A blog maintained by Tevita Kete, PGR Officer Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), Suva, Fiji Islands
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This weblog documents the activities of Pacific Agricultural Genetic Resources Network (PAPGREN), along with other information on plant genetic resources (PGR) in the Pacific. The myriad varieties found within cultivated plants are fundamental to the present and future productivity of agriculture. PAPGREN, which is coordinated by the Land Resources Division of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), helps Pacific countries and territories to conserve their crop genetic diversity sustainably, with technical assistance from the Bioversity International (BI) and support from NZAID and ACIAR. SPC also hosts the Centre of Pacific Crops and Trees (CEPaCT). The CEPaCT maintains regional in vitro collections of crops important to the Pacific and carries out research on tissue culture technology. The CEPaCT Adviser is Dr Mary Taylor (MaryT@spc.int), the CEPaCT Curator is Ms Valerie Tuia (ValerieT@spc.int).
PAPGREN coordination and support
PAPGREN partners Mr William Wigmore Mr Adelino S. Lorens Dr Lois Englberger Mr Apisai Ucuboi Dr Maurice Wong Mr Tianeti Beenna Ioane Mr Frederick Muller Mr Herman Francisco Ms Rosa Kambuou Ms Laisene Samuelu Mr Jimi Saelea Mr Tony Jansen Mr Finao Pole Mr Frazer Bule Lehi Other CROP agencies Pacific biodiversity Other Pacific organizations Pacific news Interested in GIS?
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Monday, September 17, 2007 Posted 1:38 PM by Tevita
Discovery of an Amylose-free Starch Mutant in Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) From : J. Agric. Food Chem. 2007, 55, 7469-7476 7469 Authors: HERNAN CEBALLOS,*,†,‡ TERESA SANCHEZ,† NELSON MORANTE,†MARTIN FREGENE,† DOMINIQUE DUFOUR,†,§ ALISON M. SMITH, KAY DENYER, JUAN CARLOS PEÄ REZ,† FERNANDO CALLE,† AND CHRISTIAN MESTRES§ Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT), Apdo Ae´reo 6713, Cali, Colombia, Universidad Nacional de Colombia-Palmira Campus, Centre de Coope´ration Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le De´veloppement. (CIRAD), 73 rue Jean-Francüois Breton, TA B-95/16, 34398 Montpellier Cedex 5, France, and John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Colney, Norwich NR4 7UH, U.K. One of the objectives of the cassava-breeding project at CIAT is the identification of clones with special root quality characteristics. A large number of self-pollinations have been made in search of useful recessive traits. During 2006 harvests an S1 plant produced roots that stained brownish-red when treated with an iodine solution, suggesting that it had lower-than-normal levels of amylose in its starch. Colorimetric and DSC measurements indicated low levels (3.4%) and an absence of amylose in the starch, respectively. SDS-PAGE demonstrated the absence of GBSS enzyme in the starch from these roots. Pasting behavior was analyzed with a rapid visco-analyzer and resulted in larger values for peak viscosity, gel breakdown, and setback in the mutant compared with normal cassava starch. Solubility was considerably reduced, while the swelling index and volume fraction of the dispersed phase were higher in the mutant. No change in starch granule size or shape was observed. This is the first report of a natural mutation in cassava that drastically reduces amylose content in root starch. * To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: h.ceballos@cgiar.org. † Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT). ‡ Universidad Nacional de Colombia-Palmira Campus. § Centre de Coope´ration Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le De´veloppement. ^ John Innes Centre. ( Courtesy of Choo, BI Malaysia) |
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