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Tag: germplasm bank

Ismahane Elouafi returns to CIMMYT—on a system-wide tour

Written by Julian Bañuelos-Uribe on . Posted in News.

As part of her fact-finding mission across CGIAR Research Centers, Ismahane Elouafi, CGIAR’s executive managing director, returned to CIMMYT headquarters in Texcoco, Mexico, where she studied as a Ph.D. student twenty years ago. Through meetings with CIMMYT staff from 21-24 December 2023, Elouafi learned how CIMMYT’s 2030 Strategy of more investment in developing food systems and climate-smart agriculture will contribute to CGIAR’s 2030 vision of a food and nutrition secure future.

“CIMMYT was pleased to host Ismahane,” said Bram Govaerts, CIMMYT director general. “Our ultimate mission is to transform agrifood systems. The only way we will reach our goal of food and nutrition security is by working globally and collaboratively across the value chain.”

Elouafi examines samples with CIMMYT researchers at the biosafety laboratory. (Photo: CIMMYT)

At CIMMYT’s museum and gene bank, Elouafi met with researchers to discuss the latest discoveries in genetic innovation, biodiversity conservation, and crop breeding. Elouafi and Kevin Pixley, director of the Dryland Crops program, visited the biosafety laboratory and glasshouses where gene editing on pearl millet and ground nut represent cutting-edge work with dryland crops. Elouafi also saw gene editing for resistance to maize lethal necrosis, which is already in field validation with Kenyan partners from the Kenya Agricultural & Livestock Research Organization (KALRO).

Global Wheat and Dryland Crops presented CIMMYT’s 2050 vision for wheat in Africa and near-term goals of advancing partnerships from phenotyping platforms to the International Wheat Improvement Network (IWIN). Seed experts from the Seed Health Unit shared progress on the productivity and nutrition findings of key cereals for healthy and balanced diets.

Elouafi also visited conservation trial plots with Jelle Van Loon, associate director of the Sustainable Agrifood Systems (SAS) program, who briefed Elouafi on cropping systems diversity related to maize, wheat, and beans, and showcased a variety of innovative farming technologies. At the trial plots, Elouafi met with Guillermo Bretón, a farmer, to talk about CIMMYT’s efforts to expand the MasAgro program into Central America aiming to address the region’s growing food insecurity contributing to migration.

(Left to right) Guillermo Bretón, Ismahane Elouafi, Bram Govaerts, and Jelle Van Loon, test a range of novel farming technologies. (Photo: CIMMYT)

The value of genetic resources as sources of novel diversity was discussed with Elouafi during a visit to field screenhouses, where she saw wide crosses work for biological nitrification inhibition (BNI) in wheat, gene bank accessions of triticale—a cross between wheat and rye—for use in searching for new sources of resistance to wheat blast, and the ex-situ clonal collection of tripsacum, a wild relative of maize.

“CIMMYT’s 2030 Strategy adopts a systems approach to food science, which I strongly support. Through the development of mechanization and post-harvest management, increased focus on seed systems and health, and most importantly, cooperation with partners to ensure that improved crop varieties are adopted by smallholders, I am confident that this approach will only strengthen CIMMYT’s historical strength of research and innovation for food and nutrition security and contribute to achieving CGIAR’s 2030 mission,” said Elouafi.

Kevin Kabunda, chief of party for the Southern Africa Accelerated Innovation Delivery Initiative (AID-I) MasAgro Africa Rapid Delivery Hub (AID-I) and Sieglinde Snapp, director of the SAS program, presented key milestones achieved in southern and eastern Africa on expanded seed systems, market access, and mechanization technologies. Snapp also highlighted important CIMMYT-led initiatives like the CGIAR Plant Health Initiative and the Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA) which have had a positive impact on smallholders in part because of partnerships with government agencies and other CGIAR Research Centers.

Elouafi and Govaerts visited the ancient city of Teotihuacán to learn about the cultural significance of maize to the history and agricultural practices of the Americas. She received a guided tour by chef Carlos Cedillo, operational director of La Gruta, a local restaurant dedicated to understanding and promoting the production and consumption of native maize varieties in the Valley of Mexico. CIMMYT has collaborated with La Gruta through capacity building initiatives by CIMMYT specialists for technicians and farmers.

