| BioAsia 2007: Opportunities for scientists to meet with peers and funding agencies | | | |
“Multidisciplinary Approaches to Better Understand the Genetic Basis of Drought Tolerance in Plants”
By Dr. Jean-Marcel Ribaut, Generation Challenge Programme, C/O CYMMYT, Mexico
Dr. Jean-Marcel Ribaut is an internationally acclaim expert in the field of drought tolerance. He has been in charge of genetic dissedtion and marker-assisted selection (MAS) for maize and wheat improvement under abiotic stress condition and development of new MAS strategies. He is currently Director of the Generation Challenge Programme, a research and capacity building network that uses plant genetic diversity and advanced genomic science to develop tools and technologies that enables plant breeders in the developing world to produce better crop varieties for resource-poor farmers.
Recently, we caught up with Dr. Ribaut to ask him about his upcoming talk at BioAsia 2007 in Bangkok, Thailand.
What is/are the highlight(s) of your speaking topic?
The talk will focus on the need for, and benefits of, an interdisciplinary approach to understanding genetic control and identifying genes involved in the expression of complex, polygenic traits like drought tolerance. The point is that each approach (functional genomics, Quantitative Trait Loci analysis, metabolomics, etc) by itself provides useful information, but it is only one piece in a complex set of information: only an integrative approach will help identify regulatory genes and reveal how genes interact in response to environmental conditions. It is also equally important to realise that the discovery phase has to be followed by a validation phase, which involves testing the genetic effects of selected genes under target environments using adapted germplasm, in order to develop tools/markers that will impact plant breeding for polygenic trait.
As an international and interdisciplinary initiative aiming to develop and utilise genomic resources to enable plant breeders in the developing world produce better crop varieties for resource-poor farmers, a description of the Generation Challenge Programme (GCP) will be presented as a detailed case study. GCP links basic research with applied science, by generating useful knowledge and developing practical tools such as molecular markers for target traits to complement phenotypic selection and impact crop breeding for adapted germplasm in target environments. Marginal drought-prone environments are a key focus for GCP.
What will the participants gain from attending your speaking session?
Participants will understand how to organize scientific projects to identify genes involved in the expression of polygenic traits of agronomic importance, such as drought tolerance. They will be exposed to the limitations, challenges and strengths of using biotechnologies as discovery tools. Several practical examples will be presented for participants to appreciate the power of combining marker-assisted selection with phenotypic selection.
Participants will also be exposed to the Generation Challenge Programme of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). GCP is a broad international and interdisciplinary network of partners collectively working to improve crop productivity in drought-prone environments.
Scientific Poster Awards (Rice and Crop Science)
The Poster Award Committee will present two Poster Awards, one for work on rice and the other on crop science, to the outstanding scientific abstracts and posters. Each winner will receive a cash prize of USD 500, courtesy of BIOTEC. In addition, each winner will also receive two books of his/her choice with a total value of not more than US$200. The book award is made possible by John Wiley & Sons and the selection is based on the books available at Wiley's website www.willey.com
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