mia (iron deficiency) affects 37% of the world's population (www.harvestplus.org). Using genetic manipulation, genes for higher vitamin A have been inserted into rice (Golden Rice) (Guerinot, 2000), and efforts are underway to pro­duce micronutrient-dense iron and zinc varieties in rice.
Breeding for fodder and forage quality and yield is becom­ing more important.

The recognition that most small-scale farmers use crops for multiple purposes and the rapid expansion in livestock pro­duction has resulted in breeding programs that target fod­der and forage quality and yield. For example, Quantitative Trait Loci (QTLs) for stover quality traits that can be used in marker assisted breeding (MAB) have been identified in millet (Nepolean et al., 2006); ICRISAT now tests sorghum, millet and groundnut breeding lines for fodder quality and production.
A large number of postharvest technologies have been de­veloped to improve the shelf life of agricultural produce.

Postharvest technologies include canning, bottling, freezing, freeze drying, various forms of processing (FFTC, 2006), and other methods particularly appropriate for large com­mercial enterprises. Studies on the effects of storage atmo­sphere, gaseous composition during storage, postharvest ethylene application and ultraviolet (UV) irradiation, and effect of plant stage on the availability of various micro-nutrients in different foods are being examined to provide increased understanding of the sensitivity of micronutrient availability to the ways in which foods are handled, stored and cooked (Welch and Graham, 2000; Brovelli, 2005).
3.2.1.3 Recent biotechnologies: MAS, MAB and Genetic Engineering
Nucleic acid technologies (Table 3-2) and their application in genomics is beginning to have an impact on plant (Baen-ziger et al., 2006; Swamininathan, 2006) and animal breed­ing, both through increased knowledge of model and crop species genomes, and through the use of marker assisted selection (MAS) or breeding (MAB).
Plants
The tools and techniques developed by applied modern biotechnology are beginning to have an impact on plant breeding and productivity.

The use of genomic-based breeding approaches are already widespread (e.g., Generation Challenge Program: http:// www.generationcp.org/index.php),   particularly   MAS   or MAB. CIMMYT, for example, routinely uses five markers and performs about 7000 marker assays per year (Reynolds and Borlaug, 2006). These markers include two for cereal

Table 3-2. Techniques being used to elucidate the genetic structure of populations for conservation or utilization within crop/ livestock breeding programs.

cyst nematode, one for barley yellow dwarf, one to facilitate wide crossing and one for transferring disease resistance from different genomes. Likewise, ICRISAT routinely uses MAS to incorporate genes for downy mildew resistance in pearl millet (ICRISAT, 2006). MAS can shorten the breeding cycle substantially and hence, the economic benefits are sub­stantial (Pandey and Rajatasereekul, 1999). Using MAS, it took just over three years to introduce downy mildew resis­tance compared to nearly nine years by conventional breed­ing (ICRISAT, 2006). QTLs identified for submergence tol­erance in rice have also been fine-mapped and gene-specific markers identified (Xu et al., 2006), shortening the breeding cycle with MAB to 2 years. At present, as in the examples above, most MAS is with major genes or qualitative traits and MAS is likely to be most useful in the near future to transfer donor genes, pyramid resistance genes and finger print MVs (Koebner and Summers, 2003; Baenziger et al., 2006). To date, MAS has been less successful with more complex, quantitative traits, particularly drought tolerance (Snape, 2004; Steele et al., 2006).
Knowledge of gene pathways and regulatory networks in model species is starting to have impacts on plant breeding.

The genome of the model plant species Arabidopsis and its function have been studied in great detail. One of the most important traits in crop plants is the timing of flowering and crop duration, which determines adaptation. Genes that control the circadian rhythm and the timing of flowering have been extensively studied in Arabidopsis (Hayama and Coupland, 2004; Bernier and Perilleux, 2005; Corbesier and Coupland, 2005) and modeled (Welch et al., 2003; Locke et al., 2005). Homologues of key flowering pathway genes have been identified in rice and many other crop plants, and flowering pathways and the control of flowering time better understood (Hayama and Coupland, 2004), thus providing an opportunity to manipulate this pathway. Drought resis­tance has also been studied in Arabidopsis and two genes, the DREB gene (Pellegrineschi et al., 2004) and the erecta