Adaptation assessment of drought tolerance in maize populations from the Sahara in both shores of the Mediterranean Sea

AbstractDrought is the main stress for agriculture, and maize (Zea mays L.) germplasm from the Sahara has been identified as potential source of drought tolerance; however, information about adaptation of semitropical maize germplasm from the Sahara to temperate areas has not been reported. Our objective was assessing the adaptation of maize germplasm from Saharan oases as sources of drought tolerance for improving yield and biomass production under drought conditions in temperate environments. A collection of maize populations from Saharan oases was evaluated under drought and control conditions in Spain and Algeria. Algerian populations were significantly different under drought for most traits, and the significant genotype × environment interactions indicated that drought tolerance is genotype-dependent, but tolerance differences among genotypes change across environments. Based on yield, the Algerian maize populations PI527474, PI527478, PI527472, PI527467, PI527470, and PI527473 would be appropriate sources of drought tolerance for temperate environments. Concerning biomass production, the most interesting populations were PI527467, PI542685, PI527478, and PI527472. These Saharan populations could provide favorable alleles for drought tolerance for temperate breeding programs, and could also be used for studying mechanisms and genetic regulation of drought tolerance.

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Genetics of Germination and Seedling Traits under Drought Stress in a MAGIC Population of Maize

Plants ◽

10.3390/plants10091786 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (9) ◽

pp. 1786

Author(s):

Soumeya Rida ◽

Oula Maafi ◽

Ana López-Malvar ◽

Pedro Revilla ◽

Meriem Riache ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Drought Tolerance ◽

Genome Wide Association Study ◽

Genetic Regulation ◽

Breeding Programs ◽

Seedling Traits ◽

Genome Wide ◽

A Genome ◽

Positive Correlations ◽

Genomic Regions ◽

Magic Population

Drought is one of the most detrimental abiotic stresses hampering seed germination, development, and productivity. Maize is more sensitive to drought than other cereals, especially at seedling stage. Our objective was to study genetic regulation of drought tolerance at germination and during seedling growth in maize. We evaluated 420 RIL with their parents from a multi-parent advanced generation inter-cross (MAGIC) population with PEG-induced drought at germination and seedling establishment. A genome-wide association study (GWAS) was carried out to identify genomic regions associated with drought tolerance. GWAS identified 28 and 16 SNPs significantly associated with germination and seedling traits under stress and well-watered conditions, respectively. Among the SNPs detected, two SNPs had significant associations with several traits with high positive correlations, suggesting a pleiotropic genetic control. Other SNPs were located in regions that harbored major QTLs in previous studies, and co-located with QTLs for cold tolerance previously published for this MAGIC population. The genomic regions comprised several candidate genes related to stresses and plant development. These included numerous drought-responsive genes and transcription factors implicated in germination, seedling traits, and drought tolerance. The current analyses provide information and tools for subsequent studies and breeding programs for improving drought tolerance.

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Phenotyping Latin American Open-Pollinated Varieties of Popcorn for Environments with Low Water Availability

Plants ◽

10.3390/plants10061211 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (6) ◽

pp. 1211

Author(s):

Talles de Oliveira Santos ◽

Antônio Teixeira do Amaral Junior ◽

Rosimeire Barboza Bispo ◽

Valter Jário de Lima ◽

Samuel Henrique Kamphorst ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Abiotic Stress ◽

Drought Tolerance ◽

Grain Yield ◽

Latin American ◽

Water Availability ◽

Growth And Development ◽

Agricultural Crops ◽

Breeding Programs ◽

Maize Germplasm ◽

Biplot Analysis

Drought is a common abiotic stress in tropical and subtropical regions that limits the growth and development of agricultural crops, mainly impacting grain yield. Acting through plant breeding is the most viable alternative for obtaining genotypes more tolerant of environments with stress. This work aims to select popcorn genotypes for environments with drought and to identify discriminating traits for the evaluation of drought tolerance in popcorn germplasm. Fifteen Latin American populations of popcorn were evaluated in water stress (WS) and well-watered (WW) conditions. The evaluated traits were based in morpho-agronomic, physiological and radicular descriptors. Data were submitted to individual and joint ANOVA and GT Biplot analysis. Variability was detected between populations for all traits in both conditions. The drought caused a reduction of 30.61% and 3.5% in grain yield and popping expansion, respectively. Based in GT biplot analysis, 880POP was the most stable in WS and WW, being indicated as a promising population for cultivation in environments with water limitation. This study is going to allow the establishment of a collection of great importance to maize germplasm and to provide information to facilitate the process of selection in breeding programs focused on drought tolerance.

