and future generations.

Remote sensing prepares for liftoff

Written by on . Posted in News.

By Sam Storr/CIMMYT

Remote sensing experts, breeders, agronomists and policymakers discussed turning their research and experiences into tools to benefit farmers and increase food production while safeguarding the environment during CIMMYT’s workshop “Remote Sensing: Beyond Images” from 14-15 December 2013.

The "Sky Walker” advances phenotyping in Zimbabwe. Photo: J.L. Araus, University of Barcelona/CIMMYT
The “Sky Walker” advances phenotyping in Zimbabwe. Photo: J.L. Araus, University of Barcelona/CIMMYT

The event was sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), the Mexican Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food (SAGARPA) and the Sustainable Modernization of Traditional Agriculture (MasAgro) as well as the CGIAR Research Program on Maize and the Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA).

Remote sensing devices make it possible to observe the dynamics of anything from single plants up to entire landscapes and continents as they change over time by capturing radiation from across the entire electromagnetic spectrum. For example, images taken by cameras in the thermal-to-visible end of the spectrum can reveal a broad range of plant characteristics, such as biomass, water use and photosynthesis efficiency, disease spread and nutrient content. Radar or light radar (LiDAR) imaging can be used to create detailed imaging of plant physical structure from the canopy down to the roots. When mounted on an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), these sensors can rapidly survey much greater areas of land than is possible from the ground, particularly in inaccessible areas. It is hoped that such research will complement highthroughput phenotyping, opening the way for plant breeders to design larger and more efficient crop improvement experiments.

For agronomy research, remote sensing can provide new information about weather, crop performance, resource use and the improved genetic traits sought by crop breeders. It may also help global agriculture meet the challenge of achieving more with fewer resources and include more farmers in innovation. If methods can be found to share and connect this data, farmers will also benefit from greater transparency and more informed policymaking.

Opening the workshop, Thomas Lumpkin, CIMMYT director general, reminded participants of the urgency of meeting the growing demand for staple crops while overcoming crop diseases, resource scarcity and climate change-induced stresses. The advance of technologies and data processing tools allows researchers to see the potential contribution of remote sensing. “For thirty years, the remote sensing community has been on the cusp of doing something wonderful, and now we believe it can,” said Stanley Wood, senior program officer for BMGF. “What excites us is the amount of energy and enthusiasm and the knowledge that their work is important.” Several presentations showcased how remote sensing can be used to benefit smallholder farmers. For example, the Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa (DTMA) project is looking at using rainfall data to target its interventions for the greatest impact.

Bruno Gérard, director of CIMMYT’s Conservation Agriculture Program, spoke about the challenges of CIMMYT’s work in helping smallholder farmers to practice “more precise agriculture.” The spread of mobile phones and information and communications technologies (ICTs) in the developing world shows the potential for CIMMYT to bring recommendations derived from remote sensing to farmers and allows them to provide their own input. The workshop ended with a panel discussion on how to develop remote sensing services that will be adopted by intended users. Participants expect the workshop and similar activities will provide the strategic direction to drive a new generation of remote sensing applications that can bring real benefits to farmers.

For more information on the program, abstracts, participants and presentations, visit the MAIZE website.

CIMMYT strengthens ties with Mexico’s Science Council

Written by on . Posted in News.

Research center directors from throughout Mexico met to identify possible collaborations on 25 November at CIMMYT-El Batán. Visitors, all from National Council of Science and Technology (CONACYT) centers, included Lorenzo Felipe Sanchez Teyer, director general of the Yucatán Scientific Research Center A.C. (CICY); Pablo Wong-González, director general of the Center for Food Research and Development A.C. (CIAD); Mayra de la Torre, who is in charge of strategic programs for CIAD; and Martín Aluja Schuneman Hofer, director general of the Ecology Institute A.C. (INECOL).

Aluja received the 2013 National Award for Science and Arts in the technology, innovation and design category. This important award recognizes his invaluable contribution to promoting agriculture and strengthening the marketing of Mexican avocados, among other work to improve science and technology in Mexico. Congratulations Dr. Aluja! During the visit and meetings with CIMMYT researchers, attendees identified potential areas of collaboration with each CONACYT research center. They agreed on possible areas of focus, including impact modeling on long-term agricultural practices, social inclusion research, technological innovation, value chain and market research, nutritional quality and climate change.

