marker-assisted selection in wheat

Chapter 21 – Marker-assisted selection as a potential tool for genetic improvement: debating the issues 439was a scarcity of private animal breedinginitiatives in developing countries andlittle or no commercial sector. MAS, in hisopinion, would not change this situation.Nicol (19) highlighted the importance ofextension agencies in assisting uptake ofcommercially available DNA marker tests.Koudandé (68) noted that in developedcountries, most of the applied MASin breeding is undertaken by companies,and wondered which companies in Africawould be wealthy enough to support MASdevelopment and application. An additionalfactor is that MAS requires that molecularmarkers are available for particular cropsand important traits, but most of the publiclyavailable markers are for the majorcrops (Collard, 9), which are not necessarilyof primary importance in developingcountries. Some crops are also very regionspecific, such as black gram mentioned byGopalakrishna (72), and are unlikely to bethe target of research leading to developmentof MAS technologies. There seemedto be general support for a collaborativeapproach to MAS research and application,including public–private sector linkages,which would represent the best opportunityto facilitate development of, andaccess to, MAS in developing countries.Unfortunately, private sector contributionsto this e-mail conference were limited andthe discussion would have benefited frominputs by more of them.ReferencesThe author, number and title of messages referenced in the chapter – all messages areavailable at www.fao.org/biotech/logs/c10logs.htmAcikgoz, N. (66). Is MAS a little luxurious fordeveloping countries?Badr, A. (47). Tropical fruit breedingBhagwat, A. (46). Polyploid cropsBhatia, C.R. (8). Indicators of utility of MAS inplant breedingBuijs, J. (22). MAS and other ongoing researchBuijs, J. (58). Locally adapted technologyChávez, J. (33). MAS and animal breedingCollard, B. (9). Cost of MAS - the biggestbarrierCollard, B. (45). Investment makes MAS feasiblein developed countriesCorva, P. (29). Use of licensed genomictechnologyDavila, A. (81). MAS and bioinformatics fordeveloping countriesDe Koning, D-J. (13). MAS for livestock indeveloping countriesDe Koning, D-J. (16). Re: Crossing-over //false-positive markersDe Koning, D-J. (20). Re: MAS for livestock indeveloping countriesDe Lange, W. (57). Experiences with MAS so far- Netherlands, plantsDulieu, H.L. (23). Genetic conditions for MASefficiencyDulieu, H.L. (42). Re: When the marker is thegeneDulieu, H.L. (53). Re: marker assistedbackcrossingEl Ouafi, I. (77). Some of the main topics fordiscussionFairbanks, D. (60). Collaborative internationalresearch on MASFasoula, D. (84). Re: Integration of molecularmarkers with plant breedingGalvez, H. (10). MAS for tree crop improvementand transgenicsGalvez, H. (38). Re: When the marker is thegeneGanunga, R. (69). Flanking markers/ Patenting