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A Review of Chenopodium quinoa (Willd.) Diseases—An Updated Perspective

Plants ◽

10.3390/plants10061228 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (6) ◽

pp. 1228

Author(s):

Carla Colque-Little ◽

Daniel Buchvaldt Amby ◽

Christian Andreasen

Keyword(s):

Pseudomonas Syringae ◽

Chenopodium Quinoa ◽

Emerging Diseases ◽

Control Measures ◽

Breeding Programs ◽

Ascochyta Caulina ◽

Disease Diagnostics ◽

And Control ◽

Specific Symptoms ◽

Reduced Water

The journey of the Andean crop quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) to unfamiliar environments and the combination of higher temperatures, sudden changes in weather, intense precipitation, and reduced water in the soil has increased the risk of observing new and emerging diseases associated with this crop. Several diseases of quinoa have been reported in the last decade. These include Ascochyta caulina, Cercospora cf. chenopodii, Colletotrichum nigrum, C. truncatum, and Pseudomonas syringae. The taxonomy of other diseases remains unclear or is characterized primarily at the genus level. Symptoms, microscopy, and pathogenicity, supported by molecular tools, constitute accurate plant disease diagnostics in the 21st century. Scientists and farmers will benefit from an update on the phytopathological research regarding a crop that has been neglected for many years. This review aims to compile the existing information and make accurate associations between specific symptoms and causal agents of disease. In addition, we place an emphasis on downy mildew and its phenotyping, as it continues to be the most economically important and studied disease affecting quinoa worldwide. The information herein will allow for the appropriate execution of breeding programs and control measures.

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Dot map cartograms for detection of infectious disease outbreaks: an application to Q fever, the Netherlands and pertussis, Germany

Eurosurveillance ◽

10.2807/1560-7917.es.2017.22.26.30562 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 22 (26) ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Loes Soetens ◽

Susan Hahné ◽

Jacco Wallinga

Keyword(s):

Infectious Disease ◽

The Netherlands ◽

Q Fever ◽

Disease Outbreaks ◽

Point Pattern ◽

Infectious Disease Outbreaks ◽

Public Health Professionals ◽

Potential Source ◽

High Incidence ◽

And Control

Geographical mapping of infectious diseases is an important tool for detecting and characterising outbreaks. Two common mapping methods, dot maps and incidence maps, have important shortcomings. The former does not represent population density and can compromise case privacy, and the latter relies on pre-defined administrative boundaries. We propose a method that overcomes these limitations: dot map cartograms. These create a point pattern of cases while reshaping spatial units, such that spatial area becomes proportional to population size. We compared these dot map cartograms with standard dot maps and incidence maps on four criteria, using two example datasets. Dot map cartograms were able to illustrate both incidence and absolute numbers of cases (criterion 1): they revealed potential source locations (Q fever, the Netherlands) and clusters with high incidence (pertussis, Germany). Unlike incidence maps, they were insensitive to choices regarding spatial scale (criterion 2). Dot map cartograms ensured the privacy of cases (criterion 3) by spatial distortion; however, this occurred at the expense of recognition of locations (criterion 4). We demonstrate that dot map cartograms are a valuable method for detection and visualisation of infectious disease outbreaks, which facilitates informed and appropriate actions by public health professionals, to investigate and control outbreaks.

