marker-assisted selection in wheat - ictsd

Chapter 19 – Technical, economic and policy considerations on marker-assisted selection in crops 401countries, the technology can be used ata relatively low operational cost. At leastfor major crops such as rice, maize, wheatand soybean, significant numbers of linkedmarkers have been identified for genes ofinterest, and ongoing selection programmeshave found them to be useful for makingrapid genetic gains. Incorporating thesetools into active breeding strategies willallow more rapid and efficient improvementof varieties for target traits.As national programmes in developingcountries vary in their capacities to absorbbiotechnology tools, priority-setting andidentification of MAS strategies should bedone on a case-by-case basis, ideally supportedby strong breeding programmes.Individual national programmes will haveto be selective in their choice of technologiesand markers to ensure that the level ofinvestment is appropriate to justify the costsand produce the most rapid returns. Thismeans that, while fully functioning biotechnologylaboratories may not be feasible inall countries, initiating MAS is an importantfirst step towards using modern biotechnologyapproaches in plant improvement.As the success of biotechnology applicationsdepends on the existence of strongcrop improvement programmes, policymakersand international developmentagencies must ensure that the limited fundsallocated to traditional agricultural researchare not curtailed to support biotechnologyactivities. International aid agencies andagricultural research institutes should playa role in building research capacity withinnational programmes, encouraging public–private sector partnerships, and promotingtechnology transfer.ReferencesAyala, L., Henry, M., Gonzalez-de-Leon, D., van Ginkel, M., Mujeeb-Kazi, A., Keller, B. &Khairallah, M. 2001. A diagnostic molecular marker allowing study of Th. Intermedium derivedresistance to BYDV in bread wheat segregating populations. Theor. Appl. Genet. 102: 942–949.Bouchez, A., Hospital, F., Causse, M., Gallais, A. & Charcosset, A. 2002. Marker assisted introgressionof a favorable alleles at quantitative trait loci between maize elite lines. Genetics 162:1945–1959.Brennan, J.P. 1989. An analysis of economic potential of some innovations in a wheat breeding programme.Austr. J. Agric. Econ. 33 (1): 48–55.Byerlee, D. & Traxler, G. 2001. The role of technology spillovers and economies of size in theefficient design of agricultural research systems. In P. Pardey & M. Taylor, eds. Agricultural sciencepolicy: changing global agendas, pp. 161–186. Baltimore, MD, USA, The Johns HopkinsUniversity Press.Brown, S.M. & Kresovich, S. 1996. Molecular characterization for plant genetic resource conservation.In A.H. Paterson, ed. Genome mapping in plants, pp. 85–93. Austin, TX, USA, R.G. Landers Co.Castro, A.J., Chen, X., Corey, A., Filichkina, T., Hayes, P., Mundt, C., Richardson, K., Sandoval-Islas, S. & Vivar, H. 2003. Pyramiding and validation of quantitative trait loci (QTL) allelesdetermining resistance to barley stripe rust: effects on adult plant resistance. Crop Sci. 43:2234–2239.Chavarriaga-Aquirre, P., Maya, M.M., Tohme, J., Duque, M.C., Iglesias, C., Bonierbale, M.W.,Kresovich, S. & Kochert, G. 1999. Using microsatellites, isozymes and AFLPs to evaluate geneticdiversity and redundency in the cassava core collection and to assess the usefulness of DNA basedmarkers to maintain germplasm collections. Mol. Breeding 5: 263–273.