Molecular breeding

About: Molecular breeding is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 2120 publications have been published within this topic receiving 56908 citations.

Salinity stress tolerance and omics approaches: revisiting the progress and achievements in major cereal crops

Abstract: Salinity stress adversely affects plant growth and causes considerable losses in cereal crops. Salinity stress tolerance is a complex phenomenon, imparted by the interaction of compounds involved in various biochemical and physiological processes. Conventional breeding for salt stress tolerance has had limited success. However, the availability of molecular marker-based high-density linkage maps in the last two decades boosted genomics-based quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping and QTL-seq approaches for fine mapping important major QTL for salinity stress tolerance in rice, wheat, and maize. For example, in rice, 'Saltol' QTL was successfully introgressed for tolerance to salt stress, particularly at the seedling stage. Transcriptomics, proteomics and metabolomics also offer opportunities to decipher and understand the molecular basis of stress tolerance. The use of proteomics and metabolomics-based metabolite markers can serve as an efficient selection tool as a substitute for phenotype-based selection. This review covers the molecular mechanisms for salinity stress tolerance, recent progress in mapping and introgressing major gene/QTL (genomics), transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics in major cereals, viz., rice, wheat and maize.

Apomixis Technology: Separating the Wheat from the Chaff.

Abstract: Projections indicate that current plant breeding approaches will be unable to incorporate the global crop yields needed to deliver global food security. Apomixis is a disruptive innovation by which a plant produces clonal seeds capturing heterosis and gene combinations of elite phenotypes. Introducing apomixis into hybrid cultivars is a game-changing development in the current plant breeding paradigm that will accelerate the generation of high-yield cultivars. However, apomixis is a developmentally complex and genetically multifaceted trait. The central problem behind current constraints to apomixis breeding is that the genomic configuration and molecular mechanism that initiate apomixis and guide the formation of a clonal seed are still unknown. Today, not a single explanation about the origin of apomixis offer full empirical coverage, and synthesizing apomixis by manipulating individual genes has failed or produced little success. Overall evidence suggests apomixis arise from a still unknown single event molecular mechanism with multigenic effects. Disentangling the genomic basis and complex genetics behind the emergence of apomixis in plants will require the use of novel experimental approaches benefiting from Next Generation Sequencing technologies and targeting not only reproductive genes, but also the epigenetic and genomic configurations associated with reproductive phenotypes in homoploid sexual and apomictic carriers. A comprehensive picture of most regulatory changes guiding apomixis emergence will be central for successfully installing apomixis into the target species by exploiting genetic modification techniques.

Improvement of the nutritional quality of legume seed storage proteins by molecular breeding

Abstract: Legume seeds contain a large amount of proteins and are one of the essential protein sources for humans and animals. However, the protein, in legume seeds is usually poor in sulfur-containing amino acids, and its nutritional value is lower than the protein from animal sources. Recently plant breeding has become available by the introduction of molecular biology, and a technique, called molecular breeding, was applied to the production of legume seeds that contain proteins with high nutritional quality. This review describes the expression of legume seed protein genes and the transformation of legume plants. Approaches to improve the legume seed storage protein will be discussed.

RNA-Seq Analysis in Fruit Science: A Review

Abstract: Fruit breeding is an ancient technology with dynamic current techniques and an exciting future. There are a number of restraints to conventional fruit breeding which are especially limiting in tree fruits with their long juvenile period, large plant size, and which are represented by unique, highly-selected heterozygous genotypes. Biotechnology offers to minimize disadvantages of classical breeding techniques. In this sense, fruit breeding refers to the purposeful genetic improvement of fruit crops through various techniques including selection, hybridization, mutation induction, and molecular techniques. Among molecular techniques, sequencing technology have been used for many years and recently a new concept titled “RNA-Seq” have been started to performed to understand molecular mechanisms in fruits. RNA-Seq analysis is an effective tool to understand which genes involved and expressed in different mechanisms and organs/cells of a plant. Recently, many articles have been published using RNA-Seq in fruits. In the present review, we illustrated how to apply different RNA-Seq platforms in fruits with examples.

Physiological and Biochemical Basis of Faba Bean Breeding for Drought Adaptation—A Review

Abstract: Grain legumes are commonly used for food and feed all over the world and are the main source of protein for over a billion people worldwide, but their production is at risk from climate change. Water deficit and heat stress both significantly reduce the yield of grain legumes, and the faba bean is considered particularly susceptible. The genetic improvement of faba bean for drought adaptation (water deficit tolerance) by conventional methods and molecular breeding is time-consuming and laborious, since it depends mainly on selection and adaptation in multiple sites. The lack of high-throughput screening methodology and low heritability of advantageous traits under environmental stress challenge breeding progress. Alternatively, selection based on secondary characters in a controlled environment followed by field trials is successful in some crops, including faba beans. In general, measured features related to drought adaptation are shoot and root morphology, stomatal characteristics, osmotic adjustment and the efficiency of water use. Here, we focus on the current knowledge of biochemical and physiological markers for legume improvement that can be incorporated into faba bean breeding programs for drought adaptation.