title: Cassava genetic resources and their utilization for breeding of the crop.
abstract: Wild cassava relatives are perennials and vary in growth pattern from nearly acaulescent subshrubs to small trees. They have been used as a source of useful characters such as high protein content, apomixis, resistance to mealybug and mosaic disease, and tolerance to drought. Indigenous clones are a potential source of beta-carotene and lycopene. Apomixis genes have been transferred to the crop successfully through interspeci fi c hybridization, and apomictic clones arising from these hybrids are now being grown at the Universidade de Brasília. Interspeci fi c hybrids produced earlier were polyploidized and had their fertility restored. Different useful types of chimera were also produced.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Genética e Morfologia, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília , DF, Brasil. nagnassa@rudah.com.br
authors.forename: Nagib M A
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Nassar
mesh_terms: D000596:Amino Acids / Q000378:metabolism; D001938:Brazil; D001947:Breeding / Q000379:methods; D002338:Carotenoids / Q000378:metabolism; D002678:Chimera / Q000235:genetics; D043171:Chromosomal Instability; D017343:Genes, Plant; D002365:Manihot / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D011123:Polyploidy; D012098:Reproduction
chemical_list: D000596:Amino Acids; D002338:Carotenoids