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Development and application of transgenic technologies in cassava

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Abstract

The capacity to integrate transgenes into the tropical root crop cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is now established and being utilized to generate plants expressing traits of agronomic interest. The tissue culture and gene transfer systems currently employed to produce these transgenic cassava have improved significantly over the past 5 years and are assessed and compared in this review. Programs are underway to develop cassava with enhanced resistance to viral diseases and insects pests, improved nutritional content, modified and increased starch metabolism and reduced cyanogenic content of processed roots. Each of these is described individually for the underlying biology the molecular strategies being employed and progress achieved towards the desired product. Important advances have occurred, with transgenic plants from several laboratories being prepared for field trails.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. International Laboratory for Tropical Agricultural Biotechnology (ILTAB), Danforth Plant Science Center, 975 North Warson Road, 63132, St. Louis, MO, USA

    Nigel Taylor

  2. Agrobiodiversity and Biotechnology Project, International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), AA 6713, Cali, Colombia

    Paul Chavarriaga

  3. Laboratory of Plant Breeding, Wageningen UR, 6700, AJ, P.O.B. 386, Wageningen, Netherlands

    Krit Raemakers

  4. Department of Plant Biology, Ohio State University, 43210, Columbus, OH, USA

    Dimuth Siritunga

  5. Institute of Plant Sciences, ETH-Zentrum/LFW E 17, Universitätstrasse 2, 8092, Zürich, Switzerland

    Peng Zhang

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  1. Nigel Taylor
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Correspondence to Nigel Taylor.

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Taylor, N., Chavarriaga, P., Raemakers, K. et al. Development and application of transgenic technologies in cassava. Plant Mol Biol 56, 671–688 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11103-004-4872-x

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