Wilhelm Gruissem is emeritus Professor at ETH Zurich (Switzerland) and Chair Professor and Yu-shan Fellow at National Chung Hsing University (NCHU; Taiwan). He is currently leading a research group at NCHU to improve the nutritional qualities and agronomic traits in cassava and rice. Major crops such as maize, wheat, rice, potato and cassava are rich in starch and together they provide more than 85% of the carbohydrate calories consumed worldwide. People for whom these crops are the primary staple food receive enough calories but they are often malnourished because the seeds, tubers and roots of these plants do not contain enough of the necessary vitamins and minerals such as iron for a healthy diet. For example, 1.6 billion people worldwide suffer reduced productive capacity due to iron-deficiency anemia. Utilizing the genetic potential of the diversity available in seed banks around the world for crop improvement is often not possible because high micronutrient target traits are not available in breeding germplasm. His groups use genetic engineering and new breeding technologies to increase the micronutrient and vitamin content of rice and cassava, which would not be possible by conventional breeding. They achieved more than 10-fold increases in iron and zinc content over levels typically present in polished rice grains, approaching the estimated average requirement (EAR) for human nutrition. Engineering key steps of vitamin B6 biosynthesis increases bioavailable vitamin B6 content in cassava storage roots and leaves to EAR levels. Combining genes for micronutrient improvement and other agronomic traits into novel single-locus traits will facilitate breeding in these two major staple crops. Agronomic and micronutrient trait improvement | Cassava | Rice

Shu-Heng Chang is a postdoctoral fellow in Advanced Plant Biotechnology Center at National Chung Hsing University, Taiwan. During his doctoral studying in Institute of Biochemistry at NCHU, he focused on an unculturable and phloem sapping plant pathogen, phytoplasma. He found that the phytoplasma secreted protein, SAP11, is able to alter the plant architecture and phase transition. After graduation, he joined Professor Wilhelm Gruissem laboratory in Taiwan, as a laboratory manager and postdoctoral fellow. Rice and cassava, two of the most improtant major staple food crops worldwide providing carbohydrate and a wide range of nutrients. To meet future food demand of the growing world population, higher yield and nutritious crops are required. Dr. Chang conduct the field trial of iron and zinc biofortication rice and Cassava Source-Sink (CASS) project source-to-sink improvement transgenic cassava plants in NCHU Agricultural Experiment Station. Promising transgenic rice and cassava established by genetic engineering and new breeding technologies were selected to growth under field conditions.

Silas Wungrampha is a postdoctoral researcher at the Advanced Plant and Food Crop Biotechnology Center, National Chung Hsing University, Taiwan. During his doctoral research at the School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, India, he investigated the mechanisms underlying stress adaptation in the xero-halophyte, Suaeda fruticosa, from the Thar Desert, Rajasthan, using metabolomics, ionomics, and proteomics approaches. Following his PhD, he joined the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) South Asia Regional Center in Varanasi, India, as a Technical Consultant, where he worked on translating research outputs and technologies into practical applications for farmers. He subsequently joined Prof. Wilhelm Gruissem’s group at NCHU to further develop his research experience in plant biotechnology and crop improvement. Within the CASS project, his primary role is field phenotyping of transgenic cassava, with a particular focus on photosynthetic performance using LI-6800 gas exchange measurements.

Tzu Jui Chiu is a Research Assistant in the laboratory of Prof. Dr. Wilhelm Gruissem at National Chung-Hsing University (NCHU) in Taichung, Taiwan. Chiu received his M.Sc. degree from the Department of Agronomy at NCHU. He is managing the logistics of the CASS3 large-scale field experiments and is responsible for collecting agronomic trait information, UAV phenotyping, and data analysis. Chiu enjoys working in the field and keeping the cassava plants healthy and growing.