Plant Breeding Approaches Research Articles

Strategies and bibliometric analysis of legumes biofortification to address malnutrition.

Biofortification of legumes using diverse techniques such as plant breeding, agronomic practices, genetic modification, and nano-technological approaches presents a sustainable strategy to address micronutrient deficiencies of underprivileged populations. The widespread issue of chronic malnutrition, commonly referred to as "hidden hunger," arises from the consumption of poor-quality food, leading to various health and cognitive impairments. Biofortified food crops have been a sustainable solution to address micronutrient deficiencies. This review highlights multiple biofortification techniques, such as plant breeding, agronomic practices, genetic modification, and nano-technological approaches, aimed at enhancing the nutrient content of commonly consumed crops. Emphasizing the biofortification of legumes, this review employs bibliometric analysis to examine research trends from 2000 to 2023. It identifies key authors, influential journals, contributing countries, publication trends, and prevalent keywords in this field. The review highlights the progress in developing biofortified crops and their potential to improve global nutrition and help underprivileged populations.

Molecular Marker Techniques and Genotypic Characterization Approaches in Plant Breeding

Plant breeding, often known as the science of plant development, is the study and practice of modifying a plant’s genetic makeup through a variety of breeding techniques to produce higher-quality, more prolific, and more resistant to harsh environmental circumstances. Classical breeding programs are indispensable techniques for increasing yields and improving plant characteristics, but they are progressing too slowly to meet the increasing food demand of the rapidly growing world population alone. Considering that the development periods of plants are generally long in traditional plant breeding, the opportunity to develop higher quality and more productive species that are more resistant to abiotic and biotic stress factors is very limited. Because there are multiple steps required in producing new plant varieties, including hybridization, selection, and testing, the process of creating a new variation takes several years. However, it is important to rapidly develop plant varieties with desirable characteristics to meet the increasing food demand of the rapidly growing world population, so the application of biotechnological methods integrated into plant breeding and combined with traditional methods can help reduce food shortages. Today, with the quick acceleration of biotechnology, molecular DNA marker technology has been developed in plant breeding and very important developments have been experienced. Thanks to the development of molecular tools for genetic research aimed at improving agricultural traits in plants related to crop yield, crop quality, or tolerance to adverse environmental conditions, we now have a much better understanding of plant genetics and the architecture and function of plant genomes. Therefore, it is of critical importance to revise current breeding procedures by incorporating molecular markers into breeding programs in the future.

Increasing sorghum yields for smallholder farmers in Mali: the evolution towards a context-driven, on-farm, gender-responsive sorghum breeding program

This case study explores a decades long evolution towards a gender-responsive sorghum breeding program in Mali. With known disparities in men and women’s access to the resources that improve agricultural productivity and evidence that gender roles and responsibilities shape knowledge and preferences about varieties, there is need for methods that support gender-responsive processes in plant breeding programs. Gender-sensitive and gender-responsive approaches in plant breeding may increase varietal options available to diverse end-users, increase adoption, and limit negative impacts on vulnerable populations. We assess a participatory plant breeding program in Mali to identify determinants of gender-responsive breeding programs. The analysis uses a case study methodology that draws upon project reports, theses, articles, and experiential knowledge to understand how the sorghum breeding program transitioned over time. This case study details (a) more than a decade of sorghum breeding activities and research that led to (b) the inclusion of women in participatory plant breeding, culinary tests, and large-scale participatory selection in on-farm trials, reaching hundreds of women each year and (c) iterative co-learning processes to develop preferred sorghum varieties and increase sorghum yields on men and women’s fields. Analyses indicated that collaborations among many institutions on-farm with community actors, research across various disciplines such as agronomy and social sciences, context-specific breeding, and long-term funding were essential to increasing gender sensitivity and responsive in the breeding efforts.

