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Novel Plant Breeding Approaches for Achieving Zero Hunger

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A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Systems and Synthetic Biology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 April 2023) | Viewed by 21460

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Sajid Fiaz

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Guest Editor

Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, The University of Haripur, Haripur 22620, Pakistan
Interests: QTL mapping; mutation breeding; stress breeding; marker-assisted selection; molecular breeding; genome-wide association analysis (GWAS); genotyping by sequencing; OMICs; genome editing; regulations of genome edit crops

Dr. Ambrosone Alfredo

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Guest Editor

Department of Pharmacy, Biomedical division, University of Salerno Via Giovanni Paolo II, 132, 84084 Fisciano, SA, Italy
Interests: plant–environment interactions; plant genetics and biotechnology; nanotechnology; plant extracellular vesicles
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Food security is threatened by the global population rise, the impact of climate change on crop growth and production, and limited land available for agricultural expansion. The World Food Programme estimated that around 135 million people suffer from acute hunger mainly due to persistent conflicts, climate change, and economic insecurity. The COVID-19 pandemic has further jeopardized access to food, dramatically worsening word hunger.

Conventional plant breeding, novel plant breeding techniques (NPBTs), and other breakthrough agricultural technologies have a central role in hunger reduction. In particular, NPBTs may contribute considerably to attaining sustainable agriculture, including new strategies to obtain resilient varieties and crops that have high yield potential, yield stability, and superior grain quality and nutrition; nevertheless, limiting water consumption and reducing the use of fertilizer and chemicals are primary goals of NPBTs for environmental protection. Recently, OMICs, genome-wide association study (GWAS), and genome editing (GE) approaches have proven themselves as powerful tools to overcome substantial obstacles in the way of efficiency and productivity of current agricultural practices. Knowledge of genomics and next-generation sequencing have further improved our understanding of modern and genome editing techniques available to plant breeders. In this Special Issue, a wide range of topics will be covered, including conventional and non-conventional plant breeding approaches, marker-assisted selection, genomic region analysis, mutation breeding, OMICs, epigenetics, genotyping by sequencing, nanotechnology, and GE techniques widely utilized in crop production systems to increase productivity for achieving the second United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of Zero Hunger.

Dr. Sajid Fiaz
Dr. Ambrosone Alfredo
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 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 breeding
marker-assisted selection
genetic diversity
allelic variations
stress breeding
molecular breeding
next-generation sequencing
OMICs
GWAS
genome editing
epigenetic modifications
nanotechnology
crop improvement
food security

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 1887 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Combining Ability and Inheritance Nature of Agronomic Traits and Resistance to Pink Stem (Sesamia cretica) and Purple-Lined (Chilo agamemnon) Borers in Maize

by Saad N. AL-Kahtani, Mohamed M. Kamara, El-Kazafy A. Taha, Nabil El-Wakeil, Ahmed Aljabr and Kareem M. Mousa

Plants 2023, 12(5), 1105; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/plants12051105 - 01 Mar 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1197

Abstract

The pink stem borer (PSB), Sesamia cretica (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) purple-lined borer (PLB), Chilo agamemnon (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) and European corn borer Ostrinia nubilalis, (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) are considered the most devastating insect pests of maize production in the Mediterranean region. The frequent use of chemical insecticides has resulted in the evolution of resistance to various insect pests as well as the pernicious impact on natural enemies and environmental hazardousness. Therefore, developing resistant and high-yielding hybrids is the best economic and environmental approach to cope with these destructive insects. Accordingly, the objective of the study was to estimate the combining ability of maize inbred lines (ILs), identify promising hybrids, determine gene action controlling agronomic traits and resistance to PSB and PLB, and investigate inter-relationships among evaluated traits. A half-diallel mating design was employed to cross seven diverse maize inbreds to generate 21 F₁ hybrids. The developed F₁ hybrids, alongside high-yielding commercial check hybrid (SC-132), were assessed in field trials for two years under natural infestation. Substantial variations were obtained among the evaluated hybrids for all recorded characteristics. The non-additive gene action was major for grain yield and its contributing traits, while the additive gene action was more important in controlling the inheritance of PSB and PLB resistance. The inbred line IL1 was identified to be a good combiner for earliness and developing short-stature genotypes. Additionally, IL6 and IL7 were recognized as excellent combiners to enhance resistance to PSB, PLB and grain yield. The hybrid combinations IL1×IL6, IL3×IL6, and IL3×IL7 were determined to be excellent specific combiners for resistance to PSB, PLB and grain yield. Strong positive associations were identified among grain yield, its related traits, and resistance to PSB and PLB. This implies their importance as useful traits for indirect selection for improving grain yield. Otherwise, the resistance against PSB and PLB was negatively associated with the silking date, indicating that earliness would be favorable for escaping from the borer’s attack. It could be concluded that the inheritance of PSB and PLB resistance can be governed by the additive gene effects, and the IL1×IL6, IL3×IL6, and IL3×IL7 hybrid combinations can be recommended as excellent combiners for resistance to PSB and PLB and good yield. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Plant Breeding Approaches for Achieving Zero Hunger)