Other CONACYT research centers participated in the first analysis and planning meeting for a national postgraduate program in plant genetic resources, held at CIMMYT on 13-14 November. The initiative is led by MasAgro- Biodiversity. Participation at the workshop included 21 national universities and research centers as well as the Northwest Center for Biological Research (CIBNOR), El Colegio de la Frontera Sur (ECOSUR) and INECOL.

Left to right: Carlos Moisés Hernández, Denise Costich, Lorenzo Felipe Sanchez Teyer, Kevin Pixley, Mayra de la Torre, Martín Aluja Schuneman Hofer, Pablo Wong-González, Natalia Palacios, Sara Hearne, Isabel Peña, Carolina Saint-Pierre, Francelino Rodrigues, Carlos Guzmán and Gilberto Salinas. Photo: Xochiquezatl Fonseca/CIMMYT
Left to right: Carlos Moisés Hernández, Denise Costich, Lorenzo Felipe Sanchez Teyer, Kevin Pixley, Mayra de la Torre, Martín Aluja Schuneman Hofer, Pablo Wong-González, Natalia Palacios, Sara Hearne, Isabel Peña, Carolina Saint-Pierre,
Francelino Rodrigues, Carlos Guzmán and Gilberto Salinas. Photo: Xochiquezatl Fonseca/CIMMYT

The CONACYT system includes 27 research institutes that focus on science and technology. Research areas and objectives include natural sciences, social sciences and the humanities, technological development and innovation and financial support for postgraduate studies. Inocencio Higuera, deputy director general of CONACYT’s public centers who visited CIMMYT in August 2013, said CONACYT is extremely important to Mexico. CIMMYT has signed academic and scientific collaboration agreements with CONACYT centers including ECOSUR, CIAD, INECOL, CICY and the Social Anthropology Research and Study Center (CIESAS). These five-year agreements establish collaboration and cooperation terms and conditions for the development and implementation of specific research projects as well as academic exchange and training.

CIMMYT recognizes the importance of exchanging scientific knowledge and strengthening research with institutes that have solid infrastructure and expertise in anthropology and social impact, biotechnology, ecological management, nanotechnology, nutrition and high-quality human resources development.

Australian delegation praises CIMMYT’s global achievements

Written by on . Posted in News.

By Miriam Shindler/CIMMYT

The Australian delegation stand with CIMMYT representatives in front of the Gene Bank. Front row left to right: Ambassador Tim George, Ms. Robyn McClelland, Sergeant-at-Arms, Dr. Thomas Lumpkin, Hon. Bronwyn Bishop, Mr. Stephen Jones MP, Hon. Philip Ruddock MP and his wife Back row left to right: Ashleigh McArthur, Australian Embassy in Mexico; Senator Deborah O’Neill; Mr. Mark Coulton MP; William Blomfield, Australian Embassy in Mexico; Dr.Marianne Bänziger , CIMMYT Deputy Director General; Mr. Damien Jones, Special Adviser to the Speaker; Dr. Kevin Pixley, Director Genetic Resources Program Director; Dr. Hans Braun, Director Global Wheat Program Director; Ricardo Curiel, MasAgro Communications Specialist. (Photo: Xochiquezatl Fonseca/CIMMYT)
The Australian delegation stand with CIMMYT representatives in front of the Gene Bank.
Front row left to right: Ambassador Tim George, Ms. Robyn McClelland, Sergeant-at-Arms, Dr. Thomas Lumpkin, Hon. Bronwyn Bishop, Mr. Stephen Jones MP, Hon. Philip Ruddock MP and his wife Back row left to right: Ashleigh McArthur, Australian Embassy in Mexico; Senator Deborah O’Neill; Mr. Mark Coulton MP; William Blomfield, Australian Embassy in Mexico; Dr.Marianne Bänziger , CIMMYT Deputy Director General; Mr. Damien Jones, Special Adviser to the Speaker; Dr. Kevin Pixley, Director Genetic Resources Program Director; Dr. Hans Braun, Director Global Wheat Program Director; Ricardo Curiel, MasAgro Communications Specialist. (Photo: Xochiquezatl Fonseca/CIMMYT)

The Honorary Bronwyn Bishop, speaker of the Australian House of Representatives, commended CIMMYT’s impressive achievements during a visit to the El Batán campus on 16 January. Bishop was accompanied by Tim George, the Australian ambassador to Mexico, as well as three other members of the House of Representatives and a member of the Senate.