Elouafi joins CIMMYT staff for a meet and greet coffee session. (Photo: CIMMYT)

Elouafi joined CIMMYT staff in a meet and greet session on 21 December, where staff expressed the strides being made by CIMMYT’s leadership team to foster a more inclusive workplace. “This moment of coming together with the staff that make CIMMYT a great place to work and who position the Center as a significant actor in agricultural development will be a highlight of my visit,” said Elouafi.

CIMMYT wheat varieties help Ethiopia’s farmers mitigate devastating rust diseases

Written by mcallejas on . Posted in Publications.

Ethiopia is the largest wheat producer in East Africa, with about 65% share of the total wheat production in sub-Saharan Africa. The area under wheat increased from about 1.5 million hectares in 2010 to 2.5 million hectares in 2023. More importantly, the productivity increased from 1.8 tons per hectare to about 3 tons per hectare in the same period, implying an increase of about 5% per annum in productivity (See Figure 1).

Several factors have contributed to this spectacular increase in productivity, including better farm practices implemented through clustering farmers land to reduce production costs, and introducing new, improved varieties which enable farmers to withstand challenges of crop diseases.

Figure 1: Wheat grain yield trends in Ethiopia by decade, 1960 to 2022 (USDA data).

A DNA finger printing study found that about 87% of the wheat area in Ethiopia comprises of varieties developed by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT). In 2023, the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR) released six new wheat varieties of CIMMYT origin aimed for the mid to highlands (> 1800 meters above sea level) and lowlands (< 1800 masl) of the country. “These newly released varieties provide options for farmers to face devastating rust diseases and at the same time obtain higher productivity,” said wheat breeder Leonardo Crespo.

Gadisa Alemu, wheat breeder based in EIAR, Kulumsa, added that the CIMMYT varieties were tested in farmers’ fields prior to release. “This allows participating farmers to have quicker access to seed of selected varieties,” he said.

Wheat breeders . The aim was to obtain additional insights into the activities of CIMMYT’s partners and co-design a strategy that allows early evaluation and access to CIMMYT germplasm by national partners in Ethiopia. The team visited research centers in Holetta (highlands), Debre Zeit and, Kulumsa (midlands), and Arsi Negele (lowlands). Kulumsa, together with the highlands of Meraro and Asasa plains, represent about 60-70% of the wheat area in Ethiopia.  “These are important sites for wheat breeding activities in Ethiopia. Given that Holetta and Debre Zeit are hot spots for diseases, there is an increased interest in the Arsi Negele region to expand wheat production under irrigated conditions,” said Bekele Abeyo, wheat breeder and CIMMYT’s Ethiopia Country Representative.

AGG Maize and Wheat Improvement Teams Meet with Partners to Develop CG-NARES Breeding Strategy

In the first fortnight of September 2023, researchers from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and National Agriculture Research and Extension System (NARES) met in Nairobi, Kenya to create high-level strategies and guiding principles for CG-NARES breeding activities. This is in alignment with the ‘Genetic Innovations’ initiative of the One CGIAR strategy. CIMMYT representation included breeding teams from the wheat, maize, and dryland crops. The meetings were organized by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and CIMMYT’s Accelerating Genetic Gains in Maize and Wheat (AGG) project team.

It was recognized that the aforesaid strategies and principles need to be based on the biology of the crops and the context of each breeding program; incorporate the logistics of the breeding operations; and implement data driven tools for decision making such as genomic selection.

Participants shared how the application of novel and innovative technologies shortens the breeding cycles, accelerates the rate of genetic gain, and provides tools to enable the evaluation of plant materials (future variety candidates) and future target environments where these varieties will be grown.

It was concluded that effective breeding networks can be a strong instrument to enable faster delivery of improved germplasm to farmers. For this to happen efficiently, the networks require a high degree of coordination, organizational structure, governance, and clarity of roles. “It is fundamental for network members to agree the objectives, vision and expected outcomes of collaborative activities. This forms the basis for co-design and co-implementation of crop improvement plans” said Kevin Pixley, Interim Director of the Global Wheat Program and Director of the Dryland Crops Program.

