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Characterisation of drought tolerance in Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) The majority of Kenya’s population depends on agriculture for their economic livelihood. More than one third of these people live in arid and semi-arid areas that are prone to frequent droughts. These lands have agricultural potential if adequate irrigation systems and drought-tolerant crops are available. Cassava is the fifth important staple crop after maize, rice, wheat and potato, providing food for over 800 million people in the tropics and sub-tropics. Cassava yields more than most staple crops – not only under optimal conditions but also under prolonged drought conditions. This research aims at characterising drought tolerance in cassava at the phenotypic, physiological and molecular level. In addition, it aims at developing molecular markers for drought tolerance trait introgression in cultivars preferred by farmers. We will evaluate cassava phenotypic and physiological response to drought under field and greenhouse conditions. Molecular analysis of drought tolerance involves (i) the identification of differentially expressed genes (literature) and sequences blasted onto the cassava genome in order to confirm orthologs, and (ii) the use of OMICS tools 1 to characterise the cassava transcriptome and proteome modulation. While a multi-site and multi-seasonal drought trial experiment has been set up in Kenya, a similar experiment under greenhouse conditions has been set up at the ETH Zurich. A number of contrasting cassava cultivars are being screened for drought tolerance. We will determine leaf retention, photosynthetic rates, stomatal conductance, water use efficiency, total biomass and storage root yield. Furthermore, molecular characterisation is to be carried out on selected drought-tolerant cassava genotypes. Currently, we are compiling a list of potential drought-tolerant candidate genes from the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, and from other crops. In addition, we are developing primers in order to characterise transcript modulation upon drought via qRT-PCR (quantitative Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction). In 2009, the project has been initiated with field establishment in Kenya and greenhouse experiments in Switzerland. Data collection is still in its initial phase. 1 “OMICS tools” refers to genomics, proteomics and metabolomics 80 Capacity development Research fellowships Research fellow Charles Orek, ETH Zurich, Switzerland Supervisors Wilhelm Gruissem and Herve Vanderschuren, ETH Zurich, Switzerland; Morag Ferguson, IITA, Nairobi, Kenya Collaborator Joseph Kamau, KARI, Nairobi, Kenya Duration October 2009 – October 2012 Establishment of contrasting cassava genotypes for drought tolerance screening under controlled greenhouse conditions, Switzerland
Whole genome profiling of Theileria parva isolates East Coast Fever (ECF) is a fatal bovine lympho-proliferative disease endemic in sub-Saharan Africa. Twenty-eight million cattle are at risk of contracting the disease. It results in the death of at least one million cattle, causing economic losses of about 200 million dollars annually. In sub-Saharan Africa, the disease is primarily controlled by the use of chemical acaricides. However, this is becoming unsustainable due to high costs, increasing risks of emergence of acaricide-resistant tick strains, and the retention of toxic residues of the chemicals in meat, milk and the environment. The infection and treatment method (ITM) of immunisation is a medium-term sustainable method increasingly being adopted by farmers in East, Central and Southern Africa. It involves inoculation of cattle with a near-lethal dose of live sporozoites of Theileria parva – the causative agent of ECF – along with a high dose of oxytetracycline to control the infection. One mixture of T. parva stocks that is increasingly used by local farmers is the Muguga cocktail. It comprises three stocks of T. parva: Muguga, Kiambu 5 and Serengeti-transformed. In this project, we will sequence the whole genomes of eight strains of T. parva, including the components of the Muguga cocktail and two buffaloderived strains, using the high throughput 454 sequencing technology. So far, the focus of the project has been on sequencing material preparation. Genomic DNA of T. parva Uganda, Marikebuni and Uganda/Muguga recombinant have been derived successfully and are being sequenced. Samples for the T. parva Kiambu-5 isolate are being prepared at ILRI. The genome of the Serengeti-transformed isolate has recently been sequenced by the 454 method using a combination of paired-end and shotgun libraries. It has been assembled into 32 contigs using the published T. parva Muguga genome as a template. Annotation against T. parva Muguga genome using sequence comparison methods such as BLAST algorithms 1 is underway. After sequencing Kiambu-5, we will compare the three vaccine components in order to gain insight into the genes that might contribute towards the efficiency of the ITM. From the sequences we will identify (i) highly conserved and rapidly evolving genes, (ii) genes under positive selection that would relate to host-parasite interactions, and (iii) SNPs for micro-epidemiological studies. The genome sequences of the other parasite isolates will enable us to study evolutionary forces driving parasite diversity also on the level of sexual recombination. 1 Basic Local Alignment Search Tool algorithms Research fellow Sonal Patel, ILRI, Kenya 81 Supervisors Claudia Daubenberger, STI, Switzerland; Richard Bishop, ILRI, Kenya Collaborators Weihong Qi, University of Zurich, Switzerland; Etienne de Villiers, ILRI, Kenya Duration August 2009 – July 2012 Capacity development Research fellowships The infection and treatment method vaccine being administered to a pastoralist‘s calf
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NORTH-SOUTH CENTRE Research for Dev
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Editorial The year 2009 marked a mi
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Table of contents Profile . . . . .
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Moving in a dynamic environment Bey
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caused by bacteria in East African
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topics, which cut across the four t
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In the area of Networking and commu
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The core of the North-South Centre
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The North-South Centre at a glance
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The North-South Centre at a glance
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FOCUS: Research for development Wha
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e direct in the sense that you have
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Bassirou Bonfoh: I agree with you.
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means sacrificing certain career pe
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makers. R4D allows for explaining t
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Page 33 and 34: The success story In some quarters,
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Page 37 and 38: Livestock systems research in suppo
Page 39 and 40: New policy mechanisms to mitigate w
Page 41 and 42: Reversing soil degradation by tropi
Page 43 and 44: Improving small ruminant productivi
Page 45 and 46: Zinc fluxes from the soil into the
Page 47 and 48: The partnership between UNEP and th
Page 49 and 50: top-down approach using globally av
Page 51 and 52: Urban Laboratory - Addis Ababa Acto
Page 53 and 54: Assessing sustainable urban develop
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Page 69 and 70: Understanding yam (Dioscorea spp.)
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Page 119 and 120: Publications Refereed publications
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Financial statements Administrative
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Impressum Publisher North-South Cen
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