Abstract
Miscanthus, a C4 perennial grass native to Eastern Asia, is being bred to provide biomass for bioenergy and biorenewable products. Commercial expansion with the clonal hybrid M. × giganteus is limited by low multiplication rates, high establishment costs and drought sensitivity. These limitations can be overcome by breeding more resilient Miscanthus hybrids propagated by seed. Naturally occurring fast growing indigenous Miscanthus species are found in diverse environments across Eastern Asia. The natural diversity provides for plant breeders, the genetic resources to improve yield, quality, and resilience for a wide range of climates and adverse abiotic stresses. The challenge for Miscanthus breeding is to harness the diversity through selections of outstanding wild types, parents, and progenies over a short time frame to deploy hybrids that make a significant contribution to a world less dependent on fossil resources. Here are described the strategies taken by the Miscanthus breeding programme at Aberystwyth, UK and its partners. The programme built up one of the largest Miscanthus germplasm collections outside Asia. We describe the initial strategies to exploit the available genetic diversity to develop varieties. We illustrate the success of combining diverse Miscanthus germplasm and the selection criteria applied across different environments to identify promising hybrids and to develop these into commercial varieties. We discuss the potential for molecular selections to streamline the breeding process.
Highlights
Urgent action is needed to reduce levels of carbon dioxide entering the atmosphere and sequester carbon [1]
This paper describes the practical strategies taken over the past 15 years to move Miscanthus breeding, as quickly as possible from wild accessions in Asia into the Perennial biomass crops (PBCs) of choice for large areas of marginal lands
Biomass yield has been a particular focus for improvement; Miscanthus is aMany relatively have shown Miscanthus is there well adapted to regions where is non-indigenous
Summary
Urgent action is needed to reduce levels of carbon dioxide entering the atmosphere and sequester carbon [1]. Breeding programmes need to produce hybrids that achieve high biomass with minimum inputs of water and nutrients and with resilience to both abiotic stresses from extreme weather and biotic stresses from diseases. Phenotypic selection, applied to both parents and progeny, focusses on final yield and quality and is normally based on morphological traits, such as shoot height and shoot densities per m2. Underlying these traits are the physiological traits driving growth. Plant growth can be viewed as a biological solar panel: leaves intercept light, capture atmospheric CO2 and convert the assimilated carbon into structural and non-structural carbohydrates These physiological processes with complex feedbacks are challenging to use in practical breeding. This paper describes the practical strategies taken over the past 15 years to move Miscanthus breeding, as quickly as possible from wild accessions in Asia into the PBC of choice for large areas of marginal lands
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