Projects

PI: Dr. Stephan Winter

We are monitoring the viruses of cassava Manihot esculenta, a world crop of high importance to provide food for many million people in Sub Sahara Africa, South America and Asia and for production of starch, alcohol and other industrial products. On the African continent, cassava mosaic viruses and cassava brown streak viruses are the major constraints to cassava cultivation and production. While the cassava mosaic viruses are present wherever cassava is grown on the continent, the viruses causing brown streak disease are newly emerging viruses that are rampant in particular in East and Central Africa. Their dissemination and spread to West Africa would cause serious impact to cassava production and has to be prevented. 
We study the virus genetic variability and follow adaptation of viruses, the development of new strains or variants and virus population drifts eventually causing more serious diseases. The identification of viruses or pathogenic variants and their biological characterization supports early interventions for disease control and prevention.

PI: Dr. Stephan Winter

We are conducting a massive screening program to identify cassava genotypes resistant to CBSD. We have selected resistant cassava lines through rigorous inoculation screenings with defined reference viruses. 
All techniques for highly competent virus research are established in the laboratory, from advanced virus infection methods using recombinant virus clones and infections by agrobacterium mediated inoculation to particle bombardment using gold particles as carrier to infect plants by ballistics.

The combination of profound virological knowledge of virus biology combined with the most advanced techniques in virology and innovative ideas bring us into the center of international efforts to search for improved and healthy cassava materials for resistance validation in the natural environment. This work generates fundamental information for genetic improvement of the crop and provides the sources needed to make substantial progress in cassava breeding for CBSD resistance.