PRIMA - Fungal resistance in maize by combining genetic and molecular resources through precision breeding
Funding | Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture |
Duration | 2017-2020 |
Research partners | Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Universität Hamburg |
Industrial partners | KWS SAAT AG |
Team | |
The aim of this project is to improve the resistance of maize to Giberella ear rot, caused by Fusarium spp, and leaf blotch, caused by Setosphaeria turcica, in temperate climates. Both diseases are the most important fungal diseases of maize in Germany and also occur in the subtropics and tropics. In an interdisciplinary project, methods of phytopathology and molecular breeding are combined to accelerate resistance breeding in maize. A central aim of the project is to develop new methods for the targeted use of tropical genetic resources and to make them available for breeding in Germany (introgression). To this end, resistant tropical maize lines will be crossed with adapted indigenous lines, marker analysis will be used to identify new resistance genes in the progeny, and a recurrent selection programme will be used to compare different introgression strategies. Another aim of the project is the biotechnological development and application of a novel source of fungal resistance in maize using precision breeding methods known as genome editing. | |