Molecular breeding

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

Molecular and Biotechnological Tools in Developing Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Wheat

Abstract: Agricultural systems are affected by various abiotic stresses which pose restrictions to the yield and quality of wheat crop. A single crop can be challenged simultaneously by many abiotic stresses. A major target of plant breeding programs globally is the improvement of tolerance to abiotic stresses. The complex nature of abiotic stress tolerance traits and the difficulty in dissecting them into manageable genetic components amenable to molecular breeding are the major challenges. Advances in molecular biology and genomics have had a large impact on the speed of identification and characterization of genes and genetic regions associated with quantitative and qualitative traits in crop breeding programs. To reconstruct the whole cascade of cellular events leading to rapid responses and adaptation to the various abiotic stimuli, researchers have to integrate the various omics approaches. To increase knowledge on the effects of gene expression and to understand whole plant phenotype under stress, a very focused approach combining molecular, physiological, and metabolic aspects of plant stress tolerance is required. The selection of the appropriate promoter or transcription factor to be used for transformation can be done by better understanding of the underlying physiological processes in response to different abiotic stresses. Additionally, genetic and genomic analysis can be utilized to identify DNA molecular markers associated with stress resistance that can facilitate breeding strategies for crop improvement in wheat. In the case of abiotic stress tolerance, this approach is particularly useful when target characters are controlled by several genes. To map different QTLs contributing to a given agronomical trait and to identify linked molecular markers, the omics approaches could be combined with the potential which will open the possibility to transfer simultaneously several QTLs and to pyramid QTLs for several agronomical traits in one improved cultivar.

An overview of chickpea breeding programs in Kenya

Abstract: Chickpea is a new crop in Kenya and its potential has not been fully utilized. The chickpea grain yields generally range between 1.2 to 3.5 tons/ha at farmers‟ fields, indicating that chickpea has a potential of becoming an important export crop in Kenya. The chickpea breeding program in Kenya is still at infant stage and being established with support from International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT). Four chickpea varieties have been recently released from the breeding material supplied by ICRISAT. Efforts are being made on evaluation of germplasm and breeding lines, application of modern molecular breeding tools and techniques in chickpea breeding and establishment of effective seed system for establishing a sustainable chickpea production system in the country.

Chapter 5 – Groundnut

Abstract: Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is the most important oilseed-cum-food legume crop in the world. Sustainable groundnut production promotes food security and reduces malnutrition in a swelling population. Groundnut landraces are a potential source for sustainable groundnut breeding. Land races of hypogaea, hirsuta, fastigiata, vulgaris, peruviana, and aequatoriana were collected from Peru, Mexico, and Brazil and showed rich genetic diversity with less oil content, higher sweet attributes, and the ability to sustain under adverse environmental conditions. The land races were cultivated by farmers using no inputs, namely fertilizers, pesticides, and water. These traditional varieties should be conserved and better employed in a breeding program to fulfill the objectives of producers. Several biotic (namely, foliar and fungal diseases, nematodes, and insect pests) and abiotic stresses (namely, drought, cold, and salinity) limit groundnut production. Development of resistant/tolerant cultivars to these stresses is the most economic method to achieve sustainable groundnut production. Molecular breeding approaches, namely, marker assisted breeding and genetic transformation helps to accelerate the breeding programme to develop high yielding cultivars with desirable attributes, through introgression of specific gene(s) identified in land races or compatible diploid wild species.

Creating Products and Services in Plant Biotechnology

Abstract: This chapter presents a brief description of the most relevant applications of plant biotechnology, with examples of specific techniques that can be used to provide commercial products and services to customers and represent, therefore, business opportunities to entrepreneurs. Start-up companies can base their activities on the development of molecular markers, their use in MAS (marker-assisted selection) for molecular breeding programmes or in genetic fingerprinting applications; on the use of mutagenesis for generation of mutant collections in species of interest, the development of novel mutant detection methods and the phenotypic or molecular analysis of the mutants; or on applications of in vitro culture techniques. These are all services that can be offered to small breeding companies and research laboratories that do not have in-house facilities to perform these activities. Small start-ups cannot afford to bring a novel transgenic crop variety to the market; they can, however, develop and characterise the initial transgenic lines with traits of interest and transfer them (for a price) to big transnational companies, which can undertake all further field tests and marketing procedures. It can also be profitable to use GM plants as biofactories for the production of high added-value recombinant proteins or other biomolecules for different industries. Other topics included in this chapter are the applications of ‘omics’ technologies in plant biotechnology, the new business opportunities opened by the customers’ increasing interest in the products of organic agriculture and the possible commercial exploitation of some of the thousands of compounds—phytochemicals—synthesised by plants.

Exploring Climatic Resilience Through Genetic Improvement for Food and Income Crops

Abstract: Plant breeding has been one of the main drivers of crop yield gains during the past century. Breeding for yield improvement through resistance to pests and diseases and chemico-physical constraints to crop production has contributed immensely to food security, nutrition, and improved incomes across Africa. Achievements through breeding have not been evenly spread across the entire range of crops grown in southern Africa. In addition, in some locations climate change threatens to reverse some of the gains from improved crop cultivars. The aim of this chapter is to analyze the progress made to date through breeding and to put forward models, which will enable farmers to benefit from breeding products both developed in the recent past and future products in the various breeding pipelines. Breeding for multiple stresses has been improved through molecular breeding techniques; however, the results are yet to benefit smallholder farmers who are the intended beneficiaries and the end users. Drought and extreme temperature-tolerant cultivars have higher chances of sustaining crop production in southern Africa. Reducing bureaucracies in seed release and moving beyond research-biased participatory varietal selection methods are two steps that require enhancement to improve and increase adoption rate of new breeding products.