The meeting also served as a platform for AGG’s and dryland crop’s breeding teams to exchange ideas and experiences. For instance, the Maize team shared their experience and learnings from on-farm-testing activities. The Wheat team shared the evolution and path of breeding modernization and implementation of new technologies. The Dryland Crops team shared their experience with co-designing and co-implementing breeding networks with NARES partners in Africa.

Forging collaborative ties from south to south

Written by Andrea Carvajal on . Posted in News.

He Zhonghu presents at the Second International Wheat Congress in Beijing. (Photo: Fei Wei/CAAS)

More than 900 experts from 67 countries gathered for the Second International Wheat Congress, which took place from September 12-16 in-person in Beijing and online, to exchange ideas on how to improve the development of the wheat industry around the world, and call for increased global cooperation in the scientific and technological innovation of wheat to guarantee food security.

The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) was honored to be one of the three organizers of this major world-class event, together with the Crop Science Society of China (CSSC) and the Institute of Crop Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (ICS-CAAS).

This Congress as part of Wheat Initiative activity was established three years ago after the merger of two important conferences: the International Wheat Genetics Symposium and the International Wheat Conference. On this occasion, with Future Wheat: Resilience and Sustainability as the central theme, key issues included: use of diversity; evolution and germplasm; Triticeae genome structure and functional genomics; breeding and new technologies; crop management under climate change; biotic and abiotic resistance and physiology; and processing quality, nutrition, and human health.

In her capacity as co-host of the congress, Claudia Sadoff, CGIAR Executive Managing Director, stressed that the global partnership between China and CGIAR has been of special importance in strengthening achievements in scientific research.

“The priority is to increase grain yields, disease resistance, climate resilience, and nutritional quality through breeding modernization,” said Sadoff. “This is especially important as we are facing a food system crisis, with wheat at its heart. The global food crisis requires a system approach to stabilize wheat supply.”

Bram Govaerts, Director General of CIMMYT, reiterated this point, indicating that “meetings like this can be source of concrete proposals for consolidating enabling partnerships that will lead to the enduring transformation of wheat based agri-food systems worldwide”.

What’s next for global wheat?

Asking what’s next is a disturbing question when faced with a crop like wheat that is an important commodity for more than 35% of the world’s population, with global production exceeding 760 million tons in 2020. The same question that Alison Bentley, Director of CIMMYT’s Global Wheat Program, seeks to respond to build future resilience.

“It is important that we understand where the risks are in our global food system so that we can respond to and address the impacts,” Bentley explained, while presenting a roadmap for future wheat research and development, where food security and nutrition plays a decisive role taking in consideration the effects of climate change and population growth.

Zhonghu He, CIMMYT Distinguished Scientist and Country Representative for China, said, “Thanks to the fact that this Congress was a hybrid event, there was a large online participation of researchers, students and representatives of entities from developing countries – a fact that reiterates the importance of the work that we have been doing together and can promote even further in the face of the challenges that we face today in terms of conflict, high cost of living, climate change and COVID-19.”

More than 900 experts from 67 countries united to discuss improved collaboration in wheat research and development. (Photo: Fei Wei/CAAS)

China and CIMMYT

China and CIMMYT have worked side-by-side on wheat and maize research for the past 40 years in areas such as varietal breeding, genomics research, sustainable farming systems, and training. China is the largest wheat producer and consumer in the world, and China has always considered CIMMYT as a strategic win-win partner for wheat research.

These four decades of work are reflected in results, such as the fact that more than 26,000 accessions of wheat preserved in CIMMYT’s genebank were introduced and are stored in China. This has enabled collaborative research on this cereal to add up to 10.7 million tons of grain, worth $3.4 billion USD. It has also enabled more than 200 Chinese scientists and students working in wheat to visit CIMMYT´s global headquarters in Mexico to receive training courses and complete thesis research.

In recognition of the partnership between China and CIMMYT, six wheat varieties derived from CIMMYT germplasm received national awards in China and seven scientists were awarded the China Friendship Award, the highest recognition of international scientists for their contribution to China. In 2016, CIMMYT received the International Science and Technology Cooperation Award from China State Council.

