MGIS: managing banana (Musa spp.) genetic resources information and high-throughput genotyping data

Unraveling the genetic diversity held in genebanks on a large scale is underway, due to advances in Next-generation sequence (NGS) based technologies that produce high-density genetic markers for a large number of samples at low cost. Genebank users should be in a position to identify and select germplasm from the global genepool based on a combination of passport, genotypic and phenotypic data. To facilitate this, a new generation of information systems is being designed to efficiently handle data and link it with other external resources such as genome or breeding databases. The Musa Germplasm Information System (MGIS), the database for global ex situ-held banana genetic resources, has been developed to address those needs in a user-friendly way. In developing MGIS, we selected a generic database schema (Chado), the robust content management system Drupal for the user interface, and Tripal, a set of Drupal modules which links the Chado schema to Drupal. MGIS allows germplasm collection examination, accession browsing, advanced search functions, and germplasm orders. Additionally, we developed unique graphical interfaces to compare accessions and to explore them based on their taxonomic information. Accession-based data has been enriched with publications, genotyping studies and associated genotyping datasets reporting on germplasm use. Finally, an interoperability layer has been implemented to facilitate the link with complementary databases like the Banana Genome Hub and the MusaBase breeding database. Database URL:https://www.crop-diversity.org/mgis

Promising high-yielding tetraploid plantain-bred hybrids in west Africa

Open Access Journal; Published online: 21 April 2019The devastating threat of black leaf streak disease caused by Pseudocercospora fijiensis on plantain production in West Africa spurred the development of resistant hybrids. The goal of this research and development (R&D) undertaken was assessing the development and dissemination of two plantain hybrids PITA 3 and FHIA 21 bred in the 1980s by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA, Nigeria) and the Fundación Hondureña de Investigación Agrícola (FHIA, Honduras), respectively. In Côte d’Ivoire, plantain growers selected PITA 3 and FHIA 21 based on their improved agronomic characteristics and, between 2012 and 2016, they were massively propagated and distributed to farmers in Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, and Togo under the West Africa Agricultural Productivity Program (WAAAP) coordinated by the West and Central Africa Council for Agricultural Research and Development (CORAF). In 2016, the Centre National de Recherche Agronomique in Côte d’Ivoire included the hybrids in the improved cultivar directory. This R&D activity illustrates how three decades of crossbreeding, selection, and distribution led to local acceptance. It also highlights how a CORAF-led partnership harnessed CGIAR research for development. The dissemination and acceptance of these plantain hybrids will enhance the sustainable intensification in plantain-based farming systems across the humid lowlands of West and Central Africa

Promising High-Yielding Tetraploid Plantain-Bred Hybrids in West Africa

The devastating threat of black leaf streak disease caused by Pseudocercospora fijiensis on plantain production in West Africa spurred the development of resistant hybrids. )e goal of this research and development (R&D) undertaken was assessing the development and dissemination of two plantain hybrids PITA 3 and FHIA 21 bred in the 1980s by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA, Nigeria) and the Fundacion Hondureña de Investigacion Agrıcola (FHIA, Honduras), respectively. In Côte d’Ivoire, plantain growers selected PITA 3 and FHIA 21 based on their improved agronomic characteristics and, between 2012 and 2016, they were massively propagated and distributed to farmers in Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, and Togo under the West Africa Agricultural Productivity Program (WAAAP) coordinated by the West and Central Africa Council for Agricultural Research and Development (CORAF). In 2016, the Centre National de Recherche Agronomique in Côte d’Ivoire included the hybrids in the improved cultivar directory. This R&D activity illustrates how three decades of crossbreeding, selection, and distribution led to local acceptance. It also highlights how a CORAF-led partnership harnessed CGIAR research for development. )e dissemination and acceptance of these plantain hybrids will enhance the sustainable intensification in plantain-based farming systems across the humid lowlands of West and Central Africa.status: Published onlin

Molecular basis of virus resistance mediated by host factors required for the infectious cycle

National audienceln recent year, one of the most interesting results that has enabled plant virology to make a significant step forward is the identification of components of the translation initiation complex as essential host factors required for RNA virus multiplication. Although translation initiation factors were demonstrated to be highly conserved determinants of plant resistance to viruses, preliminary data indicate that the molecular basis underlying translation initiation factors-mediated resistance are highly variable. ln parallel, several recessive resistance genes against viruses were identified and demonstrated to be distinct from translation initiation factors. These genes are therefore very good candidates for the discovery of new susceptibility factors. ln this context, the MOVle project airns at (i) the characterization of mechanisms underlying molecular specificity of translation initiation factors mediated resistance, (ii) the study of the potential role of translation initiation factors in RNA virus resistance in economically important crops such as grapevine, and (iii) the identification of new host factors required for viral infection The project is likely to provide fundamental insights into the molecular basis of plant-virus interactions and to greatly facilitate the exploitation of host factors required for the viral cycle as targets to improve plant resistance to viruses

MGIS: managing banana (Musa spp.) genetic resources information and high-throughput genotyping data

International audienceUnraveling the genetic diversity held in genebanks on a large scale is underway, due to advances in Next-generation sequence (NGS) based technologies that produce high-density genetic markers for a large number of samples at low cost. Genebank users should be in a position to identify and select germplasm from the global genepool based on a combination of passport, genotypic and phenotypic data. To facilitate this, a new generation of information systems is being designed to efficiently handle data and link it with other external resources such as genome or breeding databases. The Musa Germplasm Information System (MGIS), the database for global ex situ-held banana genetic resources, has been developed to address those needs in a user-friendly way. In developing MGIS, we selected a generic database schema (Chado), the robust content management system Drupal for the user interface, and Tripal, a set of Drupal modules which links the Chado schema to Drupal. MGIS allows germplasm collection examination, accession browsing, advanced search functions, and germplasm orders. Additionally, we developed unique graphical interfaces to compare accessions and to explore them based on their taxonomic information. Accession-based data has been enriched with publications, genotyping studies and associated genotyping datasets reporting on germplasm use. Finally, an interoperability layer has been implemented to facilitate the link with complementary databases like the Banana Genome Hub and the MusaBase breeding database

Banana (Musa spp.) genetic resources information and high-throughput genotyping data

Unraveling the genetic diversity held in genebanks on a large scale is underway, due to advances in Next-generation sequence (NGS) based technologies that produce high-density genetic markers for a large number of samples at low cost. Genebank users should be in a position to identify and select germplasm from the global genepool based on a combination of passport, genotypic and phenotypic data. To facilitate this, a new generation of information systems is being designed to efficiently handle data and link it with other external resources such as genome or breeding databases. The Musa Germplasm Information System (MGIS), the database for global ex situ-held banana genetic resources, has been developed to address those needs in a user-friendly way. In developing MGIS, we selected a generic database schema (Chado), the robust content management system Drupal for the user interface, and Tripal, a set of Drupal modules which links the Chado schema to Drupal. MGIS allows germplasm collection examination, accession browsing, advanced search functions, and germplasm orders. Additionally, we developed unique graphical interfaces to compare accessions and to explore them based on their taxonomic information. Accession-based data has been enriched with publications, genotyping studies and associated genotyping datasets reporting on germplasm use. Finally, an interoperability layer has been implemented to facilitate the link with complementary databases like the Banana Genome Hub and the MusaBase breeding database