You are warmly invited to attend the public defense of my doctoral dissertation entitled:
“Genetic diversity and blast resistance in African cultivated rice (Oryza glaberrima Steud.)”.
Supervisors:
Prof. dr. ir. Patrick Van Damme, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering,Ghent University
Prof. dr. ir. Geert Haesaert, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University
Prof. dr. Alexandre Dansi, Faculty of Sciences and Technics of Dassa, University of Abomey
The defense will take place on Tuesday December 17, 2019 at 4:00 PM in the Vergaderzaal (meeting room ) A0.1 Azalea at Campus Coupure, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Gent.
PhD abstract:
Blast (Magnaporthe oryzae) is the most widespread rice disease causing significant yield losses worldwide. The spread of damage caused by rice blast has been widely reported in Africa including Benin where blast threats could become more important in the future, because of the popularity of certain susceptible cultivars and the spontaneous development of recently documented new pathogenic races. For effective management of this disease, several methods are available among which the use of genetic resistance has been, and will continue to be, the most sustainable one. Here, we presented characterization studies of selected Oryza glaberrima accessions for exploring their genetic diversity, blast resistance and yield performance. It is expected the obtained results to be used in forthcoming rice breeding programs. Our research evidenced high levels of genetic diversity within the germplasm studied. We found that at least eight O. glaberrima rice accessions that have good yield potential possess strong resistance to all blast pathotypes occurring in Benin. Benin national research institutes can use these accessions directly without any necessary further improvement before implementing them for cultivation at farmers level. Moreover, in our study, drought and flood tolerance genes were identified which can be combined to develop more productive and blast resistant varieties.