Biodiversity Assessment of Sugar Beet Species and Its Wild Relatives:Linking Ecological Data with New Genetic Approaches

The value of crop wild relatives has long been acknowledged and this wild resource has been used to improve crop performance with clear economic benefits. Sugar beet (Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris) is the most economically valuable crop species in the order Caryophyllales, B. vulgaris subsp. maritima being the ancestor of the cultivated beets. The wild species of the genus Beta s.l. are commonly found in coastal areas of Europe and Mediterranean Region, where a rich genetic heritage still exists. Broadening the genetic base of sugar beet by introgression with wild relatives is a growing need regarding the maintenance of ecologically important traits. Since wild relatives have adapted to specific habitats, they constitute an important source of novel traits for the beet breeding pool. So, we conducted a broader research project aiming to delimit taxa and identify priority locations to establish genetic reserves of the wild Beta species occurring in Portugal (Western Iberian Peninsula). The aim of this study was: 1) to identify and characterize the main habitats of these wild Beta species;and 2) to present a review of some genetic tools available for future application in sugar beet breeding. In this review, we have focused on EcoTILLING as a molecular tool to assess DNA polymerphisms in wild populations of Beta and identify candidate genes related to drought and salt tolerance, as well as addressed some issues related to next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies as a new molecular tool to assess adaptive genetic variation on the wild relatives of sugar beet.

Photosynthesis,Metabolite Composition and Anatomical Structure of Oryza sativa and Two Wild Relatives,O.grandiglumis and O.alta

Photosynthesis, enzyme activities and metabolite pools associated with primary carbon metabolism in leaves were studied in O. grandiglumis and O. alta （wild relatives of rice which produce high biomass） versus O. sativa （a japonica cultivar and a indica-japonica hybrid） to assess their potential for identifying traits which might be utilized to enhance rice productivity. The wild relatives had higher rates of photosynthesis on a fresh weight basis, and higher water use efficiency than the O. sativa lines. There were no striking differences in activities of a number of key enzymes in carbon and nitrogen metabolism between the wild relatives and cultivated rice lines. Along with higher rates of photosynthesis on a fresh weight basis, the leaves of the two wild species had higher nitrate content, higher levels of starch, glucose and fructose, and higher levels of organic acids （malate, succinate and acetate）, compared to the O. sativa lines. The results suggested that O. grandiglumis and O. alta have differences in physiology and primary metabolism which might be exploited to improve growth and productivity of cultivated rice.

Water stress resilient cereal crops:Lessons from wild relatives

Cereal crops are significant contributors to global diets.As climate change disrupts weather patterns and wreaks havoc on crops,the need for generating stress-resilient,high-yielding varieties is more urgent than ever.One extremely promising avenue in this regard is to exploit the tremendous genetic diversity expressed by the wild ancestors of current day crop species.These crop wild relatives thrive in a range of environments and accordingly often harbor an array of traits that allow them to do so.The identification and introgression of these traits into our staple cereal crops can lessen yield losses in stressful environments.In the last decades,a surge in extreme drought and flooding events have severely impacted cereal crop production.Climate models predict a persistence of this trend,thus reinforcing the need for research on water stress resilience.Here we review:(i)how water stress(drought and flooding)impacts crop performance;and(ii)how identification of tolerance traits and mechanisms from wild relatives of the main cereal crops,that is,rice,maize,wheat,and barley,can lead to improved survival and sustained yields in these crops under water stress conditions.

Expanding the gene pool for soybean improvement with its wild relatives

Genetic diversity is a cornerstone of crop improvement,However,cultivated soybean(Glycine max)has undergone several genetic bottlenecks,including domestication in China,the introduction of landraces to other areas of the world and,latterly,selective breeding,leading to low genetic diversity the poses a major obstacle to soybean improvement.By contrast,there remains a relatively high level of genetic diversity in soybean's wild relatives,especially the perennial soybeans(Glycine subgenus Glycine),which could serve as potential gene pools for improving soybean cultivars.Wild soybeans are phylogenetically diversified and adapted to various habitats,harboring resistance to various biotic and abiotic stresses.Advances in genome and transcriptome sequencing enable alleles associated with desirable traits that were lost during domestication of soybean to be discovered in wild soybean.The collection and conservation of soybean wild relatives and the dissection of their genomic features will accelerate soybean breeding and facilitate sustainable agriculture and food production.

