Podcast: Deploying genetic engineering to save the staple cassava vegetable in Kenya – Genetic Literacy Project

Cassava is a staple for one in ten people on earth, grown mostly by small farmers tending a few acres. One of the challenges is insect-vectored virus Cassava Brown-Streak Virus that destroys the root.

Scientists from Africa and the Danforth Center in St. Louis MO, USA have collaborated to create a cassava line that is genetically engineered to suppress the virus.

Follow the latest news and policy debates on agricultural biotech and biomedicine? Subscribe to our newsletter.

The approach is similar to what was done to save the papaya in Hawaii, essentially using a portion of the virus sequence to shut down viral infection.

In this weeks podcast Dr. Douglas Miano, Professor at the University of Nairobi, describes the problem and the solution. as well as how the technology may serve farmers in Kenya and the entire African continent.

Read the original post

Go here to read the rest:
Podcast: Deploying genetic engineering to save the staple cassava vegetable in Kenya - Genetic Literacy Project