marker-assisted selection in wheat

458Marker-assisted selection – Current status and future perspectives in crops, livestock, forestry and fishAnalysis of the needs andopportunities for MASAs noted earlier and in an ideal world,the needs and opportunities for embarkingon MAS should emerge first and foremostthrough the policy dialogue processesthat lead to country priorities and objectivesfor agriculture and for agriculturalS&T. In any case, careful analysis is neededto determine whether, given the currentS&T, socio-economic and cultural landscapeand government/community plansfor the foreseeable future, the use of MASwill realistically contribute to hunger andpoverty reduction. This requires a team ofcompetent analysts to conduct an ex anteimpact assessment that makes the best use ofexisting knowledge to determine whether:• the principal barrier to sustainable intensificationor diversification of the productionsystem(s) as a whole could beovercome by introducing a new plantor animal genotype or by changing theenvironment, e.g. introducing better soil,water and nutrient management practices,draught power, vaccination, tsetsefly or other disease/integrated pest managementpractices. Also to be consideredare the management changes that wouldinevitably be needed following the introductionof such genotypes. For example,increasing the prolificacy of local sheepor goats through MAS brings with it therequirement, inter alia, for an improvedfeed resource base. Does the system havethe potential to provide this, and is therea market demand for the animals andtheir products? Foresight and total systemsthinking are clearly required here;• the species x trait(s) combination(s)required is not available in locally availablegermplasm (or breeds/broodstock)or in varieties/pre-breeding materialsdeveloped by and available from theInternational Agricultural Research Centres(IARCs), or other countries growingthe same crops within similar productionsystems and located in similar agro-ecologicalzones;• the species x trait combination cannot bedeveloped more easily, and/or at less cost,through phenotypic selection. A numberof chapters in this book provide excellentguidance on the factors that are importanthere, which include, inter alia: thespecies involved; the genetic complexityand heritability of the trait(s) required(the current focus for most crop andmany animal species is heavily on diseaseand pest resistance); the availability ofmarkers for the trait(s) in question andability to scale up their usage, whetherthe trait is sex-limited (livestock); and theavailability of reliable phenotypic data,etc.;• there is already an existing nationalbreeding programme(s) for the species inquestion;• the national breeding programme(s) forthe species in question has the infrastructureand levels of human and financialresources needed to sustain selection andbreeding activities;• national infrastructures and capacities inmolecular biology match the scientific,technical and information requirementsfor effectively supporting MAS;• professional legal advice is available concerninglaws, agreements, licences, etc.for the acquisition and diffusion of boththe tools or enabling techniques, andthe starting- and end-products of MAS(see Chapter 20 and earlier in relationto access and benefit sharing of geneticresources);• efficient mass propagation systems (e.g.seed multiplication or semen productionprogrammes) are in place;