scholarly journals Legume biology: the basis for crop improvement

2013 ◽  
Vol 40 (12) ◽  
pp. v ◽  
Author(s):  
Rajeev K. Varshney ◽  
Himabindu Kudapa
Keyword(s):  
Target Genes ◽  
Crop Improvement ◽  
Crop Productivity ◽  
Food Sources ◽  
Yield Potential ◽  
Systematic Research ◽  
Breeding Programs ◽  
Biotic Stresses ◽  
Legume Crop ◽  
Precise Understanding

Legumes represent the most valued food sources in agriculture after cereals. Despite the advances made in breeding food legumes, there is a need to develop and further improve legume productivity to meet increasing food demand worldwide. Several biotic and abiotic stresses affect legume crop productivity throughout the world. The study of legume genetics, genomics and biology are all important in order to understand the limitations of yield of legume crops and to support our legume breeding programs. With the advent of huge genomic resources and modern technologies, legume research can be directed towards precise understanding of the target genes responsible for controlling important traits for yield potential, and for resistance to abiotic and biotic stresses. Programmed and systematic research will lead to developing high yielding, stress tolerant and early maturing varieties. This issue of Functional Plant Biology is dedicated to ‘Legume Biology’ research covering part of the work presented at VI International Conference on Legume Genetics and Genomics held at Hyderabad, India, in 2012. The 13 contributions cover recent advances in legume research in the context of plant architecture and trait mapping, functional genomics, biotic stress and abiotic stress.

scholarly journals Buckwheat Breeding. Past, Present and Future / Žlahtnjenje ajde v preteklosti, sedanjosti in prihodnosti

2020 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-36
Author(s):  
Clayton G. Campbell ◽  
Mio Nagano
Keyword(s):  
Crop Improvement ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Fagopyrum Esculentum ◽  
Yield Potential ◽  
Interspecific Crosses ◽  
Flower Number ◽  
Breeding Programs ◽  
Fagopyrum Homotropicum ◽  
The Past ◽  
Nutritional Components

Buckwheat crop improvement by breeding has been taking place over the past 100 years or more. During this time there has been improvements in many desirable agronomic characteristics which has resulted in higher yields in many of the breeding programs. Phenotypic modifications, such as dwarf, semi-dwarf and branching have been reported. There has also been an effort to increase flower number as this has been shown in cross pollinating buckwheat, to increase yields. Flower cluster modifications and their effects on yield have also been studied. Increased reports on the discovery of buckwheat wild species have been reported from several programs with many interspecific crosses having taken place. Several of these crosses were performed with Fagopyrum esculentum in efforts to increase variability which can be used to increase yield potential as well as to obtain increased nutritional components.  More recent efforts have focused on the development of self-pollinating buckwheat, both from introgression of genes from Fagopyrum homotropicum as well as from mutations in cross pollinating buckwheat. The main problem has been in breeding depression which has occurred in many of the reported attempts. However, high yielding homomorphic, self-pollinating varieties have been developed and are now in commercial production. There is now emphasis being placed on many of the nutritional aspects of buckwheat flour as well as value added components. It is expected that this will increase over time.  Key words: Buckwheat breeding, homomorphic, autogamous buckwheat.   Izvleček Žlahtnjenje ajde poteka že več kot 100 let. V tem času je bila dosežena izboljšava željenih agronomskih lastnosti, kar je pri mnogih programih žlahtnjenja omogočilo večje pridelke. Raziskovalci poročajo o fenotipskih modifikacijah, kot je pritlikava ali pol-pritlikava rast in razvejanje. Za povečanje pridelka so bile raziskane modifikacije socvetij. Število poročil o odkritjih divjih sorodnikov ajde in o mnogih medvrstnih križanjih se je v zadnjem času povečalo. V mnoga od teh križanj je bila vključena navadna ajda (Fagopyrum esculentum), da bi povečali  variabilnost, kar bi lahko omogočilo povečanje pridelka in izboljšanje prehranskih lastnosti. Novejša prizadevanja so se osredotočila na razvoj samooplodnosti pri ajdi, z vključitvijo genov vrste Fagopyrum homotropicum, kot tudi mutacij pri ajdi, ki se je opraševala navzkrižno.  Pri tem je bila glavna težava preseči  depresijo zaradi samooploditev, depresija se je pojavila pri večih poskusih samooploditve. Ne glede na to je uspelo dobiti visokorodne homomorfne samooplodne sorte za ponudbo na trgu semen. Sedaj se prizadevanja usmerjajo k izboljšanju prehranske vrednosti ajde in pomembnih sestavin v ajdovi moki. Pričakovati je, da se bo pomen prehranske vrednosti ajde sčasoma še povečeval. Ključne besede: žlahtnjenje ajde, homomorfnost, samo­oplodna ajda

