Efficient Screening Techniques to Identify Mutants with Disease Resistance for Coffee and Banana

The Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade de Lisboa, is hosting the second Research Coordination Meeting of an IAEA Coordinated Research Project (CRP) on “Efficient Screening Techniques to Identify Mutants with Disease Resistance for Coffee and Banana” (29 May to 2 June/2017). Researchers from 12 different countries (Austria, Costa Rica, Islamic Republic of Iran, Malaysia, Mauritius, Nigeria, Peru, Philippines, People's Republic of China, Portugal, Republic of Mauritius, South Africa, United Kingdom) and two international organizations (Biodiversity International, FAO/IAEA) will meet to review the progress that has been made during the first 18 month of this project and to discuss the way ahead.

The main objective of this CRP is the use of induced mutations for developing new banana and coffee varieties resistant to important diseases such as Fusarium wilt caused by tropical race four (TR4) and coffee leaf rust, respectively. One of the goals is to adapt and develop screening protocols that are suitable for mass screening of mutant lines to identify rare plants showing enhanced resistance to disease. CIFC/ISA/Universidade de Lisboa is one of the partners in the CRP sharing its unique expertise in characterization of rust races. The project is financed and managed by the International Atomic Energy Agency through its Joint FAO/IAEA Division on Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture.