RIKEN Cassava Initiative: Establishment of a Cassava Functional Genomics Platform

Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is an important tropical root crop that provides food security and income generation for many farmers. Cassava ranks as the third most important source of calories in the tropics and provides sustenance to 800 million people worldwide. Cassava is also an efficient source of modified starch and bioethanol. In spite of the many advantages and high potential of cassava, the research community lacks functional genomic resources. Therefore, RIKEN has been working to establish a cassava functional genomics platform, which includes full-length cDNAs, DNA microarrays, transformation capabilities, and a searchable database in collaboration with the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) of Colombia and Mahidol University of Thailand. In this review, we summarize the present status and future perspectives of our cassava functional genomic approaches.