Genome evolution of wild cereal diversity and prospects for crop improvement

2006 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eviatar Nevo
Keyword(s):  
Storage Proteins ◽  
Crop Improvement ◽  
Evolutionary Process ◽  
Triticum Dicoccoides ◽  
Hordeum Spontaneum ◽  
Genomic Diversity ◽  
Ex Situ ◽  
Abiotic And Biotic Stresses ◽  
Biotic Stresses ◽  
Wild Cereals

Genomic and proteomic diversity provide the basis of evolutionary change by natural selection under abiotic and biotic stresses, and the human-driven evolutionary process of domestication by artificial selection. Described here are some of the regional and local genomic and proteomic long-term multidisciplinary studies conducted at the Institute of Evolution, University of Haifa, Israel, during 1975–2005 (see publications at http://evolution.haifa.ac.il), involving both wild barley, Hordeum spontaneum, the progenitor of cultivated barley and wild emmer sheat, Triticum dicoccoides, the progenitor of modern tetraploid and hexaploid cultivated wheat. Wild cereals harbour large amounts of as yet untapped adaptive genetic resources for crop improvement (resistances against abiotic and biotic stresses, micronutrient metal deficiencies, storage proteins, amylases and photosynthetic yield, among others). The adaptive genomic diversity of wild cereals, including cryptic beneficial alleles at specific quantitative trait loci of T. dicoccoides and H. spontaneum is the best genomic resource to be conserved in situ and ex situ for utilization by classical and modern biotechnologies, to enrich the genetically impoverished and stress-vulnerable food cultivars, advance crop improvement, and thereby increase and optimize world food production in a second genetic green revolution.

scholarly journals Pigeonpea composite collection and identification of germplasm for use in crop improvement programmes

2011 ◽  
Vol 9 (01) ◽  
pp. 97-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. D. Upadhyaya ◽  
K. N. Reddy ◽  
Shivali Sharma ◽  
R. K. Varshney ◽  
R. Bhattacharjee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Agronomic Traits ◽  
Crop Improvement ◽  
Germplasm Collection ◽  
Sources Of Resistance ◽  
Abiotic And Biotic Stresses ◽  
Biotic Stresses ◽  
Mini Core Collection ◽  
Breeding Programmes ◽  
Simple Sequence ◽  
High Seed Yield

Pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan(L.) Millsp. is one of the most important legume crops as major source for proteins, minerals and vitamins, in addition to its multiple uses as food, feed, fuel, soil enricher, or soil binder, and in fencing, roofing and basket making. ICRISAT's genebank conserves 13,632 accessions of pigeonpea. The extensive use of few parents in crop improvement is contrary to the purpose of collecting a large number of germplasm accessions and has resulted in a narrow base of cultivars. ICRISAT, in collaboration with the Generation Challenge Program, has developed a composite collection of pigeonpea consisting of 1000 accessions representing the diversity of the entire germplasm collection. This included 146 accessions of mini core collection and other materials. Genotyping of the composite collection using 20 microsatellite or simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers separated wild and cultivated types in two broad groups. A reference set comprising 300 most diverse accessions has been selected based on SSR genotyping data. Phenotyping of the composite collection for 16 quantitative and 16 qualitative traits resulted in the identification of promising diverse accessions for the four important agronomic traits: early flowering (96 accessions), high number of pods (28), high 100-seed weight (88) and high seed yield/plant (49). These accessions hold potential for their utilization in pigeonpea breeding programmes to develop improved cultivars with a broad genetic base. Pigeonpea germplasm has provided sources of resistance to abiotic and biotic stresses and cytoplasmic-male sterility for utilization in breeding programmes.

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.

scholarly journals Circadian Clock Components Offer Targets for Crop Domestication and Improvement

Genes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 374
Author(s):  
C. Robertson McClung
Keyword(s):  
Circadian Clock ◽  
Clock Genes ◽  
Crop Improvement ◽  
Geographic Area ◽  
Plant Performance ◽  
Plant Domestication ◽  
Abiotic And Biotic Stresses ◽  
Biotic Stresses ◽  
Photoperiodic Flowering ◽  
Circadian Clock Genes

During plant domestication and improvement, farmers select for alleles present in wild species that improve performance in new selective environments associated with cultivation and use. The selected alleles become enriched and other alleles depleted in elite cultivars. One important aspect of crop improvement is expansion of the geographic area suitable for cultivation; this frequently includes growth at higher or lower latitudes, requiring the plant to adapt to novel photoperiodic environments. Many crops exhibit photoperiodic control of flowering and altered photoperiodic sensitivity is commonly required for optimal performance at novel latitudes. Alleles of a number of circadian clock genes have been selected for their effects on photoperiodic flowering in multiple crops. The circadian clock coordinates many additional aspects of plant growth, metabolism and physiology, including responses to abiotic and biotic stresses. Many of these clock-regulated processes contribute to plant performance. Examples of selection for altered clock function in tomato demonstrate that with domestication, the phasing of the clock is delayed with respect to the light–dark cycle and the period is lengthened; this modified clock is associated with increased chlorophyll content in long days. These and other data suggest the circadian clock is an attractive target during breeding for crop improvement.

scholarly journals In Response to Abiotic Stress, DNA Methylation Confers EpiGenetic Changes in Plants

Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 1096
Author(s):  
Zahida Akhter ◽  
Zhenzhen BI ◽  
Kazim AlI ◽  
Chao Sun ◽  
Sajid Fiaz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Dna Methylation ◽  
Abiotic Stress ◽  
Abiotic Stresses ◽  
Epigenetic Modification ◽  
Crop Improvement ◽  
Evolutionary Process ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Biotic Stresses ◽  
Extreme Stress