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10 pages, 1817 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Genetic Inheritance of Stripe Rust (Puccinia Striiformis) Resistance in Bread Wheat Breeding Lines at Seedling and Maturity Stages

by Saira Saleem, Muhammad Kashif, Rizwana Maqbool, Nisar Ahmed and Rubina Arshad

Plants 2022, 11(13), 1701; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/plants11131701 - 27 Jun 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1418

Abstract

One hundred and five (105) bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) genotypes, including five commercial checks, were screened for stripe rust resistance at seedling and adult plant stages. Seedlings grown under controlled conditions were screened for disease resistance after 12 days concerning disease incidence percentage after inoculation. K-means cluster analysis divided the genotypes into five different classes according to the presence of virulence/avirulence profile, i.e., class 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. The same set of genotypes was grown under field conditions for adult plant resistance. Data for disease scoring and different yield and yield-related parameters was recorded. A comparison of breeding lines indicated that all studied traits were negatively affected by disease incidence. Further cluster analysis ranked the genotypes into three distinct groups with Group I and III being the most diverse. Thirteen stripe rust resistance lines were identified using seedling and adult plant resistance strategies. Correlation analysis indicated a negative association between stripe rust incidence and yield and yield-related traits, particularly grains per spike, grain weight per spike, thousand-grain weight, and grain yield per plant. These findings suggested that stripe rust resistance negatively affects yield and yield related traits. The breeding programs aiming at the development of high yielding varieties must also focus on stripe rust resistance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Plant Breeding Approaches for Achieving Zero Hunger)

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19 pages, 4709 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evaluation of Green Super Rice Lines for Agronomic and Physiological Traits under Salinity Stress

by Muhammad Ammar Amanat, Muhammad Kashif Naeem, Hussah I. M. Algwaiz, Muhammad Uzair, Kotb A. Attia, Muneera D. F. AlKathani, Imdad Ulah Zaid, Syed Adeel Zafar, Safeena Inam, Sajid Fiaz, Muhammad Hamza Arif, Daniyal Ahmad, Nageen Zahra, Bilal Saleem and Muhammad Ramzan Khan

Plants 2022, 11(11), 1461; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/plants11111461 - 30 May 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2329

Abstract

Rice (Oryza sativa) is an important staple food crop worldwide, especially in east and southeast Asia. About one-third of rice cultivated area is under saline soil, either natural saline soils or irrigation with brackish water. Salinity stress is among the devastating abiotic stresses that not only affect rice growth and crop productivity but also limit its cultivation area globally. Plants adopt multiple tolerance mechanisms at the morphological, physiological, and biochemical levels to tackle salinity stress. To identify these tolerance mechanisms, this study was carried out under both a controlled glass house as well as natural saline field conditions using 22 green super rice (GSR) lines along with two local varieties (“IRRI 6 and Kissan Basmati”). Several morpho-physiological and biochemical parameters along with stress-responsive genes were used as evaluation criteria under normal and salinity stress conditions. Correlation and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) suggested that shoot-related parameters and the salt susceptible index (SSI) can be used for the identification of salt-tolerant genotypes. Based on Agglomerative Hierarchical Cluster (AHC) analysis, two saline-tolerant (“S19 and S20”) and saline-susceptible (“S3 and S24”) lines were selected for further molecular evaluation. Quantitative RT-PCR was performed, and results showed that expression of 1-5-phosphoribosyl -5-5-phosphoribosyl amino methylidene amino imidazole-4-carboxamide isomerase, DNA repair protein recA, and peptide transporter PTR2 related genes were upregulated in salt-tolerant genotypes, suggesting their potential role in salinity tolerance. However, additional validation using reverse genetics approaches will further confirm their specific role in salt tolerance. Identified saline-tolerant lines in this study will be useful genetic resources for future salinity breeding programs. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Plant Breeding Approaches for Achieving Zero Hunger)

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18 pages, 1534 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Assessment of Genetic Parameters and Gene Action Associated with Heterosis for Enhancing Yield Characters in Novel Hybrid Rice Parental Lines

by Mahmoud M. Gaballah, Kotb A. Attia, Adel M. Ghoneim, Naeem Khan, Aziz F. EL-Ezz, Baochang Yang, Langtao Xiao, Eid I. Ibrahim and Abdullah A. Al-Doss

Plants 2022, 11(3), 266; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/plants11030266 - 19 Jan 2022

