Plant Breeding and Genetics Newsletter, No. 25, July 2010

This new biennium 2010-2011 will be characterized by a strengthened attention focusing on climate variability and change. In the next 50 years, global population and economic trends will exert increasing pressure on crop production and vital natural resources such as land and water through expanding demands for food, feed, fibre and energy. These trends will be compounded by the intensifying effects of climate change, which is negatively impacting crop productivity and land and water resources through increasingly variable and extreme conditions. These include elevated temperatures, irregular precipitation patterns and outbreaks of global pest epidemics. Thus, a major challenge to agriculture is to weather-proof the existing crop production systems. In order to make better use of both productive and marginal lands, it is paramount to select, evaluate and develop crop genotypes that can produce under conditions of high temperatures and low rainfall, or where soils suffer from salinity or acidity or have been 'mined' of nutrients. Producing not only more but better quality food with enhanced nutritive value is an important pathway towards reducing hunger and malnutrition thus enhancing human health and disease-resistance and ultimately contributing to the achievement of goal one of the UN Millennium Development Goals. Significant opportunities exist for meeting this challenge by harnessing nuclear techniques in conjunction with newly emerging techniques in cellular and molecular biology. Innovative soil and water technologies will be integrated with newly developed mutant crop varieties with enhanced adaptability to climate change and variability. This integrated approach is important in the adoption of mutant varieties to field conditions to meet the increasing global demand on the quantity and quality of food within the next 50 years as well as to ensure the conservation of natural (e.g. soil and water) and agricultural (e.g. fertilizers) resources in highly dynamic agro-ecosystems. As rising global energy needs increase the demand for biofuels, competition between agricultural production and energy production for land and water, as well as for financial and human resources, is further impacting crop production. In order, therefore, to support the sustainable intensification of agricultural production and socioeconomic development in Member States, we will do our best to serve 96 Member States through 57 national (27 Africa, 18 Asia and the Pacific, seven Latin America and the Caribbean, five Europe), five regional (28 Africa, 20 Asia and the Pacific, 13 Latin America and the Caribbean, 15 Europe) and one interregional Technical Cooperation Projects (TCPs), and four Coordinated Research Projects (CRPs). Highlights of these you will find inside this newsletter in the usual places. There will be two new features: the first will be a regular new space to voice your experience with the IAEA, called the Alumni Corner. As we care about you, we invite you former fellows, Chief Scientific Investigators (CSIs) and counterparts to share with us how your experience with the IAEA has impacted your career and life (Please send your contributions to k.allafatiaea.org). Please find in this issue the inaugural contribution from Prof. Associado Dr. Augusto Tulmann Neto. The second new regular feature will be found in the TC Highlights section, named 'News from Ug99' (relating to the TC project INT/5/150). During the second Steering and Coordination Meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, the plenum of participants came to the conclusion that further implementation of INT/5/150 should be conducted in the following three phases: (i) adoption and training in the use of uniform protocols, in order to assure homogeneity of handling (capacity building), (ii) yearly coordination and steering meetings (the third Steering and Coordination Meeting is planned in Turkey for the end of this year) and regional training (for detailed information on the Interregional Training Course on Mutation Induction and Breeding for Cereal - Wheat and Barley - Rust Resistance and Climate Hardening/Harsh Environment Adaptation Parts I and II see 'Forthcoming Events' in this issue). Regular yearly meetings are essential for harmonizing cooperation between participating Member States, the IAEA, FAO and its partners, CYMMYT (Kenya), ARS, BGRI, CAAS, BARC, ICARDA, DAFWA and the Secretariat of International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (FAO, Italy), (iii) multilocation trials of mutant germplasm in endemic hot spots/screen houses. These phases are not necessarily consecutive, but overlapping. If you navigate to our Homepage (http://wwwnaweb. iaea.org/nafa/pbg/index.html) you will find under 'Information Sources' our upgraded and updated Mutant Varieties and Genetic Stock Webpage (http://mvgs.iaea.org/). Have a look at the new features and do not forget to submit any new mutant variety (registration may be on-line). One of the new features, although still under construction, may be useful to you: our in-house protocols, Protocols and Guidelines Webpage (http://mvgs.iaea.org/LaboratoryProtocals.aspx). Here you will find detailed protocols developed/adapted and tested at the IAEA's Laboratories. You will also find information, forms and protocols for genotyping and mutagenesis services and positive control kits for mutation discovery