Engineering Disease-Resistant Cassava

Manihot esculenta Crantz (cassava) is a food crop originating from South America grown primarily for its starchy storage roots. Today, cassava is grown in the tropics of South America, Africa, and Asia with an estimated 800 million people relying on it as a staple source of calories. In parts of sub-Saharan Africa, cassava is particularly crucial for food security. Cassava root starch also has use in the pharmaceutical, textile, paper, and biofuel industries. Cassava has seen strong demand since 2000 and production has increased consistently year-over-year, but potential yields are hampered by susceptibility to biotic and abiotic stresses. In particular, bacterial and viral diseases can cause severe yield losses. Of note are cassava bacterial blight (CBB), cassava mosaic disease (CMD), and cassava brown streak disease (CBSD), all of which can cause catastrophic losses for growers. In this article, we provide an overview of the major microbial diseases of cassava, discuss current and potential future efforts to engineer new sources of resistance, and conclude with a discussion of the regulatory hurdles that face biotechnology.