Deep genotyping reveals specific adaptation footprints of conventional and organic farming in barley populations—an evolutionary plant breeding approach

Sustainable food production for a growing world population will pose a central challenge in the coming decades. Organic farming is among the feasible approaches to achieving this goal if the yield gap to conventional farming can be decreased. However, uncertainties exist to which extend—and for which phenotypes in particular—organic and conventional agro-ecosystems require differentiated breeding strategies. To answer this question, a heterogeneous spring barley population was established between a wild barley and an elite cultivar to examine this question. This initial population was divided into two sets and sown one in organic and the other in conventional managed agro-ecosystems, without any artificial selection for two decades. A fraction of seeds harvested each year was sown the following year. Various generations, up to the 23th were whole-genome pool-sequenced to identify adaptation patterns towards ecosystem and climate conditions in the allele frequency shifts. Additionally, a meta-data analysis was conducted to link genomic regions’ increased fitness to agronomically related traits. This long-term experiment highlights for the first time that allele frequency pattern difference between the conventional and organic populations grew with subsequent generations. Further, the organic-adapted population showed a higher genetic heterogeneity. The data indicate that adaptations towards new environments happen in few generations. Drastic interannual changes in climate are manifested in significant allele frequency changes. Particular wild form alleles were positively selected in both environments. Clustering these revealed an increased fitness associated with biotic stress resistance, yield physiology, and yield components in both systems. Additionally, the introduced wild alleles showed increased fitness related to root morphology, developmental processes, and abiotic stress responses in the organic agro-ecosystem. Concluding the genetic analysis, we demonstrate that breeding of organically adapted varieties should be conducted in an organically managed agro-ecosystem, focusing on root-related traits, to close the yield gap towards conventional farming.

Yield has minimal effect on whole-grain mineral density of modern soft wheat compared to production environment, genotype, and test weight

ProblemMillions of people worldwide lack diversified diets and rely on staple foods, like wheat, that are inherently poor in minerals as primary sources of nutrition. Efforts have been made to enhance grain mineral density in wheat through plant breeding and crop management, though there is concern that mineral “dilution” will occur if higher yield is also sought. Much of that concern comes from studies comparing historic and modern wheat genotypes with impactful genetic differences (e.g., tall vs. semi-dwarf), but there is much less clarity in studies focused on modern genotypes. ObjectiveThe objective of this research was to better understand factors affecting concentrations of eight minerals in whole-grain soft white wheat, especially yield. MethodsThis was done by collecting a genetically and environmentally diverse grain mineral dataset and analyzing it in multiple ways. ResultsThere was no significant effect of yield on density of any tested mineral in grain when factors such as production environment and test weight were controlled, though regression coefficients for yield were generally negative. Thus, the negative effect of yield was present, but it was insignificant and small relative to other sources of variation. Production environment had the greatest impact on grain minerals, contributing between 50% and 90% of variation in the data, depending on the mineral. Wheat genotype had an impact on density of most minerals and genotype by environment interactions were common. Achieving genetic gain in elevating grain minerals through plant breeding may be most successful for Zn, P, and Mg, because genotypic variation and heritability were relatively high for these minerals. Further analysis of Zn showed that breeding selection for simultaneously high-Zn, high-yield wheat varieties is possible, because individual wheat varieties tended to have consistent grain Zn relative to the mean, regardless of yield level or production environment. Grain test weight also had a significant impact on concentrations of two minerals (K and Cu). Factors that impact plant health and metabolism, and ultimately grain test weight, are likely to also affect plant mineral uptake and translocation, possibly causing this association. ImplicationsIn summary, this analysis provides evidence that the impact of yield on grain mineral density among modern wheat germplasm is small and insignificant. In the quest to improve the mineral nutrient value of wheat through plant breeding, crop management, and other approaches, the minor negative impact of yield should be considered secondarily to much more significant factors like production environment, wheat genotype, and even test weight.

