Breeding and
Biotechnology for
Orange-flesh and
Insect Resistance in
the SASHA Project
The Sweetpotato Action for Security and
Health in Africa (SASHA) is a five-year
R. Mwanga,initiative
E. Carey,
M.toAndrade,
J. security
Low, L.
designed
improve the food
livelihoods ofG.
poor
families in Sub- J.
Wanjohi, C. and
Wasonga,
Ssemakula,
Saharan Africa by exploiting the untapped
Kreuze, J. Ricardo,
K. Adofo, T. Zum Felde &
potential of sweetpotato. It will develop the
W. Grüneberg
essential capacities, products, and methods to
reposition sweetpotato in food economies of
Merging Ecology
& Biotechnology
Sub-Saharan
African countries to for
alleviate
and under-nutrition.
Sustainable poverty
Agriculture
Ghent University, 22 April 2015
SWEETPOTATO ACTION FOR SECURITY AND HEALTH IN AFRICA
Outline of presentation
• Background on SASHA Project
• SASHA – AGRA collaboration and
NARS sweetpotato breeding
• Breeding for priority traits
SPHI is a multi-partner, multi-donor
initiative that seeks to reduce child
nutrition and improve smallholder
incomes in 10 million African families
by 2020 through the effective
production and expanded use of
sweetpotato.
The Sweetpotato Action
for Security and Health in Africa
(SASHA) Project is a 10 year
project led by the International
Potato Center that will develop
the essential capacities,
products and methods to
reposition sweetpotato in the
food economies of Sub-Saharan
Africa. It serves as the
foundation for the broader
Initiative.
17 priority
countries,
3 sub-regions
Now, 12 with
Activity under
SPHI Umbrella
http://www.sweetpotatoknowledge.org/
890,000
Households
reached by
Dec 2013
Major Features of SASHA Phase 2
Focus on Research
Retains focus on solving bottlenecks
impeding the utilization of
sweetpotato’s full potential
Major resource allocation:
55% Population development
3% Weevil Resistance
13% Seed systems (SS) research
7% Post-harvest management &
nutritional quality
22% Supporting the Community of
Practice and Governance
No delivery system projects (e.g.
Animal Feed, Linking agriculture,
health and nutrition, Upscaling SS)
Population Development – support platforms
NARS – Varietal development
• Two distinct genepools (E.g. Population Uganda A and Pop Ug B,
separated by 18 SSR markers) Controlled crossing (Generate new
populations/population improvement – Exploit heterosis
• Focus by Sub-regions:
E. Africa-virus, S. Africa-drought, W. Africa- non-sweet
• NIRS: quality traits (beta-carotene, protein, starch
Fe, Zn, fructose, glucose, sucrose)
Crossing
Pop Ug A
Pop Ug B
Variety Selection/Breeding
Combine high
beta-carotene
with other
major desirable
traits -
On-farm evaluation
Participatory
Breeding:
farmers
have
preferred
traits
Variety Selection/Breeding
Early generation recurrent selection
Conventional breeding
scheme, 8 years
Grüneberg et al. FAO. (2009)
15 Countries use CloneSelector/Excel based
Accelerated breeding scheme (ABS), 4 years: Start with
distinct genotypes x location. Multi-environment testing in
year 1, efficiently identifies superior genotypes
Accelerated breeding
Multiply new
breeding lines in
screenhouses,
glasshouses,
irrigated fields
Sweetpotato Virus Disease (SPVD) Causes
Significant Yield Losses (50->90%)
Clark et al. 2012: Plant Disease
1/Ct
1,200
1.200
1,000
1.000
Sweet potato chlorotic stunt virus (SPCSV)
0,800
0.800
Sweet potato feathery mottle virus (SPFMV)
Low or high symptom expression,
high virus titer, high yield (tolerant)
0,600
0.600
SPFMV
SPFMV
SPCSV
SPCSV
0,400
0.400
Low symptom expression, low
titer (resistant)
-ve control
0,200
0.200
0,000
0.000
1
1
2
2
3
3
4
Clone
4
5
5
6
6
7
7
Discrimination of resistant and tolerant clones using real-time PCR (Ct = cycle threshold)
2014 OFSP Catalogue
60 OFSP varieties
31 more since 2010
1999-2008 [87 varieties released]
2009-2013 [84 (36 OFSP) – 11 Countries]
Launched at African Green Revolution
Forum 1-4 September 2014, Addis Ababa
Sweetpotato weevil damage
Losses due to weevils (Cylas puncticollis and C.
Brunneus) can reach 100% during dry periods
(Smit 1997) . To date no durable resistance
(Stevenson et al. 2009)
Introduction of weevil resistance genes
into sweetpotato
Three cry genes
(Cry7A1,
Cry3Ca1 and
ET33-34) from
Bt (Bacillus
thuringiensis)
bacterial strains
were introduced
into sweetpotato
after testing on
artificial diet.
The genes
control
production of
Cry proteins
toxic to weevils
Development of weevil resistant
sweetpotato varieties using biotechnology
Incorporated
cry7Aa1 and
cry3Ca1
genes in
sweetpotato,
but
expression is
low
RNA interference (RNAi) Strategy (Ghent University):
dsRNA targeting laccase2 (dslac2) genes in 2nd instar
larvae of Cylas puncticollis shows a strong and
systemic RNAi effect, suggesting the potential of RNAi
as a future strategy to control SPW. Prentice et al.
PLOS. 2015
Genomic tools for sweetpotato
improvement (GTSPI)
An ambitious project to sequence sweetpotato and develop modern breeding tools for a
food crop that sustains million of people in SSA. Collaborators: Boyce Thompson Institute at
Cornell, Michigan State University, University of Queensland, Australia; CIP, Peru, BioSciences E
&Central Africa (BecA), Kenya, NaCRRI, Uganda, Crops Res. Institute, Ghana,
Community of Practice (CoP): SSA
Sweetpotato breeders
SP Breeders meeting Dhaka
(Bangladesh, Indonesia, India
Sept 23-26, 2014 )
4th Annual Speedbreeders Meeting, Blantyre
Malawi, June 17-20, 2014 [1st- Uganda, 2ndMozambique, 3rd-Ghana]: Meetings/training,
different conditions, challenges e.g.
CloneSelector requires follow up training,
strengthens CoP
Community of Practice should be global for synergy, not just Africa
SASHA-CIP-AGRA-Linkages
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Advanced institutions/universities/labs
AGRA Trained 10 PhDs, 3 MS (S. Africa- ACCI, Ghana-WACCI)
AGRA – Awarded 9 breeding & 4 seed systems grants
Identification of external examiners
Sharing protocols, literature, germplasm
Manuscript preparation
Mentoring
Identification of partners
Identification supervisors for MS, PhD
Thank you for your attention
Ghent UnIversity
AGRA
CGIAR CENTERS
NARS
Farmers
Donors
Other Stakeholders