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Physiological and morphological responses to water stress in Aegilops biuncialis and Triticum aestivum genotypes with differing tolerance to drought

Functional Plant Biology ◽

10.1071/fp03143 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 31 (12) ◽

pp. 1149 ◽

Cited By ~ 66

Author(s):

István Molnár ◽

László Gáspár ◽

Éva Sárvári ◽

Sándor Dulai ◽

Borbála Hoffmann ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Growth Rate ◽

Triticum Aestivum ◽

Water Stress ◽

Drought Tolerance ◽

Osmotic Stress ◽

Biomass Production ◽

Water Loss ◽

Stomatal Closure ◽

Co2 Assimilation ◽

Wheat Genotypes

The physiological and morphological responses to water stress induced by polyethylene glycol (PEG) or by withholding water were investigated in Aegilops biuncialis Vis. genotypes differing in the annual rainfall of their habitat (1050, 550 and 225 mm year–1) and in Triticum aestivum L. wheat genotypes differing in drought tolerance. A decrease in the osmotic pressure of the nutrient solution from –0.027 to –1.8 MPa resulted in significant water loss, a low degree of stomatal closure and a decrease in the intercellular CO2 concentration (Ci) in Aegilops genotypes originating from dry habitats, while in wheat genotypes high osmotic stress increased stomatal closure, resulting in a low level of water loss and high Ci. Nevertheless, under saturating light at normal atmospheric CO2 levels, the rate of CO2 assimilation was higher for the Aegilops accessions, under high osmotic stress, than for the wheat genotypes. Moreover, in the wheat genotypes CO2 assimilation exhibited less or no O2 sensitivity. These physiological responses were manifested in changes in the growth rate and biomass production, since Aegilops (Ae550, Ae225) genotypes retained a higher growth rate (especially in the roots), biomass production and yield formation after drought stress than wheat. These results indicate that Aegilops genotypes, originating from a dry habitat have better drought tolerance than wheat, making them good candidates for improving the drought tolerance of wheat through intergeneric crossing.

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Discrimination of drought tolerance in a worldwide collection of safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) genotypes based on selection indices

Acta agriculturae Slovenica ◽

10.14720/aas.2021.117.1.1656 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 117 (1) ◽

pp. 1

Author(s):

Pooran GOLKAR ◽

Esmaeil HAMZEH ◽

Seyed Ali Mohammad MIRMOHAMMADY MAIBODY

Keyword(s):

Drought Stress ◽

Drought Tolerance ◽

Geometric Mean ◽

Resistance Index ◽

Stability Index ◽

Carthamus Tinctorius ◽

Tolerance Index ◽

Breeding Programs ◽

Drought Tolerance Indices ◽

Tolerance Indices

Improvement of elite safflower genotypes for drought-tolerance is hampered by a deficiency of effective selection criteria. The present study evaluated 100 genotypes of safflower in terms of their drought tolerance over a period of three years (2016–2018) under both non-stress and drought-stress conditions. The eight drought-tolerance indices of tolerance index (TOL), mean productivity (MP), geometric mean productivity (GMP), stress susceptibility index (SSI), stress tolerance index (STI), yield stability index (YSI), drought resistance index (DI), and harmonic mean (HARM) were calculated based on seed yield under drought (Ys) and non-drought (Yp) conditions. A high genetic variation was found in drought tolerance among the genotypes studied. The MP, GMP, and STI indices were able to discriminate between tolerant and drought-sensitive genotypes. Plots of the first and second principal components identified drought-tolerant genotypes averaged over the three study years. Cluster analysis divided the genotypes into three distinct groups using the drought tolerance indices. Ultimately, eight genotypes (namely, G3, G11, G13, G24, G33, G47, G58, and G61) from different origins were detected as more tolerant to drought stress suitable for use in safflower breeding programs in drought-affected areas. The most tolerant and susceptible genotypes could be exploited to produce mapping populations for drought tolerance breeding programs in safflower.

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Maize gene bank collections as potentially valuable breeding material

Genetika ◽

10.2298/gensr1001009v ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 42 (1) ◽

pp. 9-21 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Jelena Vancetovic ◽

Snezana Mladenovic-Drinic ◽

Milosav Babic ◽

Dragana Ignjatovic-Micic ◽

Violeta Andjelkovic

Keyword(s):