Application of machine learning for identification of heterotic groups in sunflower through combined approach of phenotyping, genotyping and protein profiling

Application of machine learning in plant breeding is a recent concept, that has to be optimized for precise utilization in the breeding program of high yielding crop plants. Identification and efficient utilization of heterotic grouping pattern aided with machine learning approaches is of utmost importance in hybrid cultivar breeding as it can save time and resources required to breed a new plant hybrid/variety. In the present study, 109 genotypes of sunflower were investigated at morphological, biochemical (SDS-PAGE) and molecular levels (through micro-satellites (SSR) markers) for heterotic grouping. All the three datasets were combined, scaled, and subjected to unsupervised machine learning algorithms, i.e., Hierarchical clustering, K-means clustering and hybrid clustering algorithm (hierarchical + K-means) for assessment of efficiency and resolution power of these algorithms in practical plant breeding for heterotic grouping identification. Following the application of machine learning unsupervised clustering approach, two major groups were identified in the studied sunflower germplasm, and further classification revealed six smaller classes in each major group through hierarchical and hybrid clustering approach. Due to high resolution, obtained in hierarchical clustering, classification achieved through this algorithm was further used for selection of potential parents. One genotype from each smaller group was selected based on the maximum seed yield potential and hybridized in a line × tester mating design producing 36 F1 cross combinations. These F1s along with their parents were studied in open field conditions for validating the efficacy of identified heterotic groups in sunflowers genetic material under study. Data for 11 agronomic and qualitative traits were recorded. These 36 F1 combinations were tested for their combining ability (General/Specific), heterosis, genotypic and phenotypic correlation and path analysis. Results suggested that F1 hybrids performed better for all the traits under investigation than their respective parents. Findings of the study validated the use of machine learning approaches in practical plant breeding; however, more accurate and robust clustering algorithms need to be developed to handle the data noisiness of open field experiments.

Exploring genetic variability under extended photoperiod in lentil (Lens Culinaris Medik): vegetative and phenological differentiation according to genetic material’s origins

Lentil is an important pulse that contributes to global food security and the sustainability of farming systems. Hence, it is important to increase the production of this crop, especially in the context of climate changes through plant breeding aiming at the development of high-yielding and climate-smart cultivars. However, conventional plant breeding approaches are time and resources consuming. Thus, speed breeding techniques enabling rapid generation turnover could help to accelerate the development of new varieties. The application of extended photoperiod prolonging the duration of the plant’s exposure to light and shortening the duration of the dark phase is among the simplest speed breeding techniques. In this study, genetic variability response under extended photoperiod (22 h of light/2 h of dark at 25 °C) of a lentil collection of 80 landraces from diverse latitudinal origins low (0°–20°), medium (21°–40°) and high (41°–60°), was investigated. Significant genetic variations were observed between accessions, for time to flowering [40 → 120 days], time of pods set [45 → 130 days], time to maturity [64 → 150 days], harvest index [0 → 0.24], green canopy cover [0.39 → 5.62], seedling vigor [2 → 5], vegetative stage length [40 → 120 days], reproduction stage length [3 → 13 days], and seed filing stage length [6 → 25 days]. Overall, the accessions from Low latitudinal origin demonstrated a favorable response to the extended photoperiod application with almost all accessions flowered, while 18% and 57% of accessions originating from medium and high latitudinal areas, respectively, did not successfully reach the flowering stage. These results enhanced our understanding lentil responses to photoperiodism under controlled conditions and are expected to play important roles in speed breeding based on the application of the described protocol for lentil breeding programs in terms of choosing appropriate initial treatments such as vernalization depending on the origin of accession.

Genetic Improvement Methods with an Agroecological Approach for Plant Breeding

Conventional genetic improvement programs play a fundamental role in Brazilian agriculture, transforming this activity into an important contributor to the national economy. However, most of the time it does not serve family farmers, as this cultivation system has different characteristics from conventional agriculture, where it is often composed of agroecological and diversified crops, in a smaller territorial extension, without conditions for carrying out controls using technologies and inputs acquired externally. Thus, participatory breeding aims to align the improvement of cultivar productivity with the provision of biodiversity for family farming. This technique consists of the farmer's ability to select the cultivars best adapted to their environment based on the selection of their seeds, adopting agroecological principles and agrobiodiversity management.

The potential of metabolomics in assessing global compositional changes resulting from the application of CRISPR/Cas9 technologies.