The 3rd International Wheat Congress will be held in Australia in 2024.

Drought and heat tolerance in bread wheat landraces

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on . Posted in Publications.

Climate change is predicted to cause losses of more than 20% in agricultural production by 2050. With a growing global population, crops adapted to the effects of climate change, such as drought and heat, are necessary for the maintenance of productivity levels to meet the demand for food.

Scientists from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), in collaboration with scientists from the Universidad Autónoma Agraria Antonio Narro, set out to analyze bread wheat landrace traits against seven climactic variables: mean temperature, maximum temperature, precipitation, precipitation seasonality, heat index of mean temperature, heat index of maximum temperature, and drought index. The method used genome-environment associations (GEA) and environmental genome-wide association scans (EnvGWAS), which have traditionally been poorly applied in this type of research.

Based on a sample of 990 bread wheat landraces from the CIMMYT genebank, the study discovered proteins associated with tolerance to drought and heat. With these results, new genotypes with resistant alleles can be selected for breeding programs to produce resistant varieties adapted to extreme environments and the effects of climate change.

Read the study: Worldwide Selection Footprints for Drought and Heat in Bread Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

This work was implemented by CIMMYT as part of the Seeds of Discovery (SeeD) Initiative in collaboration with Universidad Autónoma Agraria Antonio Narro (UAAAN), made possible by the generous support of the MasAgro project funded by the Government of Mexico’s Secretariat of Agriculture and Rural Development (SADER). Any opinions, findings, conclusion, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of SADER.

Cover photo: Field hand collecting wheat in Ciudad Obregon, Mexico. (Photo: Peter Lowe/CIMMYT)

Seed Seekers, Seed Keepers, Seed Growers

Written by Mary Donovan on . Posted in In the media.

Seed banks may be another resource for securing Indigenous seed, although these banks have other missions as well. The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), maintains seed banks and programs to preserve seeds native to specific regions. The group also leads the CGIAR Research Programs on Maize and Wheat and the Excellence in Breeding Platform to characterize genetic diversity so it can be used in conventional breeding programs to develop wheat and maize varieties that can address climate change, pest and disease resistance and yield to help manage food security.

“About 100 seed banks exist worldwide with seed used for cultural or heritage purposes and for production. CIMMYT has varieties that have been cultivated, conserved and cherished as grain and food crops for thousands of years,” says Tom Payne, head of the non-profit organization’s wheat germplasm collections and International Wheat Improvement Network. “Our seed bank conserves varieties that can be a source for finding old genes that will solve new problems. We have to have that diversity to address changing production environments.”

Read more here: https://seedworld.com/seed-seekers-seed-keepers-seed-growers/

Bringing landraces back home, 50 years later

Written by Carolyn Cowan on . Posted in Videos.

 

Maize is more than a crop in Mexico. In many cases, it connects families with their past. Landraces are maize varieties that have been cultivated and subjected to selection by farmers for generations, retaining a distinct identity and lacking formal crop improvement. They provide the basis of Mexico’s maize diversity.

Back in 1966-67, researcher Ángel Kato from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) collected 93 maize landraces samples from 66 families in Mexico’s state of Morelos. These seeds were safeguarded in CIMMYT’s Germplasm Bank, which today stores 28,000 samples of maize and its wild relatives from 88 countries.

50 years later, doctoral candidate Denisse McLean-Rodriguez, from the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies in Italy, and researchers from CIMMYT started a new study to trace the conservation and abandonment of maize landraces over the years.

The study shows that landrace abandonment is common when farming passes from one generation to the next. Older farmers were attached to their landraces and continued cultivating them, even in the face of pressing reasons to change or replace them. When the younger generations take over farm management, these landraces are often abandoned. Nonetheless, young farmers still value the cultural importance of landraces.

Maize landraces can be conserved “in situ” in farmers’ fields and “ex situ” in a protected space such as a germplasm bank or community seed bank. The loss of landraces in farmers’ fields over 50 years emphasizes the importance of ex situ conservation. Traits found in landraces can be incorporated into new varieties to address some of the world’s most pressing agriculture challenges like changing climates, emerging pests and disease, and malnutrition.

