BecA Hub in action Project Title:
Environmental risk management of sorghums in Mali and Kenya: gene flow studies from crop to weeds
| Donor: | USAID |
|---|---|
| Partner/Institution: | KARI (Kenya), IIER (Mali), University of Bamako (Mali), CIRAD, University of Honnenheim |
| Project Highlight: | Gene transfer techniques are now available to genetically modify sorghums ( K.K. Sharma, ICRISAT, personal communication). GM sorghums could potentially contribute to enhancing food security in Africa. However before this potential can be realized, assessment of environmental risks, integrating ecological and socio-agronomical characteristics of traditional agro- ecosystems, needs to be conducted. We propose an integrative study , linking plant ecology , population genetics and crop improvement, to assess the environmental and agricultural risks of sorghum crop-to- weed gene flow and enable effective decision- making regarding testing and introduction of GM sorghums in Africa. The assessment of potential impact from introduction of genetically engineered sorghums on biodiversity will require a two- step study: i) determining the effectiveness of biological and phenological barriers to gene dispersal between the cultivated and wild species, and detecting and characterizing any natural hybridization of wild sorghums by GM crops, and ii) measuring the fitness of inter- racial hybrids relative to their cultivated and wild parents and other herbaceous species occurring in the natural plant communities where wild sorghums grow. |
| Total Project Budget $US: | 320,000.00 |
| Scientist Involved: | Fabrice Sagnard |
| Scientist Email: | Email: f.sagnard@cgiar.org |
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