In an engaging presentation, CIMMYT Director General Thomas Lumpkin captivated the delegation by showcasing CIMMYT’s history and extensive agricultural research for development activities. The delegation was also impressed by CIMMYT’s contribution to the Australian agriculture sector; 98 percent of Australian wheat is derived from CIMMYT parental lines. A 4.6 percent yield increase due to CIMMYT germplasm translates into additional annual income of up to AUD$ 250 million (US$ 219.8 million) for Australian wheat farmers.

The fruitful visit was an opportunity to strengthen the partnership between CIMMYT and Australia and to form future collaborative projects that will help both farmers in the developing world and in Australia. Australia is one of CIMMYT’s strongest partners and collaborators. Institutions such as the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) and the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) are working with CIMMYT to improve maize and wheat varieties for farmers in Australia and the developing world.

Turkey hosts global plant breeding congress

Written by on . Posted in News.

By Alexey Morgounov/CIMMYT

TurkeyMore than 650 people from 75 countries attended the International Plant Breeding Congress in Antalya, Turkey, from 11 to 14 November. The congress was organized by the Turkish Union of Plant Breeders, with help from CIMMYT and officials of the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock of Turkey.

Simultaneous translation in English, Russian and Turkish helped expand speaker diversity. The congress included four main sections: cereals, field crops, horticultural crops and genetic resources. B.M. Prasanna, director of CIMMYT’s Global Maize Program, delivered a key-note speech entitled, “Meeting the challenges of global climate change and food security through innovative maize research.”
The International Winter Wheat Improvement Program, a collaboration between CIMMYT and the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), organized a half-day session highlighting its activities and presentations from its collaborators. Alexey Morgounov, winter wheat breeder for CIMMYT, presented on climate change in winter wheat breeding sites and co-authored four additional oral presentations. In the final plenary session, it was announced that the congress will be held once every two years in Turkey. Participants appreciated the quality and organization of the event.

Collaboration to combat a common climate challenge

Written by on . Posted in News.

By Emma Quilligan/CIMMYT

More than 70 experts on maize, millet, rice, sorghum and wheat identified cross-cutting priorities and goals to address climate change, one of the most pressing issues for food security, at a recent meeting in India.
Entitled “Maintaining cereal productivity under climate change through international collaboration,” the meeting took place during 18-20 November at the National Agriculture Science Centre (NASC) Pusa Campus in New Delhi. CIMMYT organized the meeting with co-sponsorship from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF). “We learn a lot by comparing notes among crops,” said Matthew Reynolds, CIMMYT wheat physiologist and organizer of the meeting’s scientific program. “It can help provide new inspirations as well as avoid reinventing the wheel.”

indiaNorman

Following welcome speeches from Etienne Duveiller, CIMMYT Director for South Asia, as well as Saharah Moon Chapotin and Srivalli Krishnan from USAID, Tony Cavalieri from the BMGF and Swapan Kumar Datta from the Indian Centre for Agricultural Research (ICAR), a diverse panel summarized the challenges climate change poses to cereal production. Mark Rosegrant, director of the Environment and Production Technology Division at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), highlighted the numerous effects climate change is predicted to have on cereal production and prices. Maize prices are predicted to increase by more than 50 percent and the prices of other crops by 25 to 50 percent by 2050. “This is without accounting for effects of climate change,” he said. “Climate change is a threat multiplier, and significant new expenditures are required to reduce its adverse impacts.”

MReynolds

Other presentations included information on temperature thresholds in different crops, efficient phenotyping and breeding approaches and how crop modeling might facilitate the design of climate-ready crops. Leading scientists focusing on each of the five crops gave presentations on recent genetic gains and research achievements in their field, which enabled participants to see the similarities between the crops and learn about discoveries applicable to their own research. Donor representatives emphasized the importance of collaboration and cross-cutting research to improve yield gains in the face of climate change. “With all the expertise we have in this room, and with all the partners you have across the globe, I really think we can make a difference in this area,” Chapotin said. Participants split into multidisciplinary working groups to identify priorities and potential areas for cross-crop collaboration in the following areas: data management and sharing; genotyping platforms; heat and drought adaptive traits; phenotyping in a breeding context; and the minimum dataset required to define target environments.

