The coconut industry of the Philippines is the major pillar of the country’s agriculture, consisting of 3.16 million hectares and involving 3.4 million farmers. However, coconut productivity in the country is experiencing a decline, with only an average yield of 46 nuts/tree per year. This is way below India’s average yield of 77 nuts per tree per year.
To address the decline in production, the Philippine Genome Center Program for Agriculture of the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) is aiming to boost the coconut production to 150 nuts per tree per year through the coconut genomics program. The program, Improvement of Coconut Varieties through Genomics, Genetics, and Breeding for a Competitive and Sustainable Philippine Coconut Industry (Genomics-Assisted Molecular Breeding), is funded by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCAARRD) and will run for five years.
The program will focus on the use of molecular markers towards marker-assisted selection and molecular breeding of selected coconut varieties, single-cross hybrids, and advanced mapping populations from the Philippine Coconut Authority. The program will involve eight projects which will focus on the generation of molecular markers associated with traits such as copra yield, early flowering time, oil biosynthesis, mutations in the endosperm, and insect resistance.
Each of the projects aims to achieve the following concerns:
• Examine the genomic sequence of coconut variety, particularly Laguna Tall (LAGT) and Catigan Green Dwarf (CATD) – (Project 1)
• Generate molecular markers from the assembled genomes of Tall/Dwarf coconut varieties and map the biomarkers, genes, Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) loci on coconut linkage map – (Project 2)
• Improve copra yield and early flowering traits of coconut through genome expression analysis – (Project 3)
• Utilize gene expression analyses to improve oil biosynthesis to understand Makapuno and Lono traits for generation of molecular markers – (Project 4)
• Develop a genetically-modified model corn system to express coconut genes associated with oil biosynthesis – (Project 5)
• Employ marker-assisted breeding to create superior hybrids with improved yield and quality – (Project 6)
• Identify QTL and DNA markers for yield and copra quality of coconut from an advanced mapping population developed by the Philippine Coconut Authority – (Project 7)
• Construct a web-based tool for breeding resources and develop markers for scale insect resistance and glandular trichomes – (Project 8)
The coconut genomics program is one of the many initiatives of DOST-PCAARRD in connection with Outcome One.
Outcome One seeks to provide science-based know-how and tools that will enable the agricultural sector to raise productivity to world-class standards.
The coconut genomics program was one of the featured technologies during this year’s National Biotechnology Week (NBW) that is scheduled from November 23 to 28 at SM Dasmariñas, Cavite. DOST-PCAARRD will showcase this technology in its booth for the six-day event.
NBW 2015 had the theme, Bioteknolohiya: Kaagapay ng Mamamayan sa Pambansang Kaunlaran. It also has the slogan, Angat Tayo sa Bioteknolohiya!
NBW is an annual celebration which kicked off in 2005 and was institutionalized in 2007 by virtue of Presidential Proclamation 1414. The event serves as a venue for government agencies, academic communities, and private institutions to create awareness about the role of biotechnology in food production and security.