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Genetic Control of Agronomic Traits in Plants
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Genetic Control of Agronomic Traits in Plants

A special issue of Genes (ISSN 2073-4425). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Genetics and Genomics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 May 2023) | Viewed by 7666

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Abdelhafid Bendahmane

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Plant Sciences, Université Paris-Saclay, 91190 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
Interests: tomato; crop genomics; tilling
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

One of the most important challenges facing current and future generations is how climate change and continuous population growth adversely affect food security. To address this, the food system needs a complete transformation where more is produced in non-optimal and space-limited areas, while reducing negative environmental impact.

In the last century, the use of high-yielding F1-hybrid varieties, mechanization, and irrigation has insured yield improvement for major crops. In the post-genomic era, one would expect that the discovery and the optimization of the gene networks controlling key agronomic traits could contribute to another level of yield improvement. A combination of various technical and genomic methods currently available is necessary in order to seriously develop sustainable agriculture. Developing indoor production systems that do not encroach on habitable lands, editing leader alleles enhancing yield and resilience, will likely contribute to the required sustainability. An ideal future crop should include characteristics such as a rapid life cycle to improve the productivity per year, a short stature to fit in space-limited growing areas, an efficient nutrition system to lower chemical inputs, and an optimized flowering and fruit set to ensure high fruit yield.

In this Special Issue on “Genetic Control of Agronomic Traits in Plants”, we would like to highlight research projects developing (i) phenotyping tools to identify genetic loci controlling key agronomic traits; (ii) genetic and omics characterization of key agronomic traits; and (iii) identification of leader alleles improving crop performance.

Prof. Dr. Abdelhafid Bendahmane
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Genes is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • plant genetics
  • agronomic traits
  • gene networks
  • phenotyping tool
  • genetic loci
  • crop performance

