Current advances and future directions in genetic enhancement of a climate resilient food legume crop, cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp.)

Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp) is an important legume crop for food security in areas of low-input and smallholder farming throughout Africa and Asia. Genetic improvements are required to increase yield and resilience to biotic and abiotic stress and to enhance cowpea crop performance. An integrated cowpea genomic and gene expression data resource has the potential to greatly accelerate breeding and the delivery of novel genetic traits for cowpea. Extensive genomic resources for cowpea have been absent from the public domain; however, a recent early release reference genome for IT97K-499-35 (Vigna unguiculata v1.0, NSF, UCR, USAID, DOE-JGI, http://phytozome.jgi.doe.gov/) has now been established in a collaboration between the Joint Genome Institute (JGI) and University California (UC) Riverside. Here we release supporting genomic and transcriptomic data for IT97K-499-35 and a second transformable cowpea variety, IT86D-1010. The transcriptome resource includes six tissue-specific datasets for each variety, with particular emphasis on reproductive tissues that extend and support the V. unguiculata v1.0 reference. Annotations have been included in our resource to allow direct mapping to the v1.0 cowpea reference. Access to this resource provided here is supported by raw and assembled data downloads.

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Genome Editing in Cowpea Vigna unguiculata Using CRISPR-Cas9

International Journal of Molecular Sciences ◽

10.3390/ijms20102471 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 20 (10) ◽

pp. 2471 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Jie Ji ◽

Chunyang Zhang ◽

Zhongfeng Sun ◽

Longlong Wang ◽

Deqiang Duanmu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Nitrogen Fixation ◽

Genome Editing ◽

Vigna Unguiculata ◽

Symbiotic Nitrogen Fixation ◽

Nodule Formation ◽

Guide Rnas ◽

Legume Crop ◽

Receptor Like Kinase ◽

Agronomical Traits

Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) is widely cultivated across the world. Due to its symbiotic nitrogen fixation capability and many agronomically important traits, such as tolerance to low rainfall and low fertilization requirements, as well as its high nutrition and health benefits, cowpea is an important legume crop, especially in many semi-arid countries. However, research in Vigna unguiculata is dramatically hampered by the lack of mutant resources and efficient tools for gene inactivation in vivo. In this study, we used clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) and CRISPR-associated protein 9 (Cas9). We applied the CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing technology to efficiently disrupt the representative symbiotic nitrogen fixation (SNF) gene in Vigna unguiculata. Our customized guide RNAs (gRNAs) targeting symbiosis receptor-like kinase (SYMRK) achieved ~67% mutagenic efficiency in hairy-root-transformed plants, and nodule formation was completely blocked in the mutants with both alleles disrupted. Various types of mutations were observed near the PAM region of the respective gRNA. These results demonstrate the applicability of the CRISPR/Cas9 system in Vigna unguiculata, and therefore should significantly stimulate functional genomics analyses of many important agronomical traits in this unique crop legume.

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Potential of Field Pea as a Nutritionally Rich Food Legume Crop

Breeding for Enhanced Nutrition and Bio-Active Compounds in Food Legumes ◽

10.1007/978-3-030-59215-8_3 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 47-82

Author(s):

A. K. Parihar ◽

G. P. Dixit ◽

U. Singh ◽

Anil K. Singh ◽

Nitin Kumar ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Field Pea ◽

Legume Crop ◽

Rich Food ◽

Food Legume

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Assembled genomic and tissue-specific transcriptomic data resources for two genetically distinct lines of Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp)

Gates Open Research ◽

10.12688/gatesopenres.12777.2 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 2 ◽

pp. 7 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Andrew Spriggs ◽

Steven T. Henderson ◽

Melanie L. Hand ◽

Susan D. Johnson ◽

Jennifer M. Taylor ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Vigna Unguiculata ◽

Sequence Data ◽

Biotic And Abiotic Stress ◽

Smallholder Farming ◽

Genetic Traits ◽

Tissue Specific ◽

Data Resource ◽

Transcriptomic Data ◽

Legume Crop ◽

Transcriptome Resource

Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp) is an important legume crop for food security in areas of low-input and smallholder farming throughout Africa and Asia. Genetic improvements are required to increase yield and resilience to biotic and abiotic stress and to enhance cowpea crop performance. An integrated cowpea genomic and gene expression data resource has the potential to greatly accelerate breeding and the delivery of novel genetic traits for cowpea. Extensive genomic resources for cowpea have been absent from the public domain; however, a recent early release reference genome for IT97K-499-35 (Vigna unguiculata v1.0, NSF, UCR, USAID, DOE-JGI, http://phytozome.jgi.doe.gov/) has now been established in a collaboration between the Joint Genome Institute (JGI) and University California (UC) Riverside. Here we release supporting genomic and transcriptomic data for two transformable cowpea varieties, IT97K-499-35 and IT86D-1010. The transcriptome resource includes six tissue-specific datasets for each variety, with particular emphasis on reproductive tissues that extend and support the V. unguiculata v1.0 reference. Annotations have been included in our resource to allow direct mapping to the v1.0 cowpea reference. The resource described here is supported by downloadable raw and assembled sequence data.

