Plant scientists at ETH Zurich have
developed a new Nigerian
cassava preferred by consumers
and farmers that is resistant to the two major virus diseases in Africa
and now billed to test the
cassavas resistant on the African
soil. According to a release,
researchers at ETH Zurich led by a
Professor of Plant Biotechnology,
Wilhelm Gruissem and his senior
scientist, Dr. Hervé
Vanderschuren, “Gene technology has been used to
develop a new cassava variety
that is resistant to the feared
cassava brown streak virus. The
virus infects the edible starchy
roots and turns them brown, which makes the roots
unpalatable for consumers,” they
stated. The researchers used the
Nigerian TME 7 cassava variety,
also known as “Oko-iyawo,” that
is naturally resistant to cassava
mosaic disease, which is caused
by another virus that is severely impacting cassava production all
of Africa. The virus said to have originated
from East Africa, is threatening to
spread to Central and West Africa
thereby becoming threat to
cassava, which is one of the most
important crops in tropical countries of Sub-Saharan Africa. Explaining that it is difficult to
control the whitefly, even if
African farmers could afford to
buy insecticides, Prof. Gruissem
said: “This resistance is not
changed by the new resistance to the brown streak virus. The
brown streak virus is most likely
transmitted by the same silverleaf
whitefly (Bemisia tabaci) that also
spreads cassava mosaic disease.
This tiny insect sucks on plant juices, and in doing so transmits
the viruses into the cassava plant.
The silverleaf whitefly population
has hugely increased in recent
decades.” “This is posing a greater threat
than ever to the growth of
cassava. This is why it is much
more efficient and more
environmentally friendly to
protect cassava against viruses using genetic modification,” he
emphasized. According to Gruissem, in order
to make cassava resistant to the
brown streak virus, “the
researchers modified the genetic
make-up of one variety of
cassava to produce small interfering RNA molecules
(siRNA). The plant produces the siRNA
naturally after virus infection, but
the researchers have now tricked
cassava to produce the siRNA in
all of its parts before the virus can
infect it. As soon as the virus attacks the
plant, the short siRNA stops the
virus by attaching to the genome
of the virus that is also made of
RNA,” the statement read adding,
“This prevents the virus from multiplying and spreading
throughout the plant.” Glasshouse trials, the statement
furthered, have shown that the
new gene producing the siRNA
protects cassava effectively from
the virus. “Even several months after
infection of the transgenic
cassava plants with the brown
streak virus, the scientists did not
find any evidence that the virus
could multiply. The production of the siRNA does not affect cassava
itself. It grows normally and
produces healthy roots.” The researchers targeted a part of
the virus RNA genome that has
been highly conserved during
evolution with very rare changes,
“making it more difficult for the
virus to adapt to the siRNA- mediated immunity.” The ETH Zurich scientists chose
the Nigerian TME 7 from dozens of
potential varieties because it is
popular among consumers and
farmers and has the best
prerequisites for successful cultivation. As the next step, Prof. Gruissem
and Dr. Vanderschuren with
some colleagues in Africa, plan to
test if the improved cassava
variety in the field remains
resistant to both viruses under natural conditions. The German-based Fiat Panis
Foundation, which has supported
cassava research at ETH, has
already reserved funds for field
experiments and ETH Zurich
scientists are also actively engaged in transferring the
technology to interested research
institutes in Africa to develop
virus resistance in local varieties
preferred by consumers in their
countries.
Source: Vanguard
www.vanguardngr.com/2012/10/scientists-develop-new-nigerian-cassava/

hopefully the price of garri will reduce when this is introduced into the country.

kavey10: hopefully the price of garri will reduce when this is introduced into the country.

omo forget na naija we dey, the prize go increase possibly.

OP, supply link abeg if no be joke!