K.C. Bansal, director of the National Bureau for Plant Genetic Resources in India, questioned whether people are making the most of plant genetic resources in the face of climate change during his session “Biodiversity Act and Germplasm Access in India.” Many participants highlighted their own difficulties in getting germplasm out of India and Bansal outlined the procedure to simplify the process. Participants agreed that more accessible, synchronous and searchable data sharing will be essential for future collaborations. Data sharing will soon become mandatory for all USAID projects, and participants emphasized the need for a common system. Collecting data requires funding. Scott Chapman, crop adaptation scientist for the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, estimated Australian programs spend several million dollars annually to collect the data from their national trials. Most participants expressed interest in establishing a working group to continue these fruitful, cross-crop interactions. A web portal to facilitate such dialogue will be established as soon as possible.

Mexico and CIMMYT shine for diplomats at El Batán

Written by Mike Listman on . Posted in News.

From left to right: Thomas Lumpkin, Elizabeth Amarillas, Ravi Singh, Jalal Kalantari, Luis A. Fourzan, Ashleigh McArthur, Malkhaz Mikeladze, Irena Valkyova and Hristo Georgiev Gudjev. Photo: Xochiquetzal Fonseca/CIMMYT
From left to right: Thomas Lumpkin, Elizabeth Amarillas, Ravi Singh, Jalal Kalantari, Luis A. Fourzan, Ashleigh McArthur, Malkhaz Mikeladze, Irena Valkyova and Hristo Georgiev Gudjev. Photo: Xochiquetzal Fonseca/CIMMYT

Mexico is pleased with the role of CIMMYT in national agricultural development and with the synergies that have arisen through the initiative MasAgro – the Sustainable Modernization of Traditional Agriculture, said Belisario Domínguez Méndez, Director General for Productivity and Technological Development of Mexico’s Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food (SAGARPA). “The government feels very proud that MasAgro is not only part of Mexico but is now sharing results with other countries,” said Domínguez, opening the 2013 Ambassadors Day event in El Batán, Mexico, on 10 October, on behalf of Mexican Secretary of Agriculture Enrique Martínez y Martínez. “The partnership with CIMMYT is a fundamental strategy for our country.”

Launched in 2010 and coordinated by SAGARPA and CIMMYT, MasAgro is helping strengthen national food security through research, capacity building and the transfer of technology for rural areas. Partners develop and promote the adoption of cuttingedge knowledge and practices among small- and intermediate-scale farmers of maize, wheat and small grains, to improve their incomes and mitigate the effects of climate change in Mexico. Ambassadors Day participants included members of the diplomatic corps in Mexico of 20 nations – including countries where CIMMYT works – as well as representatives of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture (IICA), SAGARPA, the Technical and Scientific Cooperation Division of Mexico’s Foreign Affairs Secretariat (Secretaria de Relaciones Exteriores, or SRE) and CIMMYT staff.

Photo: Xochiquetzal Fonseca/CIMMYT
Photo: Xochiquetzal Fonseca/CIMMYT

The day’s program featured discussions, lab and field tours and expert briefings on CIMMYT activities and outputs, such as maize and wheat genetic resources, wheat disease resistance breeding and bread wheat quality and maize breeding and biofortification. CIMMYT staff from the home countries of the visiting dignitaries were on hand to answer questions and offer hospitality. At a gala luncheon, the debut presentation of a new general video on CIMMYT aired to many favorable comments. In his address to the visitors, CIMMYT Director General Thomas A. Lumpkin emphasized that an expanding population, changing diets, limited natural resources, demand for bio-fuels and increasingly variable climates are all putting extraordinary pressure on the global food system. “In summary, we will have huge demand for food crops coupled with worsening conditions for crop production,” Lumpkin said. “This highlights the need for improved technology.” The Ambassador of Palestine, Munjed M.S. Saleh, was impressed by CIMMYT´s presentation and said his country is already giving several countries technical support to improve water-use efficiency. He indicated that he is arranging a visit for his Minister to Mexico, and, if confirmed, will include a visit to CIMMYT.

