Brought to you by LGC, Biosearch Technologies
Global rice production is increasing but there is diversity in productivity across Asia, with some regions suffering yield losses from disease, adverse weather and insufficient irrigation.
There is opportunity for breeders to improve both abiotic and biotic stress response with an optimised approach for their varieties in the region.
For over a decade many breeders have relied on microsatellites (SSRs) for marker aided selection in rice, yet these markers are costly and time-consuming to use. Recent advances in whole genome sequencing have strengthened our knowledge of Indels and Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs), and currently there are far more SNPs and Indels available than SSRs.
We have developed KASP™ (Kompetitive Allele Specific PCR) assays for markers across rice breeding lines in South Asia and facilitated the use of these markers by public and private sector rice breeders to enhance selection for target traits.
This project has led to 33 entries that are now being evaluated in pre-release yield trials in Nepal, along with a set of KASP assays that can be readily used for efficient and accurate genotyping in rice breeding programmes.
This webinar will describe how KASP is used to successfully genotype diverse rice varieties, and how KASP technology can be applied in molecular breeding.
During this session you’ll learn:
• How recent advances in whole genome sequencing have strengthened the knowledge of variation across rice varieties.
• How genomic variations can be exploited as variation in Indels and Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNPs).
• How SNPs and Indels can be readily used for genotyping using highly efficient KASP (Kompetitive Allele Specific PCR ) technology.
• How KASP has been optimised for success in genotyping in diverse rice varieties.
• Why KASP now offers a reliable alternative to microsatellites and are suitable for using in all rice breeding programmes.
Our Webinar Speakers:
Dr. Katherine Steele, Bangor University
Dr. Katherine Steele is Senior Lecturer in Sustainable Crop Production at Bangor University. She studies the genetics and genomics of rice, potato, tomato, barley (and other interesting species) to improve sustainable production. She has published over 30 papers and articles and has over 20 years experience in managing international projects with diverse partners. She has led DFID-funded projects targeting agricultural development in Asia and projects for Defra and the Food Standards Agency on Basmati rice Authentication. Currently she is the academic lead on an Innovate-UK project developing new markers for genomic selection in rice.
