The Toolbox for Fiber Flax Breeding: A Pipeline From Gene Expression to Fiber Quality.

Dmitry Galinousky,Marina Ageeva,Victor Bogdan,Tsimafei Padvitski,Alexander Kilchevsky,Natalia Mokshina,Tatyana Gorshkova

doi:10.3389/fgene.2020.589881

Abstract

The goal of any plant breeding program is to improve quality of a target crop. Crop quality is a comprehensive feature largely determined by biological background. To improve the quality parameters of crops grown for the production of fiber, a functional approach was used to search for genes suitable for the effective manipulation of technical fiber quality. A key step was to identify genes with tissue and stage-specific pattern of expression in the developing fibers. In the current study, we investigated the relationship between gene expression evaluated in bast fibers of developing flax plants and the quality parameters of technical fibers measured after plant harvesting. Based on previously published transcriptomic data, two sets of genes that are upregulated in fibers during intrusive growth and tertiary cell wall deposition were selected. The expression level of the selected genes and fiber quality parameters were measured in fiber flax, linseed (oil flax) cultivars, and wild species that differ in type of yield and fiber quality parameters. Based on gene expression data, linear regression models for technical stem length, fiber tensile strength, and fiber flexibility were constructed, resulting in the identification of genes that have high potential for manipulating fiber quality. Chromosomal localization and single nucleotide polymorphism distribution in the selected genes were characterized for the efficacy of their use in conventional breeding and genome editing programs. Transcriptome-based selection is a highly targeted functional approach that could be used during the development of new cultivars of various crops.

Highlights

For thousands of years mankind has made effective use of fiber crops for various purposes
A number of O-Glycosyl hydrolases belonging to family 17 that can be involved in callose metabolism were selected, because of their specific activation during intrusive growth (Gorshkova et al, 2018b)
New super-domesticated cultivars that could not be selected under natural environmental conditions or developed by common breeding techniques are gaining a footing in the agricultural industry (Pérez-de-Castro et al, 2012)

Summary

Introduction

For thousands of years mankind has made effective use of fiber crops for various purposes. There are three main categories: (1) bast fibers of the stem (flax, hemp, jute, ramie, kenaf, etc.), (2) leaf fibers (sisal, banana, manila hemp, pineapple, etc.), and (3) seed fibers (coir, oil palm, etc.) (Jawaid and Khalil, 2011). More than eight million households worldwide are involved in the production of plant-based fibers from the above listed groups (excluding cotton). With a global production of around six million metric tons, the market share of these plant-based fibers was around 5.7% of total global fiber production volume in 2018 (based on FAOStat and Total Global Production Volumes compiled by Textile Exchange). Flax is grown for its cellulose-rich fibers and seeds, which can be ground into a meal or turned into linseed oil. The long bast fibers are traditionally used in the textile industry for the production of linen or mixed fiber textiles, and, together with shorter xylem fibers they are used in the automobile and construction industries (Baley et al, 2006; Kymäläinen and Sjöberga, 2008)

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Conclusion