Photo: Xochiquetzal Fonseca/CIMMYT
Photo: Xochiquetzal Fonseca/CIMMYT

The representative of the Embassy of Venezuela, Alba Mendez, expressed interest in working with the country’s ambassador to propose collaborating with CIMMYT to strengthen agricultural research in Venezuela. She also said she is interested in a training program for farmers. Other ambassadors and representatives wrote to Isabel Peña, Head of Latin America Institutional Relations and event organizer, to say they were impressed by the professionalism and organization of the event and learned about CIMMYT’s impact worldwide. Peña thanks all support staff, scientists and directors who presented to or interacted with the visitors. She said collaboration with other countries and institutions are strengthened by events like this one.

Maize scientist Alejandro Ortega honored in Ciudad Obregón

Written by on . Posted in News.

Photo: Kevin Pixley/CIMMYT
Photo: Kevin Pixley/CIMMYT

Retired CIMMYT scientist Alejandro Ortega y Corona was honored for his 59 years of maize research at the Meeting for the Coordination of Investigation of Drought Tolerance in Maize from 5 to 6 August. Ortega received recognition for his work with CIMMYT and Mexico’s National Forestry, Agricultural, and Livestock Research Institute (INIFAP) at a special meeting of the Biodiversity Project of Mexico and CIMMYT’s Sustainable Modernization of Traditional Agriculture (MasAgro) initiative in Ciudad Obregón, Sonora State, Mexico.

Kevin Pixley, director of CIMMYT’s Genetic Resources Program, extended thanks and gratitude for the 23 years Ortega served in the organization’s maize program in the areas of entomology, physiology, breeding and pathology. Pixley read letters sent by former CIMMYT maize physiologist Greg Edmeades and Marianne Bänziger, deputy director general for research and partnerships, who worked closely with Ortega in developing drought and heat tolerant maize varieties. A Yaqui dancer statue was presented to Ortega to honor his years of hard work, dedication and leadership at CIMMYT. INIFAP’s Salvador Fernandez and Rafael Ariza congratulated Ortega for his service and dedication.

Photo: M.C. Manuel Guerrero of INIFAP Obregón
Photo: M.C. Manuel Guerrero of INIFAP Obregón

Erasmo Valenzuela Cornejo, director of INIFAP’s Northwest Regional Research Center of spoke about Ortega’s accomplishments and contributions, among them the mass rearing of insects for CIMMYT maize breeders, QPM maize and screening for heat and drought tolerance. Ortega produced the heat tolerant hybrid H431, which continues to be the number-one hybrid in commercial production for summer plantings in southern Sonora. More than 40 INIFAP scientists, including regional directors and research station superintendents, attended the meeting, as well as five CIMMYT scientists. Scientists working on drought or heat tolerance in maize from other institutions, including the University of Nuevo Leon, Antonio Narro Agrarian Autonomous University and the maize seed company Pioneer–Mexico, also attended the meeting.

Martha Willcox and Gilberto Salinas from MasAgro- Biodiversity organized the meeting to coordinate research evaluating maize accessions from both INIFAP and the CIMMYT germplasm bank, which were collected in arid areas under controlled drought trials to identify new sources of drought resistance. The expansion of infrastructure to conduct large-scale replicated trials on INIFAP stations was a main topic of discussion. Salinas gave an overview of the MasAgro Biodiversity project and Willcox explained the specific objectives for drought and heat phenotyping under the project.

Juan Manuel Hernández and Ariel Ruíz from INIFAP gave a history of the recent INIFAP maize collection, which Ortega coordinated on a national level, and the selection within that collection for semiarid races based on GPS and climatic data. Samuel Trachsel, maize physiologist, explained CIMMYT’s methods of evaluating drought tolerance as well as the infrastructure and equipment needed. Trachsel also spoke about site requirements and precipitation and temperature profiles provided by Kai Sonder to best select sites for development. Juan Burgueno and Willcox spoke on genetic variation within accessions and experimental design.

CIMMYT sets the stage for a CONACYT partnership

Written by on . Posted in News.