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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18 pages, 2593 KiB  
Article
A Lycopene ε-Cyclase TILLING Allele Enhances Lycopene and Carotenoid Content in Fruit and Improves Drought Stress Tolerance in Tomato Plants
by Angelo Petrozza, Stephan Summerer, Donato Melfi, Teresa Mango, Filippo Vurro, Manuele Bettelli, Michela Janni, Francesco Cellini and Filomena Carriero
Genes 2023, 14(6), 1284; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/genes14061284 - 17 Jun 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1132
Abstract
In the scenario of climate change, the availability of genetic resources for tomato cultivation that combine improved nutritional properties and more tolerance to water deficiency is highly desirable. Within this context, the molecular screenings of the Red Setter cultivar-based TILLING platform led to [...] Read more.
In the scenario of climate change, the availability of genetic resources for tomato cultivation that combine improved nutritional properties and more tolerance to water deficiency is highly desirable. Within this context, the molecular screenings of the Red Setter cultivar-based TILLING platform led to the isolation of a novel lycopene ε-cyclase gene (SlLCY-E) variant (G/3378/T) that produces modifications in the carotenoid content of tomato leaves and fruits. In leaf tissue, the novel G/3378/T SlLCY-E allele enhances β,β-xanthophyll content at the expense of lutein, which decreases, while in ripe tomato fruit the TILLING mutation induces a significant increase in lycopene and total carotenoid content. Under drought stress conditions, the G/3378/T SlLCY-E plants produce more abscisic acid (ABA) and still conserve their leaf carotenoid profile (reduction of lutein and increase in β,β-xanthophyll content). Furthermore, under said conditions, the mutant plants grow much better and are more tolerant to drought stress, as revealed by digital-based image analysis and in vivo monitoring of the OECT (Organic Electrochemical Transistor) sensor. Altogether, our data indicate that the novel TILLING SlLCY-E allelic variant is a valuable genetic resource that can be used for developing new tomato varieties, improved in drought stress tolerance and enriched in fruit lycopene and carotenoid content. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genetic Control of Agronomic Traits in Plants)
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10 pages, 1420 KiB  
Article
Insights of Improved Aroma under Additional Nitrogen Application at Booting Stage in Fragrant Rice
by Gegen Bao, Suihua Huang, Umair Ashraf, Jingxuan Qiao, Axiang Zheng, Qi Zhou, Lin Li and Xiaorong Wan
Genes 2022, 13(11), 2092; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/genes13112092 - 10 Nov 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1382
Abstract
Plant mineral nutrition substantially affects the growth, yield and quality of rice, whereas nitrogen (N) application contributes significantly in this regard. Undoubtedly, N application improves rice aroma biosynthesis; however, the molecular mechanism underlying the regulation of grain 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (2-AP) biosynthesis in the presence [...] Read more.
Plant mineral nutrition substantially affects the growth, yield and quality of rice, whereas nitrogen (N) application contributes significantly in this regard. Undoubtedly, N application improves rice aroma biosynthesis; however, the molecular mechanism underlying the regulation of grain 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (2-AP) biosynthesis in the presence of nitrogen application at the booting stage has remained largely unexplored. The present study examined the effects of three N levels, i.e., 0 g per pot (N0), 0.43 g per pot (N1) and 0.86 g per pot (N2) on intermediates, enzymes and genes involved in 2-AP biosynthesis, as well as on the yield of two fragrant rice cultivars viz, Meixiangzhan2 and Xiangyaxiangzhan. N was additionally applied at the booting stage. The results depicted that the levels of precursor, such as proline, and the activity of enzymes involved in 2-AP biosynthesis, such as Δ1-pyrroline-5-carboxylate synthetase (P5CS) and diamine oxidase (DAO), and P5CS1 gene expression were comparatively higher under N1 than N0 in both fragrant rice cultivars. Moreover, the N2 treatment increased the grain panicle−1, filled grain percentage and grain yield of both rice cultivars, while the grain yield of Meixiangzhan2 and Xiangyaxiangzhan was increased by 15.87% and 12.09%, respectively, under N2 compared to N1 treatment. Hence, 0.43 g per pot of N showed positive performances in yield and aroma accumulation in fragrant rice and should be further employed in the practice and production for better cultivation in the rice market. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genetic Control of Agronomic Traits in Plants)
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16 pages, 3533 KiB  
Article
Dissecting the Regulatory Network of Maize Phase Change in ZmEPC1 Mutant by Transcriptome Analysis
by Xiaoqi Li, Weiya Li, Na Li, Runmiao Tian, Feiyan Qi, Juan Meng, Yajuan Jiang, Chenhui Wang, Yongqiang Chen, Zhanyong Guo, Jihua Tang and Zhanhui Zhang
Genes 2022, 13(10), 1713; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/genes13101713 - 24 Sep 2022
Viewed by 1611
Abstract
The developmental phase changes of maize are closely associated with the life span, environmental adaption, plant height, and disease resistance of the plant and eventually determines the grain yield and quality of maize. A natural mutant, Early Phase Change 1 (ZmEPC1), [...] Read more.
The developmental phase changes of maize are closely associated with the life span, environmental adaption, plant height, and disease resistance of the plant and eventually determines the grain yield and quality of maize. A natural mutant, Early Phase Change 1 (ZmEPC1), was selected from the inbred line KN5585. Compared with the wild type plant, the ZmEPC1 mutant exhibits deceased plant stature, accelerated developmental stages, and decreased leaf size. Through the transcriptome sequencing analysis of leaf samples at flowering stage, a total of 4583 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were screened between the mutant and wild type, including 2914 down-regulated genes and 1669 up-regulated genes. The GO enrichment and KEGG enrichment analysis revealed that the DEGs were mainly involved in hormone response, hormone signal transduction, autophagy, JA response and signal response, photosynthesis, biotic/abiotic stress, and circadian rhythms. The RT-qPCR results revealed that the most tested DEGs display consistent expression alterations between V5 and FT stages. However, several genes showed opposite expression alterations. Strikingly, most of the JA biosynthesis and signaling pathway-related genes displayed diametrically expression alterations between V5 and FT stages. miR156, a key regulator of plant phase transition, exhibited significant down-regulated expression at V5 and FT stages. The expression of two miR156 target genes were both significantly different between mutants and wild type. In conclusion, ZmEPC1 was identified to be mainly involved in the regulation of JA-mediated signaling pathways and hormone response and signaling, which is possible to confer developmental phase change through miR156-SPLs pathway. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genetic Control of Agronomic Traits in Plants)
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Review

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20 pages, 2304 KiB  
Review
A Flashforward Look into Solutions for Fruit and Vegetable Production
by Léa Maupilé, Adnane Boualem, Jamila Chaïb and Abdelhafid Bendahmane
Genes 2022, 13(10), 1886; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/genes13101886 - 18 Oct 2022
Viewed by 3014
Abstract
One of the most important challenges facing current and future generations is how climate change and continuous population growth adversely affect food security. To address this, the food system needs a complete transformation where more is produced in non-optimal and space-limited areas while [...] Read more.
One of the most important challenges facing current and future generations is how climate change and continuous population growth adversely affect food security. To address this, the food system needs a complete transformation where more is produced in non-optimal and space-limited areas while reducing negative environmental impacts. Fruits and vegetables, essential for human health, are high-value-added crops, which are grown in both greenhouses and open field environments. Here, we review potential practices to reduce the impact of climate variation and ecosystem damages on fruit and vegetable crop yield, as well as highlight current bottlenecks for indoor and outdoor agrosystems. To obtain sustainability, high-tech greenhouses are increasingly important and biotechnological means are becoming instrumental in designing the crops of tomorrow. We discuss key traits that need to be studied to improve agrosystem sustainability and fruit yield. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genetic Control of Agronomic Traits in Plants)
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