Epigenetics involves the heritable changes in patterns of gene expression determined by developmental and abiotic stresses, i.e., drought, cold, salinity, trace metals, and heat. Gene expression is driven by changes in DNA bases, histone proteins, the biogenesis of ncRNA, and changes in the nucleotide sequence. To cope with abiotic stresses, plants adopt certain changes driven by a sophisticated biological system. DNA methylation is a primary mechanism for epigenetic variation, which can induce phenotypic alterations in plants under stress. Some of the stress-driven changes in plants are temporary, while some modifications may be stable and inheritable to the next generations to allow them to cope with such extreme stress challenges in the future. In this review, we discuss the pivotal role of epigenetically developed phenotypic characteristics in plants as an evolutionary process participating in adaptation and tolerance responses to abiotic and biotic stresses that alter their growth and development. We emphasize the molecular process underlying changes in DNA methylation, differential variation for different species, the roles of non-coding RNAs in epigenetic modification, techniques for studying DNA methylation, and its role in crop improvement in tolerance to abiotic stress (drought, salinity, and heat). We summarize DNA methylation as a significant future research priority for tailoring crops according to various challenging environmental issues.

Identification of Plant Protein Kinases in Response to Abiotic and Biotic Stresses Using SuperSAGE

2011 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 643-656 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ederson Akio Kido ◽  
Pedranne Kelle de Araujo Barbosa ◽  
Jose Ribamar Costa Ferreira Neto ◽  
Valesca Pandolfi ◽  
Laureen Michelle Houllou-Kido ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Protein Kinases ◽  
Plant Protein ◽  
Abiotic And Biotic Stresses ◽  
Biotic Stresses

scholarly journals Recent Development on Plant Aldehyde Dehydrogenase Enzymes and Their Functions in Plant Development and Stress Signaling

Genes ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 51
Author(s):  
Adesola J. Tola ◽  
Amal Jaballi ◽  
Hugo Germain ◽  
Tagnon D. Missihoun
Keyword(s):  
Plant Development ◽  
Critical Analysis ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Stress Signaling ◽  
Oxygen Species ◽  
Abiotic And Biotic Stresses ◽  
Aldehyde Dehydrogenases ◽  
Biotic Stresses ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Excessive Accumulation

Abiotic and biotic stresses induce the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which subsequently causes the excessive accumulation of aldehydes in cells. Stress-derived aldehydes are commonly designated as reactive electrophile species (RES) as a result of the presence of an electrophilic α, β-unsaturated carbonyl group. Aldehyde dehydrogenases (ALDHs) are NAD(P)+-dependent enzymes that metabolize a wide range of endogenous and exogenous aliphatic and aromatic aldehyde molecules by oxidizing them to their corresponding carboxylic acids. The ALDH enzymes are found in nearly all organisms, and plants contain fourteen ALDH protein families. In this review, we performed a critical analysis of the research reports over the last decade on plant ALDHs. Newly discovered roles for these enzymes in metabolism, signaling and development have been highlighted and discussed. We concluded with suggestions for future investigations to exploit the potential of these enzymes in biotechnology and to improve our current knowledge about these enzymes in gene signaling and plant development.

scholarly journals Research and Application of Molecular and Phenotypic Data for Tree Biodiversity Evaluation

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 564
Author(s):  
Gaetano Distefano
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Agronomic Traits ◽  
Crop Improvement ◽  
Phenotypic Data ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Biotic Stresses ◽  
Tree Crop ◽  
Ecological Habitats

The main challenges for tree crop improvement are linked to the sustainable development of agro-ecological habitats, improving the adaptability to limiting environmental factors and resistance to biotic stresses or promoting novel genotypes with improved agronomic traits [...]

scholarly journals All Populations Matter: Conservation Genomics of Australia’s Iconic Purple Wattle, Acacia purpureopetala

Diversity ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 139
Author(s):  
Marlien M. van der Merwe ◽  
Jia-Yee S. Yap ◽  
Peter D. Wilson ◽  
Helen T. Murphy ◽  
Andrew Ford
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Diversity ◽  
Allelic Variation ◽  
Germplasm Conservation ◽  
Snp Markers ◽  
Genomic Diversity ◽  
Ex Situ ◽  
Spatial Distance ◽  
Genetic Connectivity ◽  
Conservation Genomics ◽  
Modelling Framework

Maximising genetic diversity in conservation efforts can help to increase the chances of survival of a species amidst the turbulence of the anthropogenic age. Here, we define the distribution and extent of genomic diversity across the range of the iconic but threatened Acacia purpureopetala, a beautiful sprawling shrub with mauve flowers, restricted to a few disjunct populations in far north Queensland, Australia. Seed production is poor and germination sporadic, but the species occurs in abundance at some field sites. While several thousands of SNP markers were recovered, comparable to other Acacia species, very low levels of heterozygosity and allelic variation suggested inbreeding. Limited dispersal most likely contributed towards the high levels of divergence amongst field sites and, using a generalised dissimilarity modelling framework amongst environmental, spatial and floristic data, spatial distance was found to be the strongest factor explaining the current distribution of genetic diversity. We illustrate how population genomic data can be utilised to design a collecting strategy for a germplasm conservation collection that optimises genetic diversity. For this species, inclusion of all field sites will capture maximum genetic diversity for both in situ and ex situ conservation. Assisted cross pollination, within and between field sites and genetically structured groups, is recommended to enhance heterozygosity particularly at the most disjunct sites and further fragmentation should be discouraged to avoid loss of genetic connectivity.

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