CIAT strategy for integration of genomics approach with traditional breeding towards crop improvement

Manabu Ishitani

International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT)

A.A. 6713, Cali, COLOMBIA

Traditional breeding efforts are expected to be greatly enhanced through collaborative approaches incorporating functional, comparative and structural genomics. Potential benefits of combining genomic tools with traditional breeding have been a source of widespread interest and resulted in numerous efforts to achieve the desired synergy among disciplines. The International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) is applying functional genomics by focusing on characterizing genetic diversity for crop improvement in common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz), tropical grasses, and upland rice (Oriza sativa L.). My presentation focuses on CIAT’s strategy to combine genomic approaches, plant breeding, and physiology to understand and exploit underlying genetic mechanisms of traits of interest for crop improvement. The overall CIAT strategy combines both “gene to phenotype” and “phenotype to gene” approaches by using gene pools as sources for breeding tools and offers broad benefits by combining not only in-house crop knowledge, but publicly available knowledge from well-studied model plants such as Arabidopsis. Successfully applying functional genomics in trait gene discovery requires diverse genetic resources, crop phenotyping, genomics tools integrated with bioinformatics and proof of gene function in planta (proof of concept). Research at CIAT on drought tolerance in common bean and aluminum resistance in the tropical forage grass Brachiaria are used to illustrate the opportunities and constraints in breeding for adaptation to abiotic stresses.