scholarly journals Amenability of Maruca vitrata (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) to gene silencing through exogenous administration and host-delivered dsRNA in pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan L.)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Madhurima Chatterjee ◽  
Jyoti Yadav ◽  
Maniraj Rathinam ◽  
Kesiraju Karthik ◽  
Gopal Chowdhary ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Silencing ◽  
Target Genes ◽  
Insect Pests ◽  
Crop Improvement ◽  
Maruca Vitrata ◽  
Economic Losses ◽  
In Planta ◽  
Biotic Stresses ◽  
Pod Borer ◽  
Plant Level

Abstract Insect pests are one of the major biotic stresses limiting yield in commercially important food crops. The lepidopteran polyphagous spotted pod borer, Maruca vitrata causes significant economic losses in legumes including pigeonpea. RNAi-based gene silencing has emerged as one of the potential biotechnological tools for crop improvement. We report in this paper, RNAi in M. vitrata through exogenous administration of dsRNA encoding three functionally important genes, Alpha-amylase (α-amylase), Chymotrypsin-like serine protease (CTLP) and Tropomyosin (TPM) into the larval haemolymph and their host-delivered RNAi in pigeonpea. Significant decline in the expression of selected genes supported by over-expression of DICER and generation of siRNA indicated the occurrence of RNAi in the dsRNA-injected larvae. Additionally, the onset of RNAi in the herbivore was demonstrated in pigeonpea, one of the prominent hosts, by host-delivered RNAi. Transgenics in pigeonpea (cv. Pusa992), a highly recalcitrant crop, were developed through a shoot apical meristem-targeted in planta transformation strategy and evaluated. Plant level bioassays in transgenic events characterized and selected at molecular level showed mortality of M. vitrata larvae as well as reduced feeding when compared to wild type. Furthermore, molecular evidences for down regulation of target genes in the insects that fed on transgenics authenticated RNAi. Considering the variability of gene silencing in lepidopteran pests, this study provided corroborative proof for the possibility of gene silencing in M. vitrata through both the strategies.

scholarly journals Gibberellin Metabolism and Signaling: Targets for Improving Agronomic Performance of Crops

2020 ◽  
Vol 61 (11) ◽  
pp. 1902-1911 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shaopei Gao ◽  
Chengcai Chu
Keyword(s):  
Stem Elongation ◽  
Crop Improvement ◽  
Green Revolution ◽  
Crop Productivity ◽  
Primary Objective ◽  
Fine Tuning ◽  
Breeding Programs ◽  
Pollen Maturation ◽  
Gibberellin Metabolism ◽  
Increase Productivity

Abstract Gibberellins (GAs) are a class of tetracyclic diterpenoid phytohormones that regulate many aspects of plant development, including seed germination, stem elongation, leaf expansion, pollen maturation, and the development of flowers, fruits and seeds. During the past decades, the primary objective of crop breeding programs has been to increase productivity or yields. ‘Green Revolution’ genes that can produce semidwarf, high-yielding crops were identified as GA synthesis or response genes, confirming the value of research on GAs in improving crop productivity. The manipulation of GA status either by genetic alteration or by exogenous application of GA or GA biosynthesis inhibitors is often used to optimize plant growth and yields. In this review, we summarize the roles of GAs in major aspects of crop growth and development and present the possible targets for the fine-tuning of GA metabolism and signaling as a promising strategy for crop improvement.