CIMMYT will explore potential partnership opportunities with the research centers of Mexico’s National Science and Technology Council (CONACYT), which specialize in exact and natural sciences and technological development. At least six of these centers focus on areas of interest to CIMMYT, explained Inocencio Higuera, Associate Director of CONACYT’s 27 research centers, during a visit to CIMMYT Headquarters on 30 August 2013. Of the 27 centers, the Food and Development Research Center (CIAD), the Scientific Research Institute of Yucatan (CICY), the Center for Innovative Applied Research on Competitive Technologies (CIATEC), and the Ecology Institute (INECOL) have projects on crop pathology, production and nutrition systems, and other areas of agricultural research. Higuera also pointed out MasAgro activities could contribute to Mexico’s National Food Initiative (INSAM), which seeks to increase the production and availability of basic food staples through natural resource conservation and sustainable agriculture.CONACYT2

“In principle, CONACYT and CIMMYT could work together to design a postgraduate course that would place Mexico on the cutting edge of training and research targeting the exploration and use of crop genetic resources,” said Marianne Bänziger, CIMMYT’s Deputy Director General for Research and Partnerships. “CIMMYT could also develop collaborative research projects for assessing maize grain quality and nutritional value with CONACYT centers working on enhancing grain productivity.” In this way, CIMMYT has set the stage for establishing a partnership that would allow it to pursue these and other opportunities with CONACYT

Seed Health Lab aces its annual audit

Written by on . Posted in News.

Sanidad-de-Semillas-2012Since obtaining official accreditation in 2007, CIMMYT’s Seed Health Lab (SHL) must undergo a yearly audit to detect any deviation ISO/ IEC 17025 (General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories). To fulfill this requirement, on 17-18 June 2013, the Mexican Accreditation Entity reviewed the SHL’s quality system and seed testing protocols, and also inspected its new facilities in the Bioscience Building. It applied international standards on the general requirements for testing and calibration laboratories and found zero non-conformities at the SHL.

Monica Mezzalama, SHL head, thanks all SHL staff for their patience, perseverance, and professionalism, which made it possible to achieve this excellent result. Congratulations, SHL!

Regional Statistics Course – module 2

Written by on . Posted in News.

One-week course on genetic analysis and plant breeding

Drs. Jiankang Wang and Huihui Li, Genetic Resources Program, CIMMYT

Objectives of the workshop

Through lectures, practices and discussions, you will learn:

  • Plant breeding methodology
  • Applied quantitative genetics
  • Estimation of recombination between two linked loci
  • Construction of genetic linkage maps
  • Principles of QTL mapping and statistical comparison of diff erent mapping methods
  • Identifi cation of quantitative trait genes with additive (and dominance) effects
  • Identification of quantitative trait genes with epistasis eff ects
  • QTL by environment analysis
  • Modeling of plant breeding
  • Comparison and optimization of plant breeding strategies
  • Integration of known gene information into conventional plant breeding

Who should attend?

CIMMYT’s partners who are interested in applied quantitative genetics, linkage analysis, linkage map construction, QTL mapping, simulation and optimization of breeding strategies will benefi t from this course. Participants should be familiar with basic methods in plant genetics, plant breeding and statistics.

Computers: Each participant must bring a laptop computer that can run Microsoft Windows applications. A USB memory stick will be distributed to all participants at the beginning of the course. This contains the lecture presentations, the QTL IciMapping integrated software V3.3, QU-GENE simulation tools, exercises and answers, etc.

Tentative program

Day 1: Introduction of quantitative genetics

Genetic population and population structure, additive and dominance genetic model, mating designs and estimation of genetic variance and heritability, prediction of genetic gain, correlated selection and index selection etc.

Tentative program

Day 2: Genetic linkage analysis

in biparental genetic populations, genetic interference and mapping function, linkage map construction, handling redundant markers, integration of multiple linkage maps to generate a consensus map.

