About the Project
What Is the CASS Project?
The Cassava Source-Sink Project (CASS) is an international team of plant scientists.
We work together to find ways to grow cassava plants with bigger, better roots — without needing more farming inputs like water or fertilizer.
Our Goal
We use biotechnology to change how cassava plants move and store energy.
By doing this, we can help the plants grow larger storage roots, which means more food and better harvests for farmers.
In this video, the CASS project demonstrates how genetically engineered cassava plants are developed using Agrobacterium-mediated transformation in a specialized plant tissue culture laboratory.
Who We Are
The project is coordinated by:
-
Prof. Dr. Uwe Sonnewald (Project Director)
-
Dr. Wolfgang Zierer (Project Manager)
Both work at the Division of Biochemistry, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg in Germany.
We collaborate with 10 universities and research institutions in 7 different countries.
Our Progress
The CASS project is now in its third funding phase.
We are currently working on:
-
Developing prototype cassava plants with better yields
-
Creating new technologies for future cassava improvement
What We Achieved So Far
In the first two phases, we:
-
Built a complete system for creating and testing transgenic cassava plants
-
Created a molecular toolbox to control genes in cassava
-
Discovered new ways to improve cassava yield
-
Published many research papers in leading scientific journals