Genetic Resources ◽

Herbicide Tolerance ◽

Gene Bank ◽

Maize Breeding ◽

Breeding Programs ◽

Effective Utilization ◽

Maize Populations ◽

Predominant Type ◽

Superior Genotypes ◽

Maize Gene

Characterization and evaluation of the genetic resources provide breeders with valuable information on an effective utilization of the genetic resources in breeding programs. In this paper we present the results of different research programs aimed at identification of superior genotypes among MRI gene bank accessions, regarding stress tolerance (drought and herbicides), better nutritional quality (phosphorus) and specific traits (cytoplasmic male sterility - CMS). Fifty-two genotypes were identified as a potential source for drought tolerance. Considering herbicide tolerance only genotypes with resistance to the Pivot were found. Within 100 sources of CMS in the collection S cytoplasm was identified as the predominant type. Phytate analysis of 60 maize populations identified three groups of populations - with low (8), intermediate (25) and high (27) phytate content. The results of these researches, which are a part of pre-breeding activities, will be included in MRI breeding programs, with the aim of developing new genotypes with improved traits important in commercial maize breeding and seed production.

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‘Garnem’ and Myrobalan ‘P.2175’: Two Different Drought Responses and Their Implications in Drought Tolerance

Horticulturae ◽

10.3390/horticulturae7090299 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 7 (9) ◽

pp. 299

Author(s):

Beatriz Bielsa ◽

María Ángeles Sanz ◽

María José Rubio-Cabetas

Keyword(s):

Transcription Factor ◽

Drought Tolerance ◽

Abiotic Stresses ◽

Interspecific Hybrids ◽

Drought Response ◽

Breeding Programs ◽

Wide Range ◽

Relative Water ◽

Aba Content ◽

Rootstock Breeding

One of the challenges in rootstock breeding programs is the combination of tolerances to different abiotic stresses in new interspecific hybrids adapted to a wide range of environmental conditions. In this work, two Prunus L. rootstocks: Myrobalan ‘P.2175’ (P. cerasifera Ehrh.) and the almond × peach hybrid ‘Garnem’ (P. amygdalus Batsch × P. persica (L.) Batsch) were subjected to drought during 24 h to understand their drought response mechanisms. The study was conducted monitoring leaf water potential (LWP), stomatal conductance (gs), relative water content (RWC), and electrolyte leakage (EL); as well as the abscisic acid (ABA) content in roots. The relative expression of five drought-relative genes was also studied. The obtained results allowed examining the drought tolerance potential of ‘Garnem’ and Myrobalan ‘P.2175’, demonstrating the great potential of ‘Garnem’ as drought tolerance source in future selections in breeding. Furthermore, based on the obtained data, the transcription factor Myb25-like could be a good biomarker of drought sensitivity for use in Prunus rootstock breeding programs.

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00/02685 Promising industrial energy crop, Cynara cardunculus: a potential source for biomass production and alternative energy

Fuel and Energy Abstracts ◽

10.1016/s0140-6701(00)96598-6 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 41 (5) ◽

pp. 299

Keyword(s):

Biomass Production ◽

Alternative Energy ◽

Energy Crop ◽

Cynara Cardunculus ◽

Potential Source ◽

Industrial Energy

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Advances in understanding the epidemiology, molecular biology and control of net blotch and the net blotch barley interaction

10.19103/as.2021.0092.31 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 477-524

Author(s):

Anke Martin ◽

◽

Barsha Poudel ◽

Buddhika Amarasinghe Dahanayaka ◽

Mark S. McLean ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Molecular Biology ◽

Fungicide Resistance ◽

Net Blotch ◽

Sources Of Resistance ◽

Breeding Programs ◽

Barley Cultivars ◽

Sexual And Asexual Reproduction ◽

And Control ◽

Different Sources ◽

Durable Disease Resistance

Net blotches are the most widely distributed foliar diseases of barley worldwide, causing significant losses in grain yield. They occur as net form net blotch, caused by Pyrenophora teres f. teres and spot form net blotch caused by P. teres f. maculata. Both sexual and asexual reproduction play a role in the P. teres disease cycles leading to changes in genetic variation of populations. Breeding programs have to keep pace with pathogenic changes and ensure different sources of resistance are present in current barley cultivars. Knowledge of the genetic architecture and genes involved in virulence is thus vital to increase the durability of net blotch resistance in barley cultivars. This chapter explores the molecular biology, life-cycle and epidemiology of the net blotch fungi and discusses the key challenges we are facing in managing the net blotches using both fungicide resistance and breeding strategies to achieve durable disease resistance in barley.

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