Orphan Crops and their Wild Relatives in the Genomic Era

More than half of the calories consumed by humans are provided by three major cereal crops(rice,maize,and wheat).Orphan crops are usually well adapted to low-input agricultural conditions,and they not only play vital roles in local areas but can also contribute to food and nutritional needs worldwide.Interestingly,many wild relatives of orphan crops are important weeds of major crops.Although orphan crops and their wild relatives have received little attentions from researchers for many years,genomic studies have recently been performed on these plants.Here,we provide an overview of genomic studies on orphan crops,with a focus on orphan cereals and their wild relatives.The genomes of at least 12 orphan cereals and/or their wild relatives have been sequenced.In addition to genomic benefits for orphan crop breeding,we discuss the potential ways for mutual utilization of genomic data from major crops,orphan crops,and their wild relatives(including weeds)and provide perspectives on genetic improvement of both orphan and major crops(including de novo domestication of orphan crops)in the coming genomic era.

Evolution of wheat architecture,physiology,and metabolism during domestication and further cultivation:Lessons for crop improvement

In recent decades,genetic advances in yield improvement in the major cereal crops,including wheat,has stagnated or proceeded at a slower rate than is required to meet future global food demand,particularly in the face of climate change.To reverse this situation,and in view of the future climate scenario,there is a need to increase the genetic diversity of wheat to increase its productivity,quality,stability,and adaptation to local agro-environments.The abundant genetic resources and literature are a basis for wheat improvement.However,many species,such as wild relatives,landraces,and old cultivars have not been studied beyond their agronomic characteristics,highlighting the lack of understanding of the physiological and metabolic processes(and their integration) associated with higher productivity and resilience in limiting environments.Retrospective studies using wheat ancestors and modern cultivars may identify novel traits that have not previously been considered,or have been underestimated,during domestication and breeding,but that may contribute to future food security.This review describes existing wheat genetic diversity and changes that occurred during domestication and breeding,and considers whether mining natural variation among wheat ancestors offers an opportunity to enhance wheat agronomic performance,spike architecture,canopy-and organ-level photosynthetic capacity,and responses to abiotic stress,as well as to develop new wheat hybrids.

Characterization and QTL identification in eggplant introgression lines under two N fertilization levels

Lowering nitrogen inputs is a major goal for sustainable agriculture.In the present study,a set of 10 Solanum melongena introgression lines(ILs)developed using Solanum incanum as the exotic donor parent were grown under two nitrogen fertilization doses supplied with the irrigation system:1)8.25 mmol·L-1NH4NO3,corresponding to the high nitrogen treatment(HN),and 2)no external nitrogen supply,corresponding to the low nitrogen treatment(LN).Twenty traits,including plant growth and yield parameters,fruit size and morphology,nitrogen and carbon content in leaf and fruit,and phenolics content in fruit,were evaluated.The aim was to select of potential materials for eggplant breeding under low N inputs,as well as to identify and locate putative QTLs associated with the traits evaluated.No significant differences were observed between the soil characteristics of the HN and LN treatments,except for nitrogen and iron content,which was slightly lower in the HN,probably as a consequence of higher nutrient removal from soil by plants in the latter group.Analysis of variance showed that lowering nitrogen inputs did not significantly affect the final yield,fruit morphology,size and phenolics content.Most agronomic traits were highly and positively correlated with each other under both treatments,as well as total phenolics with chlorogenic acid content.The assessment of the differences between each IL and the recipient parent resulted in the identification of 36 QTLs associated with most of the traits—12 were specific to the HN,17 specific to the LN,and 7 were stable across treatments.The introgressed fragment of S.incanum generally had a negative effect on the trait,except for QTLs for fruit dry matter,for fruit length on chromosome 10 under the HN,and for fruit pedicel length on chromosome 9 under the LN.The increase over AN-S-26 of the allele of S.incanum for the QTLs detected ranged between-73.98% and 26.03% in HN and-73.67%and 34.43% in LN.These findings provide useful tools for the utilization of S.incanum in eggplant breeding under lower nitrogen fertilization.

