Uruguay
June 30, 2010

Source: Plant Breeding News, Edition 214, 30 June 2010
Clair H. Hershey, Editor
Sponsored by GIPB, FAO/AGP and Cornell University‘s Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics

The National Agriculture Research Institute of Uruguay, INIA, proudly informs the opening of a new Regional Biotechnology Laboratory. Belonging to the National Rice Research Program, this Laboratory is located in the heart of the country‘s main rice growing area. The Lab facilities, with the R & D support from Biotechnology Unit located near Montevideo, allow the local generation of capabilities for molecular biology techniques, marker-assisted selection and development of doubled haploid lines by anther culture, and help rice breeders speeding up and going along with the field work.

The current worklines are: a) incorporation of durable resistance to Pyricularia grisea by introgression of resistance genes into the elite varieties El Paso 144 and INIA Olimar, using molecular markers to identify resistant individuals in each selection cycle. b) Molecular characterization of red rice hybrids resistant to imidazolinones obtained from rice fields where the Clearfield® production system was used. c) Obtaining doubled-haploids lines from parentals with valuable traits, significantly speeding up the time required to obtain fixed lines.

The vast amount of rice genomic information generated in recent years makes possible an increasingly important role for biotechnology in rice breeding. The activity of this new laboratory, surrounded geographically and thematically by the rice agro-industrial chain, will contribute towards bringing basic science efforts to tangible achievements for domestic production.

Contributed by Juan Rosas
Laboratorio de Biotecnología
INIA Treinta y Tres
Uruguay
j.e.rosas@gmail.com

Website: http://www.cornell.edu

Published: July 6, 2010