Desarrollo de líneas de caña de azúcar (Saccharum officinarum) producidas por mutagénesis radioinducida para una agricultura más resiliente y productiva

Sugarcane is a top ten global crop for producing profitable derivatives such as ethanol and sucrose. In Costa Rica, this crop has economic and social importance, as its cultivation and processing generate more than 8.6 billion colones per year and 58,000 direct and indirect jobs. Production requires approximately 7,000 small and medium-sized farmers, 40% of whom are women, supported by LAICA (Latin American Agricultural Institute). The sector cultivates about 60,000 hectares of rural areas in six sugarcane-growing zones: Guanacaste, North, Puntarenas, Central Valley, Turrialba, and South. The primary needs facing the sector are low productivity and emerging challenges exacerbated by climate change, such as water stress, salt stress, soil acidification, susceptibility to pathogens, and weed control. The search for innovative solutions to support the sector is imperative. Tissue culture, molecular biology, and mutation induction techniques allow the generation of new genetic variability from sugarcane lines currently used by the industry in the pursuit of producing new plants to tolerate the adverse effects of climate change and particularly soil acidification.

This work proposes the development of lines with putative tolerance to acid pH and lower flowering. Soil acidity is a negative factor affecting the agronomic management of sugarcane. It negatively affects nutrient absorption and favors the solubility of cytotoxic elements such as aluminum, causing a decrease in the vegetative development of the crop or even its death, generating significant production losses. Genetic variability in obtaining this type of trait lies in the dependence mainly on two processes in plant breeding programs. The first is the introduction of varieties generated in other countries, and the second is crossbreeding methods to obtain hybrid seeds. Both create dependence on foreign entities that produce these varieties under climatic and agroecological conditions different from those of the country. In addition, the current system requires verifying the adaptability of the agronomic behavior and is slow in obtaining hybrid seeds. Consequently, the sugarcane breeding program takes longer to provide new lines to market.

TEC has unique technical and professional equipment in Costa Rica, with the possibility of using it to increase the genetic diversity of the sugarcane crop. The university is provided with a

Gamma Irradiation Laboratory, Gamma cell equipment (CoS 44HH-NOb-Servo Ignis with 24 Cobalt 60 sources), CIB laboratories, and CIDASTH laboratories will collaborate on SDG 2.4, particularly indicator 2.4.1, to promote more productive and sustainable agriculture. This work aims to generate and establish at least one mutant capable of tolerating a pH up to 4.2, high concentrations of AICI, and a lower flowering percentage through a combination of biotechnological techniques. The project will also characterize this tolerant mutant and facilitate the exchange of experience between sugarcane producers, DIECA, and ITCR

The project is innovative for the sector due to the use of plant material granted by LAICA to develop the methodologies. The project proposes developing a protocol for in vitro sugarcane regeneration, identifying the LD50 of gamma radiation and AICI. After optimizing these protocols, we will continue with generating and selecting in vitro mutants that will be acclimatized in the greenhouse and transferred for genetic and field evaluation by DIECA-LAICA. At the end of the project, we expect to have at least one promising mutant line to be used for the DIECA-LAICA breeding program

Establecer líneas mutantes de Saccharum officinarum producidas por mutagénesis radioinducida con potencial para mitigar los efectos del cambio climático en el manejo agronómico de la caña de azúcar

Biotecnología Vegetal del CIB la Escuela de Biología
Física Aplicada por parte de la Escuela de Física
Sistemas de producción agrícola sostenible del CIDASTH de la Escuela de Ingeniería
en Agronomía