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A review on metabolites and pharmaceutical potential of food legume crop mung bean (Vigna radiata L. Wilczek)

BioTechnologia ◽

10.5114/bta.2021.111107 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 102 (4) ◽

pp. 425-435

Author(s):

Nikhil Mehta ◽

Priyanka Rao ◽

Raman Saini

Keyword(s):

Vigna Radiata ◽

Mung Bean ◽

Legume Crop ◽

Food Legume

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Le Striga gesnerioides et son hôte, le niébé : interaction et méthodes de lutte

Canadian Journal of Botany ◽

10.1139/b01-082 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 79 (10) ◽

pp. 1225-1240 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Marie-Pier Dubé ◽

Alain Olivier

Keyword(s):

Vigna Unguiculata ◽

Cultural Practices ◽

Parasitic Weed ◽

Vascular Connection ◽

Striga Gesnerioides ◽

Cowpea Cultivars ◽

Legume Crop ◽

Interaction Control ◽

Intimate Association

Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.) is an important legume crop in subsaharian Africa. However, its cultivation is threatened by the parasitic weed Striga gesnerioides (Willd.) Vatke, which causes considerable yield losses. Striga gesnerioides is an obligate parasite with low photosynthetic activity. Its seeds germinate in response to specific germination stimulants exuded by host roots. After germination, an haustorium is formed through differentiation of the radicular apex. A vascular connection is subsequently established, allowing the parasitic weed to absorb water and nutrients that are essential for its development. Control of S. gesnerioides is difficult to achieve because of the intimate association between the parasitic weed and its host. The use of resistant cowpea cultivars, in combination with appropriate cultural practices, is probably the easiest and most effective method to control S. gesnerioides and achieve long term reduction of its seed bank in the soil.Key words: germination, interaction, control methods, cultivar resistance, Striga gesnerioides, Vigna unguiculata.

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Narrowing Down a Major QTL Region Conferring Pod Fiber Contents in Yardlong Bean (Vigna unguiculata), a Vegetable Cowpea

Genes ◽

10.3390/genes11040363 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

pp. 363 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Phurisorn Watcharatpong ◽

Akito Kaga ◽

Xin Chen ◽

Prakit Somta

Keyword(s):

Vigna Unguiculata ◽

Fine Mapping ◽

Reference Genome ◽

Cross Combination ◽

Pod Shattering ◽

Legume Crop ◽

Pod Wall ◽

Yardlong Bean ◽

Beta Glucosidase ◽

Major Qtl

Yardlong bean (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp. ssp. sesquipedalis), a subgroup of cowpea, is an important vegetable legume crop of Asia where its young pods are consumed in both fresh and cooked forms. Pod fiber contents (cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin) correlates with pod tenderness (softness/hardness) and pod shattering. In a previous study using populations derived from crosses between yardlong bean and wild cowpea (V. unguiculata ssp. unguiculata var. spontanea), three major quantitative trait loci (QTLs), qCel7.1, qHem7.1 and qLig7.1, controlling these fibers were identified on linkage group 7 (cowpea chromosome 5) and are co-located with QTLs for pod tenderness and pod shattering. The objective of this study was to identify candidate gene(s) controlling the pod fiber contents. Fine mapping for qCel7.1, qHem7.1 and qLig7.1 was conducted using F2 and F2:3 populations of 309 and 334 individuals, respectively, from the same cross combination. New DNA markers were developed from cowpea reference genome sequence and used for fine mapping. A QTL analysis showed that in most cases, each pod fiber content was controlled by one major and one minor QTLs on the LG7. The major QTLs for cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin in pod were always mapped to the same regions or close to each other. In addition, a major QTL for pod shattering was also located in the region. Although there were several annotated genes relating to pod fiber contents in the region, two genes including Vigun05g266600 (VuBGLU12) encoding a beta glucosidase and Vigun05g273500 (VuMYB26b) encoding a transcription factor MYB26 were identified as candidate genes for the pod fiber contents and pod shattering. Function(s) of these genes in relation to pod wall fiber biosynthesis and pod shattering was discussed.

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