Day 3: Mapping additive (and dominance) QTL

Principle of QTL mapping, conventional Interval Mapping, Inclusive Composite Interval Mapping (ICIM) of QTLs, QTL by Environmental Interactions

Day 4: Mapping epistatic QTL and segregation distortion Loci (SDL)

Two-dimensional scanning for additive by additive interactions, two-dimensional scanning for additive by additive, additive by dominance, dominance by additive, and dominance by dominance interactions, segregation distortion loci mapping, QTL mapping with chromosome segment substitution (CSS) lines, other QTL mapping methods, QTL mapping in nested association mapping (NAM) populations, and frequently asked questions in QTL mapping studies

Day 5: Modeling and simulation of plant breeding programs

Principles of breeding simulation, defi ning genetic models in QU-GENE, defi ning breeding methods in QuLine, comparing breeding methods through simulation, and use of know genes in plant breeding

Regional Statistics Course – module 1

Written by on . Posted in News.

Generation, analysis and interpretation of experimental and genetic designs applied to plant breeding

General objectives of the course

Through lectures, practicals and discussion, you will learn:

  • Basic experimental designs theory
  • Randomized complete blocks, incomplete blocks, augmented and partially-replicated designs
  • Analysis of variance, fi xed and mixed models
  • Design and analysis of multi-environment trials, including modeling genotype-by-environment interaction
  • Spatial analysis of individual and combined experiments
  • Genetic designs, selection indices and genomic breeding values (GEBVs)
  • Use of statistical software including SAS, GenStat, R, and ASReml

Primary lecturers

Dr. Mateo Vargas, Genetic Resources Program, CIMMYT;
E-mail: vargas_mateo@hotmail.com
Dr. Gregorio Alvarado, Genetic Resources Program, CIMMYT;
E-mail: G.Alvarado@cgiar.org

Program

I. Randomized complete blocks designs (RCBD) and multiple comparison procedures

Objectives:

  1. Identify the basic components of variation in a randomized complete blocks design.
  2. Analyze information generated from fi eld experiments using RCBD and interpret the results of analysis

Contents:

  1. Advantages and disadvantages, fixed effect models
  2. Generation of designs using SAS
  3. Statistical model and Analysis of Variance
  4. Example of analysis and interpretation using SAS, GENSTAT, R
  5. Multiple Comparison Tests: Least Signifi cant Diff erence(LSD), Honest Signifi cant Diff erence (Tukey), Scheffé

II. Incomplete blocks designs or lattices

Objectives:

  • Identify the basic components of variation in an incomplete blocks design (IBD), recovery of intrablock and interblock information
  • Increase the precision of experiments using covariance structures with the purpose of extract correlation sources between experimental plots
  • Analyze information generated from experiments in agree with the former designs and interpret the results

Contents:

  1. Incomplete Block Designs (BIBDs) or Lattices
  2. Advantages of Linear Mixed Models
  3. Alpha Lattice Designs: Generation using AlphaWin, DiGGer
  4. Statistical modeling with and without covariate(s)
  5. Example of analysis and interpretation using SAS, GENSTAT, R
  6. Best Linear Unbiased Estimators (BLUEs), LSD, Grand Mean and Coeffi cient of Variation using the Standard Errors of Diff erences (SED)
  7. Best Linear Unbiased Predictors (BLUPs), Heritability in Broad Sense (H2) and Genetic Correlations

III. Augmented designs and spatial analysis

Objectives:

  1. Identify the basic characteristics and evaluate the advantages of the Augmented Designs and the Spatial Analysis
  2. Analyze information generated from experiments based on Augmented Designs and Spatial Analysis, interpretation of the results

Contents:

  1. Basic concepts and properties of augmented designs
  2. Basic concepts and properties of spatial analysis
  3. Generation of augmented designs using DiGGer, GENSTAT and ASREML
  4. Analysis and Interpretation of augmented designs and spatial analysis using SAS, GENSTAT and ASREML
  5. Analysis and Interpretation of augmented designs and spatial analysis using SAS, GENSTAT and ASREML

IV. Multi Environment trials

Objectives:

  1. Increase validation space of conclusions by mean of evaluating trials among various locations, years or combinations between them and make a best selection of genotypes
  2. Estimate and interpret the genetic parameters of evaluated populations at multi-environment trials
  3. Model and interpret the Genotype by Environment interaction using diff erent strategies
  4. Introduce external information of environmental and/ or genotypic covariates for assist in the interpretation of genotype by environment interaction
  5. Analyze information generated from multienvironment trials using diff erent software and make the interpetation of analysis outputs