Exhaustive analysis of genetically modified crops over multiple decades has increased societal confidence in the technology. New Plant Breeding Techniques are now emerging with improved precision and the ability to generate products containing no foreign DNA and mimic/replicate conventionally bred varieties. In the present study, metabolomic analysis was used to compare (i) tobacco genotypes with and without the CRISPR associated protein 9 (Cas9), (ii) tobacco lines with the edited and non-edited DE-ETIOLATED-1 gene without phenotype and (iii) leaf and fruit tissue from stable non-edited tomato progeny with and without the Cas9. In all cases, multivariate analysis based on the difference test using LC-HRMS/MS and GC-MS data indicated no significant difference in their metabolomes. The variations in metabolome composition that were evident could be associated with the processes of tissue culture regeneration and/or transformation (e.g. interaction with Agrobacterium). Metabolites responsible for the variance included quantitative changes of abundant, well characterised metabolites such as phenolics (e.g. chlorogenic acid) and several common sugars such as fructose. This study provides fundamental data on the characterisation of gene edited crops, that are important for the evaluation of the technology and its assessment. The approach also suggests that metabolomics could contribute to routine product-based analysis of crops/foods generated from New Plant Breeding approaches.

A Review On Citrus tristeza virus (CTV) And Its Management Approaches

Citrus tristeza virus (CTV), one of the casual agents of citrus decline, is responsible for the death of millions of citrus trees and reduced production and productivity of citrus orchards worldwide. CTV epidemics has been recorded from several parts of the world where mainly steam pitting (SP) and quick decline (QD) strains of CTV have induced severe disease reactions. Identification and characterization of CTV isolates primarily has been focused on the biological assaying in indicator plants, serology-based ELISA and molecular PCR tests. Controlling the presence and spread of CTV where it is absent or establishment is limited heavily relies upon preventive measures, quarantine and legislations. Cross protection is an appealing technique especially for controlling CTV – Stem Pitting strains and use of CTV resistant rootstocks largely prevent infection by CTV – Quick Decline strains. More reliable and effective way to control CTV is breeding for resistant or tolerant cultivars. Advances in molecular biology have lead scientists to find out genes and map genetic loci of CTV resistant citrus and related species that could be exploited in breeding. However incorporation of resistant ability offered by a handful of citrus and its related species into the susceptible cultivars containing other desirable agronomical traits is challenging through classical plant breeding approaches. The following review work is based on Citrus tristza virus and its management practices.

Tailoring crops with superior product quality through genome editing: an update.

In this review, using genome editing, the quality trait alterations in important crops have been discussed, along with the challenges encountered to maintain the crop products' quality. The delivery of economic produce with superior quality is as important as high yield since it dictates consumer's acceptance and end use. Improving product quality of various agricultural and horticultural crops is one of the important targets of plant breeders across the globe. Significant achievements have been made in various crops using conventional plant breeding approaches, albeit, at a slower rate. To keep pace with ever-changing consumer tastes and preferences and industry demands, such efforts must be supplemented with biotechnological tools. Fortunately, many of the quality attributes are resultant of well-understood biochemical pathways with characterized genes encoding enzymes at each step. Targeted mutagenesis and transgene transfer have been instrumental in bringing out desired qualitative changes in crops but have suffered from various pitfalls. Genome editing, a technique for methodical and site-specific modification of genes, has revolutionized trait manipulation. With the evolution of versatile and cost effective CRISPR/Cas9 system, genome editing has gained significant traction and is being applied in several crops. The availability of whole genome sequences with the advent of next generation sequencing (NGS) technologies further enhanced the precision of these techniques. CRISPR/Cas9 system has also been utilized for desirable modifications in quality attributes of various crops such as rice, wheat, maize, barley, potato, tomato, etc. The present review summarizes salient findings and achievements of application of genome editing for improving product quality in various crops coupled with pointers for future research endeavors.

