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Strategic Initiative 8: Seeds of discovery
Genesis and justification
Accelerated developments in genomics, bioinformatics and phenotyping enable scientists, for the first
time in history, to begin to unlock the black box of native genetic diversity of major crops. Holding in
trust the most important germplasm bank for tropical maize, MAIZE tackles this challenge in
collaboration with the most advanced public and private sector institutes.
Outcomes
Enable researchers to mobilize the full potential of maize biodiversity in breeding programs worldwide.
This will help speed breeding gains and enable the world community to counteract the accumulating
effects of climate change and scarcities of water, land and nutrients.
Methods
Apply next generation sequencing technologies and state‐of‐the‐art precision phenotyping to the
most relevant cross‐section of native maize genetic diversity.
Develop Web‐based user‐friendly platforms.
Promote the flow of useful diversity into research and breeding programs worldwide via access to
seeds of well‐characterized accessions.
Capture into elite backgrounds both large‐effect QTL alleles via marker‐assisted introgression and
small‐effect alleles via rapid‐cycle genomic selection.
Outstanding innovations
First attempt to comprehensively characterize the global heritage of maize genetic resources to
promote flow of useful diversity into research and breeding programs.
A world‐first breeder‐ and researcher‐friendly “catalog” for the CIMMYT‐ and IITA‐held maize seed
“libraries”, transforming them from black box germplasm banks to accessible trait, gene and marker
libraries.
Strategic Initiative 9: New tools and methods for NARSs and SMEs
Genesis and justification
New breeding tools, notably high‐density genotyping, doubled haploids and improved informatics, are
rapidly increasing rates of genetic gain in the breeding programs of multinational seed companies.
Responding to the demand from NARSs and local seed companies, this Initiative will provide them with
access to these tools to accelerate breeding progress targeted at poorer farmers. Collaborations with
the multinationals and ARIs have already been developed to enable this Initiative, with CIMMYT and IITA
acting as “honest brokers” that respect intellectual property and trade secrets while developing and
making prioritized non‐proprietary know‐how and tools widely available. This Initiative aligns and often
pioneers approaches that are then scaled up by the Genomics and Integrated Breeding Service (GIBS),
for use by other cross‐pollinated and hybrid crops with lesser importance and hence lesser investment.
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