scholarly journals Legume Breeding for the Agroecological Transition of Global Agri-Food Systems: A European Perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diego Rubiales ◽  
Paolo Annicchiarico ◽  
Maria Carlota Vaz Patto ◽  
Bernadette Julier
Keyword(s):  
Food Systems ◽  
Crop Improvement ◽  
Public Funding ◽  
Institutional Context ◽  
Abiotic And Biotic Stresses ◽  
Selection Procedures ◽  
Biotic Stresses ◽  
Legume Crop ◽  
Research Areas ◽  
Agroecological Transition

Wider and more profitable legume crop cultivation is an indispensable step for the agroecological transition of global agri-food systems but represents a challenge especially in Europe. Plant breeding is pivotal in this context. Research areas of key interest are represented by innovative phenotypic and genome-based selection procedures for crop yield, tolerance to abiotic and biotic stresses enhanced by the changing climate, intercropping, and emerging crop quality traits. We see outmost priority in the exploration of genomic selection (GS) opportunities and limitations, to ease genetic gains and to limit the costs of multi-trait selection. Reducing the profitability gap of legumes relative to major cereals will not be possible in Europe without public funding devoted to crop improvement research, pre-breeding, and, in various circumstances, public breeding. While most of these activities may profit of significant public-private partnerships, all of them can provide substantial benefits to seed companies. A favorable institutional context may comprise some changes to variety registration tests and procedures.

Improving Yield Potential by Modifying Plant Type and Exploiting Heterosis

1998 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. S. Khush ◽  
S. Peng
Keyword(s):  
Oryza Sativa L ◽  
Crop Improvement ◽  
Green Revolution ◽  
Triticum Aestivum L ◽  
Crop Productivity ◽  
Yield Potential ◽  
Canopy Architecture ◽  
Plant Type ◽  
Scientific Principles ◽  
Food Grain

World food crops have been improved progressively since their domestication about 10,000 years ago. Progress was especially rapid after the rediscovery of Mendel’s laws of inheritance, when scientific principles could be applied to crop improvement. Modern varieties of wheat and rice, which ushered the so-called green revolution and led to the doubling of cereal production in a 25-year period, are examples of recent achievements in increasing crop productivity. The present world population of 5.8 billion is likely to reach 7 billion in 2010 and 8 billion in 2025. Per caput food intake will increase due to improved living standards. It is estimated that we will have to produce 50% more food by 2025. Food grain production in Africa will have to increase almost 400%, in Latin America 200%, and in Asia 60%. In the past, food production grew as a result of increased yield potential of new crop varieties, as well as increases in cropped area. In the future, major increases in cropped area are unlikely. In fact, in most Asian countries the cultivated area is declining due to pressures of urbanization and industrialization. Pesticide use is dropping as a result of concerns about their harmful effects on the environment and on human health. Increasingly, the industrial base is competing with agriculture for water and labor. Thus, we will have to produce more food from less land, with less pesticides, less labor, and less water. Increases in crop productivity are therefore essential to feed the world in the next century. One way to increase crop productivity is to develop crop cultivars with higher yield potential. Of the various strategies for increasing the yield potential, two are reviewed in this chapter. Selection for semidwarf stature in the late 1950s for rice (Oryza sativa L.) and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is the most striking example of a successful improvement in plant type. Although selections were guided by short stature, resistance to lodging, and efficient biomass partitioning between grain and straw, breeders were unintentionally selecting for improved canopy architecture, light penetration, and other favorable agronomic characteristics (as reviewed by Takeda, 1984).

Coordinated Rice Improvement Project in India: Its Significant Achievements and Future prospects

2019 ◽  
Vol 56 (Special) ◽  
pp. 82-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
LV Subba Rao ◽  
RA Fiyaz ◽  
AK Jukanti ◽  
G Padmavathi ◽  
J Badri ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Management Practices ◽  
Crop Productivity ◽  
Yield Potential ◽  
High Yield ◽  
Improvement Project ◽  
Nutritional Security ◽  
Food Grain ◽  
Rice Improvement ◽  
Food And Nutritional Security ◽  
Sincere Effort

India is the second largest producer of rice in the world and it is the most important staple food grain. All India Coordinated Rice Improvement Project (AICRIP) was initiated with objective of conducting multi-location trials to identify suitable genotypes of high yield potential along with appropriate crop management practices. Since its inception AICRIP contributed significantly in meeting the growing demand both within and outside India. Significant progress has been achieved through AICRIP in terms of varietal release thereby increasing the crop productivity and also meeting the food and nutritional security. This paper makes a sincere effort in bringing out the significant achievements/milestones achieved under the AICRIP program and also gives a few directions for widening the areas under AICRIP.

Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Soybean : Regulated by ncRNA

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
YASIN JESHIMA KHAN ◽  
HUSNARA Tyagi ◽  
Anil kumar Singh ◽  
Santosh kumar. Magadum
Keyword(s):  
Abiotic Stresses ◽  
Target Genes ◽  
Abiotic Stress Tolerance ◽  
Crop Improvement ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Grain Legume ◽  
Biological Processes ◽  
Small Interfering Rnas ◽  
Cellular Environment ◽  
Non Coding Rnas

Plants respond through a cascade of reactions resulting in varied cellular environment leading to alterations in the patterns of protein expression resulting in phonotypic changes. Single cell genomics and global proteomics came out to be powerful tools and efficient techniques in studying stress tolerant plants. Non-coding RNAs are a distinct class of regulatory RNAs in plants and animals that control a variety of biological processes. Small ncRNAs play a vital role in post transcriptional gene regulation by either translational repression or by inducing mRNA cleavage. The major classes of small RNAs include microRNAs (miRNAs) and small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), which differ in their biogenesis. miRNAs control the expression of cognate target genes by binding to complementary sequences, resulting in cleavage or translational inhibition of the target RNAs. siRNAs too have a similar structure, function, and biogenesis like miRNAs but are derived from long double-stranded RNAs and can often direct DNA methylation at target sequences.In this review, we focus on the involvement of ncRNAs in comabting abiotic stresses of soybean. This review emphasis on previously known miRNAs as they play important role in several abiotic stresses like drought, salinity, chilling and heat stress by their diverse roles in mediating biological processes like gene expression, chromatin formation, defense of genome against invading viruses. This review attempts to elucidate the various kinds of non-coding RNAs explored, their discovery, biogenesis, functions, and response for different type of abiotic stresses and future aspects for crop improvement in the context of soybean, a representative grain legume.

scholarly journals Tackling G × E × M interactions to close on-farm yield-gaps: creating novel pathways for crop improvement by predicting contributions of genetics and management to crop productivity

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Cooper ◽  
Kai P. Voss-Fels ◽  
Carlos D. Messina ◽  
Tom Tang ◽  
Graeme L. Hammer
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Crop Improvement ◽  
Target Population ◽  
Crop Productivity ◽  
Climate Change Scenarios ◽  
Global Food Security ◽  
Genotype By Environment ◽  
Improvement Strategies ◽  
Yield Gaps ◽  
On Farm

Abstract Key message Climate change and Genotype-by-Environment-by-Management interactions together challenge our strategies for crop improvement. Research to advance prediction methods for breeding and agronomy is opening new opportunities to tackle these challenges and overcome on-farm crop productivity yield-gaps through design of responsive crop improvement strategies. Abstract Genotype-by-Environment-by-Management (G × E × M) interactions underpin many aspects of crop productivity. An important question for crop improvement is “How can breeders and agronomists effectively explore the diverse opportunities within the high dimensionality of the complex G × E × M factorial to achieve sustainable improvements in crop productivity?” Whenever G × E × M interactions make important contributions to attainment of crop productivity, we should consider how to design crop improvement strategies that can explore the potential space of G × E × M possibilities, reveal the interesting Genotype–Management (G–M) technology opportunities for the Target Population of Environments (TPE), and enable the practical exploitation of the associated improved levels of crop productivity under on-farm conditions. Climate change adds additional layers of complexity and uncertainty to this challenge, by introducing directional changes in the environmental dimension of the G × E × M factorial. These directional changes have the potential to create further conditional changes in the contributions of the genetic and management dimensions to future crop productivity. Therefore, in the presence of G × E × M interactions and climate change, the challenge for both breeders and agronomists is to co-design new G–M technologies for a non-stationary TPE. Understanding these conditional changes in crop productivity through the relevant sciences for each dimension, Genotype, Environment, and Management, creates opportunities to predict novel G–M technology combinations suitable to achieve sustainable crop productivity and global food security targets for the likely climate change scenarios. Here we consider critical foundations required for any prediction framework that aims to move us from the current unprepared state of describing G × E × M outcomes to a future responsive state equipped to predict the crop productivity consequences of G–M technology combinations for the range of environmental conditions expected for a complex, non-stationary TPE under the influences of climate change.