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 2099

Abstract

The technology of hybrid rice utilizing heterosis is an essential requirement for achieving food security. The current study was aimed at assessing the genetic parameters and the gene actions of 15 yield-component traits associated with heterosis, in 9 new parental lines of hybrid rice and their generated hybrids. Five cytoplasmic male sterile (CMS) lines were crossed with four restorer (R) lines using twenty generated line × tester designation hybrid combinations. The results revealed that all the traits were controlled by additive and non-additive gene actions. However, the additive variance was the main component of the total genotypic variance. Assessment of the general combining ability (GCA) detected the best combiners among the genotypes. The hybrid combinations that expressed the highest-positive specific combining ability (SCA) for grain-yield were detected. The correlation between the GCA and SCA was evaluated. The hybrid crosses with high-positive heterosis, due to having a better parent for grain yield, were detected. The principal component analysis (PCA) recorded the first four principal axis displayed Eigenvalues >1 and existing variation cumulative of 83.92% in the genotypes for yield component characteristics. Three-dimensional plots corresponding to the studied traits illustrated that the genotypes Guang8A × Giza181, Quan-9311A × Giza179, II-32A × Giza181, and II-32A × Giza179 are classified as possessing superior grain yield. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Plant Breeding Approaches for Achieving Zero Hunger)

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19 pages, 1929 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Genetic Dissection of Mature Root Characteristics by Genome-Wide Association Studies in Rapeseed (Brassica napus L.)

by Sani Ibrahim, Keqi Li, Nazir Ahmad, Lieqiong Kuang, Salisu Bello Sadau, Ze Tian, Lintao Huang, Xinfa Wang, Xiaoling Dun and Hanzhong Wang

Plants 2021, 10(12), 2569; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/plants10122569 - 24 Nov 2021

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2544

Abstract

Roots are complicated quantitative characteristics that play an essential role in absorbing water and nutrients. To uncover the genetic variations for root-related traits in rapeseed, twelve mature root traits of a Brassica napus association panel were investigated in the field within three environments. All traits showed significant phenotypic variation among genotypes, with heritabilities ranging from 55.18% to 79.68%. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) using 20,131 SNPs discovered 172 marker-trait associations, including 103 significant SNPs (−log10 (p) > 4.30) that explained 5.24–20.31% of the phenotypic variance. With the linkage disequilibrium r² > 0.2, these significant associations were binned into 40 quantitative trait loci (QTL) clusters. Among them, 14 important QTL clusters were discovered in two environments and/or with phenotypic contributions greater than 10%. By analyzing the genomic regions within 100 kb upstream and downstream of the peak SNPs within the 14 loci, 334 annotated genes were found. Among these, 32 genes were potentially associated with root development according to their expression analysis. Furthermore, the protein interaction network using the 334 annotated genes gave nine genes involved in a substantial number of interactions, including a key gene associated with root development, BnaC09g36350D. This research provides the groundwork for deciphering B. napus’ genetic variations and improving its root system architecture. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Plant Breeding Approaches for Achieving Zero Hunger)

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Review

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27 pages, 29230 KiB

Open AccessReview

Novel Plant Breeding Techniques Shake Hands with Cereals to Increase Production

by Muhammad Haroon, Xiukang Wang, Rabail Afzal, Muhammad Mubashar Zafar, Fahad Idrees, Maria Batool, Abdul Saboor Khan and Muhammad Imran

Plants 2022, 11(8), 1052; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/plants11081052 - 12 Apr 2022

Cited by 19 | Viewed by 9649

Abstract

Cereals are the main source of human food on our planet. The ever-increasing food demand, continuously changing environment, and diseases of cereal crops have made adequate production a challenging task for feeding the ever-increasing population. Plant breeders are striving their hardest to increase production by manipulating conventional breeding methods based on the biology of plants, either self-pollinating or cross-pollinating. However, traditional approaches take a decade, space, and inputs in order to make crosses and release improved varieties. Recent advancements in genome editing tools (GETs) have increased the possibility of precise and rapid genome editing. New GETs such as CRISPR/Cas9, CRISPR/Cpf1, prime editing, base editing, dCas9 epigenetic modification, and several other transgene-free genome editing approaches are available to fill the lacuna of selection cycles and limited genetic diversity. Over the last few years, these technologies have led to revolutionary developments and researchers have quickly attained remarkable achievements. However, GETs are associated with various bottlenecks that prevent the scaling development of new varieties that can be dealt with by integrating the GETs with the improved conventional breeding methods such as speed breeding, which would take plant breeding to the next level. In this review, we have summarized all these traditional, molecular, and integrated approaches to speed up the breeding procedure of cereals. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Plant Breeding Approaches for Achieving Zero Hunger)

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