Kavuzlu Buğdayların Moleküler Karakterizasyonu ve Popülasyon Yapısının Değerlendirilmesi

Analysis of genetic diversity among genotypes and differentiation among populations are crucial for determination of conservation strategies and one of the best plant breeding approaches. In this study, ISSR markers were used to determine genetic variation and population structure in 23 hulled wheats. Together with control durum wheat and bread wheat registered cultivars, 32 wheat genotypes were analyzed with 14 ISSR markers located throughout the wheat genome. Number of alleles per locus ranged from 3 to 13 and the polymorphism information content (PIC) value ranged from 0.27 for the UBC-852 to 0.37 for the UBC-824 with an average of 0.33. High levels of polymorphism ratio (100%) were observed for ISSR primers. Mean number of polymorphic alleles (N), expected heterozygosity (He), PIC, number of effective allele (Ne), Shanon’s information index (I) and genetic variation (FST) were determined as 10.21, 0.42, 0.33, 1.78, 0.61 and 0.63, respectively. UPGMA analysis based on dice genetic similarity ranged between 0.981 and 0.112 showing the high genetic diversity among hulled wheat genotypes. Results showed that the ISSR markers provided reliable and reproducible fingerprinting profiles for assessment of population structure and genetic diversity of hulled wheat genotypes. These molecular variations obtained from present study can be used in parent choosing for breeding studies.

Improving nutrition through biofortification-A systematic review.

Nutritious foods are essential for human health and development. However, malnutrition and hidden hunger continue to be a challenge globally. In most developing countries, access to adequate and nutritious food continues to be a challenge. Although hidden hunger is less prevalent in developed countries compared to developing countries where iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) deficiencies are common. The United Nations (UN) 2nd Sustainable Development Goal was set to eradicate malnutrition and hidden hunger. Hidden hunger has led to numerous cases of infant and maternal mortalities, and has greatly impacted growth, development, cognitive ability, and physical working capacity. This has influenced several countries to develop interventions that could help combat malnutrition and hidden hunger. Interventions such as dietary diversification and food supplementation are being adopted. However, fortification but mainly biofortification has been projected to be the most sustainable solution to malnutrition and hidden hunger. Plant-based foods (PBFs) form a greater proportion of diets in certain populations; hence, fortification of PBFs is relevant in combating malnutrition and hidden hunger. Agronomic biofortification, plant breeding, and transgenic approaches are some currently used strategies in food crops. Crops such as cereals, legumes, oilseeds, vegetables, and fruits have been biofortified through all these three strategies. The transgenic approach is sustainable, efficient, and rapid, making it suitable for biofortification programs. Omics technology has also been introduced to improve the efficiency of the transgenic approach.

High-throughput plant breeding approaches: Moving along with plant-based food demands for pet food industries.

High-throughput plant breeding approaches: Moving along with plant-based food demands for pet food industries.

Caffeine. A critical review of contemporary scientific literature

Caffeine is a secondary metabolite extensively studied for its stimulatory properties and presumed association with specific pathologies. This alkaloid is typically consumed through coffee, tea, and other plant products but is also an additive in many medications and confectionaries. Nonetheless, despite its worldwide consumption and acceptance, there is controversial evidence as to whether its effects on the central nervous system should be interpreted as stimulatory or as an addiction in which typical withdrawal effects are canceled out with its daily consumption. The following discussion is the product of an extensive review of current scientific literature, which aims to describe the most salient topics associated with caffeine's purpose in nature, biosynthesis, metabolism, physiological effects, toxicity, extraction, industrial use and current plant breeding approaches for the development of new caffeine deficient varieties as a more economical option to the industrially decaffeinated coffees currently available to caffeine intolerant consumers. Keywords: biosynthesis, decaffeination, extraction, metabolism, physiological effects, plant breeding.

ROLE OF CRISPR TO IMPROVE STRESS TOLERANCE IN PLANTS

Climate changes and increasing human population is experiencing by most of the countries throughout the world, so, for production of crops with enhanced adaptation to the environment and high yield reliance through conventional breeding technologies seemed to be fully supporting now a days. It requires those techniques that increase crop yield in less time through developing resistance of plants for stress factors. Fortunately, for improvement of crops under the abiotic and biotic stress conditions, clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR) approach provided a way towards new horizon and consequently revolutionizing the plant breeding approach. This review article presents the optimization and mechanism of CRISPR strategy and its huge number of applications for crop improvement like domestication, fruit quality improvement, resistance to abiotic and biotic stresses is most highlighted aspect. In this review article there is a brief summary about CRISPR/Cas9 technique and its role in increasing agricultural yield by gene knock in or knock out. It also presents number of evidence based studies where this approach has been used for making plants resistant to biotic factors. Future perspectives and controversies have also been discussed.