scholarly journals Alternative splicing landscapes in Arabidopsis thaliana across tissues and stress conditions highlight major functional differences with animals

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Guiomar Martín ◽  
Yamile Márquez ◽  
Federica Mantica ◽  
Paula Duque ◽  
Manuel Irimia
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Arabidopsis Thaliana ◽  
Alternative Splicing ◽  
Stress Responses ◽  
Target Genes ◽  
Intron Retention ◽  
Single Gene ◽  
Exon Skipping ◽  
Environmental Response ◽  
Biotic Stresses

Abstract Background Alternative splicing (AS) is a widespread regulatory mechanism in multicellular organisms. Numerous transcriptomic and single-gene studies in plants have investigated AS in response to specific conditions, especially environmental stress, unveiling substantial amounts of intron retention that modulate gene expression. However, a comprehensive study contrasting stress-response and tissue-specific AS patterns and directly comparing them with those of animal models is still missing. Results We generate a massive resource for Arabidopsis thaliana, PastDB, comprising AS and gene expression quantifications across tissues, development and environmental conditions, including abiotic and biotic stresses. Harmonized analysis of these datasets reveals that A. thaliana shows high levels of AS, similar to fruitflies, and that, compared to animals, disproportionately uses AS for stress responses. We identify core sets of genes regulated specifically by either AS or transcription upon stresses or among tissues, a regulatory specialization that is tightly mirrored by the genomic features of these genes. Unexpectedly, non-intron retention events, including exon skipping, are overrepresented across regulated AS sets in A. thaliana, being also largely involved in modulating gene expression through NMD and uORF inclusion. Conclusions Non-intron retention events have likely been functionally underrated in plants. AS constitutes a distinct regulatory layer controlling gene expression upon internal and external stimuli whose target genes and master regulators are hardwired at the genomic level to specifically undergo post-transcriptional regulation. Given the higher relevance of AS in the response to different stresses when compared to animals, this molecular hardwiring is likely required for a proper environmental response in A. thaliana.

scholarly journals Mapping QTL for spike fertility and related traits in two doubled haploid wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) populations

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole Pretini ◽  
Leonardo S. Vanzetti ◽  
Ignacio I. Terrile ◽  
Guillermo Donaire ◽  
Fernanda G. González
Keyword(s):  
Doubled Haploid ◽  
Marker Assisted Selection ◽  
Triticum Aestivum L ◽  
Physiological Model ◽  
Yield Potential ◽  
Breeding Programs ◽  
Per Se ◽  
Genomic Regions ◽  
Fertility Traits ◽  
Selection Of

Abstract Background In breeding programs, the selection of cultivars with the highest yield potential consisted in the selection of the yield per se, which resulted in cultivars with higher grains per spike (GN) and occasionally increased grain weight (GW) (main numerical components of the yield). In this study, quantitative trait loci (QTL) for GW, GN and spike fertility traits related to GN determination were mapped using two doubled haploid (DH) populations (Baguette Premium 11 × BioINTA 2002 and Baguette 19 × BioINTA 2002). Results In total 305 QTL were identified for 14 traits, out of which 12 QTL were identified in more than three environments and explained more than 10% of the phenotypic variation in at least one environment. Eight hotspot regions were detected on chromosomes 1A, 2B, 3A, 5A, 5B, 7A and 7B in which at least two major and stable QTL sheared confidence intervals. QTL on two of these regions (R5A.1 and R5A.2) have previously been described, but the other six regions are novel. Conclusions Based on the pleiotropic analysis within a robust physiological model we conclude that two hotspot genomic regions (R5A.1 and R5A.2) together with the QGW.perg-6B are of high relevance to be used in marker assisted selection in order to improve the spike yield potential. All the QTL identified for the spike related traits are the first step to search for their candidate genes, which will allow their better manipulation in the future.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document