Contents:

  1. Combined analysis across multi trials:
    • Statistical models
    • Estimation of BLUEs and BLUPs with and without covariate(s)
    • LSD, Grand Mean and Coeffi cient of Variation using the Standard Errors of diff erences (SED)
    • Heritability in Broad Sense (H2 ) and Genetic Correlations among locations
    • Dendrogram and PCA Biplot of genetic correlations matrix among locations
  2. Demo of the META: Suite of SAS programs which performs everyone of the all before trials under diff erent conditions: Randomized Complete Blocks Designs, Incomplete Block Designs with and without covariate(s), Individual and Combined Analyses
  3. Statistical models for the interpretation of the genotype by environment interaction: AMMI, SREG, GREG, SHMM
  4. Statistical models incorporating environmental and/ or genotypic covariates
    • Partial least Squares regression (PLS)
    • Factorial regression (FR)
    • Modelling with structural equations
  5. Practical using SAS, GENSTAT, R

V. Genetic designs, selection indices and genomic breeding values (GEBVs)

A. Genetic designs

Objectives:

  1. Increase the knowledge of basic issues of genetic plant breeding using statistical software
  2. Strategies for comprehension of genetic plant breeding using genetic designs

Contents:

  1. Importance of genetic plant breeding
  2. A genetic plant breeding defi nition
  3. Challenges and needs of the plant breeders
  4. Genetic designs
  5. How to design a genetic mating scheme, commonly mating designs
    • Single-Pair mating
    • North Carolina I
    • North Carolina II
    • Line by Tester
    • Diallel designs
    • Use of statistical software for analysis of genetic designs
    • Recent advances in genetic designs

B. Phenotypic selection indices: Smith, ESIM, Kempthorne and Nordskog, RESIM

C. Genomic selection indices: Lande and Thompson, Lange and Whitaker

D. Genomic breeding values (GEBVs)

Provitamin A biofortified orange maize reaches farmers in Zambia

Written by on . Posted in News.

provitaminaA_HarvestPlusWith over 50% of Zambian children under five vitamin A deficient, Zambia faces a major public health problem. This has resulted in several government intervention programs including vitamin A supplementation and sugar fortification, efforts which will soon be complemented by the release of three orange maize hybrids with higher levels of provitamin A carotenoids (compounds converted to vitamin A when consumed) developed by CIMMYT in collaboration with the Zambia Agriculture Research Institute (ZARI) and funded by HarvestPlus.

The release, dissemination, and promotion plans of these new hybrids were discussed during 18-21 March 2013 when the HarvestPlus maize project held its 10th planning and review meeting in Lusaka, Zambia. The meeting was co-organized by CIMMYT and HarvestPlus and attended by experts from various disciplines including nutritionists, biochemists, biologists, social scientists, public health specialists, and crop development experts from Zambia and other countries in sub-Saharan Africa. CIMMYT was represented by scientists Kevin Pixley and Thanda Dhliwayo.

The first days of the meeting focused on knowledge sharing, identification of gaps in the development and dissemination of provitamin A maize, and lessons learned from the Zambian experience as the project plans to expand to other countries in the region. On 20 March participants visited a ZamSeed seed production site where one of the hybrids is being multiplied, an orange maize demonstration plot, and a provitamin A maize testing site at SeedCo Zambia. Later, they visited the Sibuyunji Agricultural Camp in the Sibuyunji District where farmers shared their thoughts on provitamin A orange maize. “We are very happy to have orange maize as an option to avert vitamin A deficiency in our children,” said a farmer growing one of the orange maize varieties. Taking advantage of the farmer-expert interactions, the day ended with a question-and-answer session between the farmers and the multidisciplinary expert team. The questions ranged from agronomy and orange maize production to its nutritional benefits.

The last day of the meeting was devoted to country presentations and the project’s expansion plans. It was also announced that after 10 years of dedicated culminating in the release of the 3 varieties in Zambia, Kevin Pixley would be unable to continue as HarvestPlus maize crop leader due to his appointment as CIMMYT Genetic Resources Director. Thanda Dhliwayo (CIMMYT) and Abebe Menkir (IITA) will co-lead the maize crop activities for HarvestPlus effective immediately.