Biofortification of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) with iron and zinc: Achievements and challenges.

Micronutrient deficiencies (hidden hunger), particularly in iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn), remain one of the most serious public health challenges, affecting more than three billion people globally. A number of strategies are used to ameliorate the problem of micronutrient deficiencies and to improve the nutritional profile of food products. These include (i) dietary diversification, (ii) industrial food fortification and supplements, (iii) agronomic approaches including soil mineral fertilisation, bioinoculants and crop rotations, and (iv) biofortification through the implementation of biotechnology including gene editing and plant breeding. These efforts must consider the dietary patterns and culinary preferences of the consumer and stakeholder acceptance of new biofortified varieties. Deficiencies in Zn and Fe are often linked to the poor nutritional status of agricultural soils, resulting in low amounts and/or poor availability of these nutrients in staple food crops such as common bean. This review describes the genes and processes associated with Fe and Zn accumulation in common bean, a significant food source in Africa that plays an important role in nutritional security. We discuss the conventional plant breeding, transgenic and gene editing approaches that are being deployed to improve Fe and Zn accumulation in beans. We also consider the requirements of successful bean biofortification programmes, highlighting gaps in current knowledge, possible solutions and future perspectives.

Functional Allele Validation by Gene Editing to Leverage the Wealth of Genetic Resources for Crop Improvement.

Advances in molecular technologies over the past few decades, such as high-throughput DNA marker genotyping, have provided more powerful plant breeding approaches, including marker-assisted selection and genomic selection. At the same time, massive investments in plant genetics and genomics, led by whole genome sequencing, have led to greater knowledge of genes and genetic pathways across plant genomes. However, there remains a gap between approaches focused on forward genetics, which start with a phenotype to map a mutant locus or QTL with the goal of cloning the causal gene, and approaches using reverse genetics, which start with large-scale sequence data and work back to the gene function. The recent establishment of efficient CRISPR-Cas-based gene editing promises to bridge this gap and provide a rapid method to functionally validate genes and alleles identified through studies of natural variation. CRISPR-Cas techniques can be used to knock out single or multiple genes, precisely modify genes through base and prime editing, and replace alleles. Moreover, technologies such as protoplast isolation, in planta transformation, and the use of developmental regulatory genes promise to enable high-throughput gene editing to accelerate crop improvement.

Genome-wide identification and characterization of glutathione S-transferase gene family in Musa acuminata L. AAA group and gaining an insight to their role in banana fruit development

Glutathione S-transferases are a multifunctional protein superfamily that is involved in diverse plant functions such as defense mechanisms, signaling, stress response, secondary metabolism, and plant growth and development. Although the banana whole-genome sequence is available, the distribution of GST genes on banana chromosomes, their subcellular localization, gene structure, their evolutionary relation with each other, conserved motifs, and their roles in banana are still unknown. A total of 62 full-length GST genes with the canonical thioredoxin fold have been identified belonging to nine GST classes, namely tau, phi, theta, zeta, lambda, DHAR, EF1G, GHR, and TCHQD. The 62 GST genes were distributed into 11 banana chromosomes. All the MaGSTs were majorly localized in the cytoplasm. Gene architecture showed the conservation of exon numbers in individual GST classes. Multiple Em for Motif Elicitation analyses revealed few class-specific motifs and many motifs were found in all the GST classes. Multiple sequence alignment of banana GST amino acid sequences with rice, Arabidopsis, and soybean sequences revealed the Ser and Cys as conserved catalytic residues. Gene duplication analyses showed the tandem duplication as a driving force for GST gene family expansion in banana. Cis-regulatory element analysis showed the dominance of light-responsive element followed by stress- and hormone-responsive elements. Expression profiling analyses were also done by RNA-seq data. It was observed that MaGSTs are involved in various stages of fruit development. MaGSTU1 was highly upregulated. The comprehensive and organized studies of MaGST gene family provide groundwork for further functional analysis of MaGST genes in banana at molecular level and further for plant breeding approaches.

From Pharma to Farm Can CRISPR Feed the World?

From Pharma to Farm Can CRISPR Feed the World?