This research was supported by the CGIAR Research Program on Maize (MAIZE), the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies, Wageningen University and the Global Crop Diversity Trust.

Maize ears from CIMMYT's collection, showing a wide variety of colors and shapes. CIMMYT's germplasm bank contains about 28,000 unique samples of cultivated maize and its wild relatives, teosinte and Tripsacum. These include about 26,000 samples of farmer landraces — traditional, locally-adapted varieties that are rich in diversity. The bank both conserves this diversity and makes it available as a resource for breeding. (Photo: Xochiquetzal Fonseca/CIMMYT)

The Molecular Maize Atlas encourages genetic diversity

Written by on . Posted in Features.

Maize ears from CIMMYT's collection, showing a wide variety of colors and shapes. CIMMYT's germplasm bank contains about 28,000 unique samples of cultivated maize and its wild relatives, teosinte and Tripsacum. These include about 26,000 samples of farmer landraces — traditional, locally-adapted varieties that are rich in diversity. The bank both conserves this diversity and makes it available as a resource for breeding. (Photo: Xochiquetzal Fonseca/CIMMYT)
Maize ears from CIMMYT’s collection, showing a wide variety of colors and shapes. CIMMYT’s germplasm bank contains about 28,000 unique samples of cultivated maize and its wild relatives, teosinte and Tripsacum. These include about 26,000 samples of farmer landraces — traditional, locally-adapted varieties that are rich in diversity. The bank both conserves this diversity and makes it available as a resource for breeding. (Photo: Xochiquetzal Fonseca/CIMMYT)

Imagine walking through a grocery store, doing your weekly shopping. Everything seems normal, but as you pick up a can, there’s no label. There’s nothing to tell you what the product is, and now you can’t reliably choose anything to eat this week.

Now switch gears and imagine a germplasm bank. Without the right labeling on these different varieties, it’s difficult to tell what’s new and what’s already been discovered when working on new research projects.

That’s where the Molecular Maize Atlas steps into play.

About nine years ago, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) started an initiative called the Seeds of Discovery (SeeD). This initiative facilitates easier access to and use of maize and wheat genetic resources.

SeeD achieves impact through five main components: genotyping, phenotyping, software tools, pre-breeding and capacity building.

“One of the aims of Seeds of Discovery was to best characterize germplasm,” says Sarah Hearne, a molecular geneticist and maize lead of SeeD. “At CIMMYT, our international germplasm bank holds in trust one of the largest and most diverse publicly available maize collections in the world.”

However, Hearne says this germplasm bank used to look like a grocery store without any labels or without labels that would allow someone to select a can of value. To combat this, SeeD decided to work on a labeling process for the germplasm bank: the Molecular Maize Atlas.

The Molecular Maize Atlas is an information platform that brings genotypic data resources and associated tools together. This genotypic data provides unifying information across landraces and acts as a common backbone, which other valuable information, like phenotypic data, can be added to.

Read the full article on SeedWorld.

Food historian Rachel Laudan visits CIMMYT

Written by on . Posted in News. 1 Comment on Food historian Rachel Laudan visits CIMMYT

CIMMYT genetic resources phenotyping coordinator Martha Willcox (left) reviews some of the many improved maize varieties that are shipped around the world from Mexico each year. (Photo: CIMMYT)
CIMMYT genetic resources phenotyping coordinator Martha Willcox (left) reviews some of the many improved maize varieties that are shipped around the world from Mexico each year. (Photo: CIMMYT)

On 19 November, CIMMYT hosted well-known food historian Rachel Laudan, who is currently conducting maize research and came to CIMMYT to interact with maize scientists to better understand the current state of maize in Mexico. Laudan’s website with links to her books, blog, and more may be found here. Read her recent article ‘A Plea for Culinary Modernism’ in Jacobin magazine here.

Martha Willcox (left) points out specific maize varieties being stored in the germplasm bank as author Rachel Laudan looks on. (Photo: CIMMYT)
Martha Willcox (left) points out specific maize varieties being stored in the germplasm bank as author Rachel Laudan looks on. (Photo: CIMMYT)

Watch Rachel Laudan discuss maize and the changing status of food staples globally during her visit to CIMMYT here.