Institutional development · Research, innovation and assessment · Germany
Düsseldorf and French researchers breed disease-resistant African elite rice lines
Researchers at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf and French partners have used marker-assisted breeding to produce African elite rice variants resistant to a damaging crop disease, intended for use in East Africa.
Why it matters: Plant scientists working on rice breeding for East Africa can now consult the HHU team's marker-assisted breeding approach, published in the journal Rice.
According to the university, researchers at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU), working with French partners, applied marker-assisted breeding (MAB) to develop variants of African elite rice lines.
The university said the new variants are resistant to a harmful crop disease and are intended for use in East Africa.
The team has set out its approach in the scientific journal Rice.
Editor’s view
Scott James, Research and Innovation Editor
Rice breeders and plant researchers focused on East Africa are directly concerned: the HHU group and its French partners have published a marker-assisted breeding method that, the university reports, yields disease-resistant variants of African elite rice lines.
