marker-assisted selection in wheat - ictsd

Chapter 22 – Marker-assisted selection: policy considerations and options for developing countries 461Strengthening existing national scientificand technical capacities and infrastructuresin molecular laboratory(ies) andcoordination with selection and breedingprogrammesThis can be achieved by:• relying on their own germplasm andsegregating populations and/or partneringwith IARCs and advanced researchinstitutes to obtain these. Using lesssophisticated and largely “manual” samplepreparation and analytical equipmenteven through to the point of sequencingsince large-scale and high-throughputgenetic analysers, accessories and otherequipment are necessary only after theinitial development and implementationof markers;• taking advantage of the many kits,biological and other materials andthe “how to do” and “what to avoid”protocols and manuals, statisticalpackages, bioinformatics freeware,software and analysis programmes.These, as well as specific markers that areavailable in the form of DNA clones foruse as probes in restriction and amplifiedfragment length polymorphism (RFLPand AFLP) analysis, PCR primers foruse as SSR (microsatellite) markers, andsequence information available in publicdatabases that can be used to synthesizeand clone specific markers are availablecommercially or for free from severalof the IARCs belonging to the CGIAR,and from advanced research institutionsand universities in developed anddeveloping countries (e.g. Brazil, Chinaand India). All of these resources helpto avoid “reinventing the wheel” and to“short-cut” the process by assisting ingetting round bottlenecks, e.g. the needto establish facilities and expertise incloning; and• taking advantage of the many opportunitiesavailable to upgrade scientific andtechnical expertise in molecular biologyitself and in linking molecular and phenotypicapproaches through species andtheme-specific networks, workshops,training courses, scientific visits, etc. (seeBox 3).Using regional centres of excellenceWhile there is no real substitute for buildingnational institutions and capabilities inMAS research, product development andtransfer, countries with very limited infrastructuresand skilled human resources canstill engage in meaningful research by usingthe state-of-the-art analytical, bioinformaticsand computing facilities located inregional centres of excellence (Box 4) andin advanced national institutes.Countries with limited capacities inphenotypic evaluation and selectionand no capacities to apply moleculartechniquesThese countries fall into the category ofType 3 NARES described by Byerlee andFischer (2001). Unless the governmentcommits itself to increasing substantially itslevel of investment in essentially all aspectsof genetic resources management in one or anumber of the different agricultural subsectorsor at least one species, but particularlyin selection and breeding programmes andin capacity-building for employing moleculartechniques, their options are:• to partner with institutes of the CGIARsystem and other advanced institutionsin developed and developing countriesand import varieties and advanced breedinglines developed by these institutesthrough MAS that contain the neededtrait(s). After testing these or their crosseswith local varieties or landraces for