ISHS Acta Horticulturae 897: V International Symposium on Banana: ISHS-ProMusa Symposium on Global Perspectives on Asian Challenges
USE OF MOLECULAR MARKERS IN BANANA AND PLANTAIN IMPROVEMENT |
| Authors: | J. Lorenzen, S. Hearne, G. Mbanjo, M. Nyine, T. Close |
| Keywords: | breeding, genetics, marker-assisted breeding, microsatellites, molecular tools, SSRs |
| DOI: | 10.17660/ActaHortic.2011.897.25 |
| Abstract:
Banana and plantain (Musa spp.) are a key crop for food security and livelihoods in Africa, particularly in the Great Lakes region of highland East Africa where they are a major staple food. Originating in Asia, banana and plantain spread across Africa many centuries ago. Increased global movement of plants in the past 150 years introduced pests and diseases from other regions that became new constraints to banana production in Africa. These biotic challenges to banana production include fungi, bacteria, viruses, nematodes and insects. Most banana and plantain in Africa are grown under low levels of crop management in which water is a primary limitation in most rain-fed cropping systems. There is wide scope for improving banana through introgression of host-plant resistance to both biotic and abiotic challenges. Given the slow and land-intensive nature of Musa breeding, there is tremendous potential to accelerate the process through marker-assisted breeding (MAB). Since banana has been relatively neglected in terms of development of molecular tools, we have been adding some basic tools for mapping and germplasm characterisation. In the past 2 years, we have characterised over 400 new EST-based SSR markers, half of which should be mapped this year. An EST sequencing project was complemented by bioinformatics processing for SNP detection and a new tool for visualisation. Characterisation of SNPs in candidate genes is in progress. The imminent advent of a reference genome sequence for Musa should accelerate the progress of MAB, expanding the number of available loci for marker development and increasing focus on mapping traits and characterising diversity. Future maps will benefit from higher marker density, high speed assays and lower costs per data point, especially if we are able to realise greater cost efficiencies through international collaborative efforts. | |
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