Potential for increasing sugar productivity through biotechnology in Mauritius
| MSI99P2361 | |
| Dookun, A. Domaingue, R. Saumtally, S. | |
| Potential for increasing sugar productivity through biotechnology in Mauritius | |
| Wilson, J. R.; .Hogarth, D. M.; Campbell, J. A.; Garside, A. L.(eds), Sugarcane: research towards efficient and sustainable production: International Symposium on Sugar 2000, Brisbane, AUstralia, August 19-23, 1996 | |
| Book chapter | |
| 1996 | |
| p. 111-113 | |
| East Melbourne, CSIRO | |
| En | |
| En | |
| During the last decade, sugar production in Mauritius has faced constraints such as unfavourable climatic conditions, increasing cost of labour, loss of land under sugarcane to urbanization, and competition from new industries. To meet the requirement of some 0.65Mt sugar, the country has to adopt new technologies to increase production efficiency per unit area. Biotechnology is expected to play a major role in increasing this efficiency. New techniques of disease diagnosis, such as monoclonal antibodies, DNA probes and the polymerase chain reaction should enable increased sensitivity, speed and reliability of pathogen detection. Monoclonal antibodies and DNA probes have been produced for the diagnosis of the gumming disease pathogen (Xanthomonas campestris pv. vasculorum). These techniques are also being used to study leaf scald bacterium (Xanthomonas albilineans), to differentiate the African and Mascarene serotypes that exist in Mauritius, and their use will be extended to other pathogens. These new diagnostic tools will be important in the safe international movement of germplasm, in the characterization of pathogen variants and in epidemiological studies to allow more efficient control measures to be formulated. Another advance is expected through the in vitro culture of sugarcane and the micropropagation of new varieties using this method on a large scale. Coupled with new diagnostic techniques, tissue culture will speed the release of varieties free from diseases to the planting community. Genetic fingerprinting of varieties, using restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis and random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD), is being carried out. This should allow a better choice of parents for crossing and hence make the breeding programme more efficient. Molecular markers associated with two important fungal diseases, rust (Puccinia melanocephala) and yellow spot (Mycovellosiella koepkei) by the RAPD technique are being sought. This approach will aid the rapid screening of vatieties at an early stage in the selection programme, with the aim of producing varieties specifically adapted to the wet uplands of Mauritius, where resistance to both rust and yellow spot is essential. | |
| BIOTECHNOLOGY SUGARCANE TISSUE CULTURE DIAGNOSTIC TECHNIQUES XANTHOMONAS CAMPESTRIS XANTHOMONAS ALBILINEANS MOLECULAR MARKERS LEAF SCALD Gumming diseases | |
| MAURITIUS | |
| Cane breeding and genetics | |
| 1996-11-26 | |
| En | |
| LIB | |
| CAT | |
| BIOTECH PATH PB |