Distribution Area and Yield Indicators of Poa bulbosa L. in Uzbekistan

The article is based on field research, existing literature, and samples of herbarium kept in the National Herbarium fund (TASH) Poa bulbosa L. The distribution maps and productivity indicators in the flora of Uzbekistan are presented. As you know, Poa bulbosa L. is considered the wild relative of cultural plants, as a forage plant, it is a plant with high protein value. In the course of research during 2021-2022, in 16 areas, the yield indicators of the species were determined. In the studied research areas, indicators of the total weight of plant bushes (on the account of wet mass) and, respectively, the volume of plant biomass (on the account of dry mass, the upper part of 25%) were determined. According to him, it was determined that the average yield of the plant the wet mass is 14669.8 kg/ha, and the average yield of the plant the dry mass in areas of total 244.0 ha in the total area is 63172.5 kg.

A Germplasm Resource Repository:The Book Review of Illustrated Flora of Food Crops and Their Wild Related Plants in China

Illustrated Flora of Food Crops and Their Wild Related Plants in China systematically examines the botanical and morphological characteristics of China's major food crops,such as rice,wheat,corn,sweet potato,potato,mung bean,and buckwheat.Featuring more than 5000 color photos and 200 line drawings,it offers a comparative study that highlights the kinship and internal connections between cultivated and wild species.The book is an invaluable resource for breeders,offering a comprehensive morphological and genetic database that aids in the development of high-yielding,high-quality,and disease-resistant crop varieties.

Genetic Resources,Breeding Programs in China,and Gene Mining of Peach:A Review

Research on peach genetic resources and breeding has achieved remarkable progress in recent decades,especially in China.In this review,we first described the geographic distribution,ecology,phenotypes,and genetic diversity of peach landraces and wild relatives in China.We also discussed the almond.Subsequently,breeding programs of peaches in China are summarized,including breeding history,breeding targets,breeding institutes,elite breeding materials,breeding solutions,and domestically bred representative cultivars.Furthermore,we reviewed the genes or loci that have been mined using both linkage mapping and genome wide association study(GWAS)as well as the evolutionary genetics and domestication history of the peach.Finally,we gave our perspectives and suggestions for future breeding in terms of breeding material selection and breeding technology innovation.

Genetic diversity of food-medicinal Lycium spp.in China:Insights from chloroplast genome

Objective:Goji(fruits of Lycium spp.)is commonly consumed as food and medicine.The increasing market demand for goji has led to its wide cultivation and broad breeding,which might cause loss of genetic diversity.This study aims to uncover the genetic diversity of the cultivated and wild Lycium.Methods:The chloroplast genome(CPG)of 34 accessions of Chinese food-medicinal Lycium spp.,including the popular cultivars and their wild relatives,was re-sequenced and assembled,based on which the genetic diversity was evaluated.Results:Sequence structural comparison shows that CPG is comparatively conserved within species.Phylogenetic analysis indicates that CPG is sufficient for the discrimination of Lycium species;combined with nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer(Nr ITS)sequences,materials with mixed genetic backgrounds can be identified.Nucleotide diversity analysis reveals that the modern cultivars are probably with a common maternal parent,while the wild accessions are with higher level of genetic diversity.Conclusion:For the first time this study reveals the intraspecies genetic diversity of Lycium spp.using CPG,highlighting the urgent conservation demand of wild genetic resources of Lycium.Our study also demonstrates that CPG provides crucial evidence for identification of Lycium species with mixed genetic backgrounds and highlights the importance of the wild relatives in genetic diversity conservation.This CPG-based technology will contribute to the sustainable development of medicinal plants broadly.

A chromosome-scale genome assembly of Dasypyrum villosum provides insights into its application as a broad-spectrum disease resistance resource for wheat improvement

Dasypyrum villosum is one of the most valuable gene resources in wheat improvement,especially for disease resistance.The mining of favorable genes from D.villosum is frustrated by the lack of a whole genome sequence.In this study,we generated a doubled-haploid line,91C43^(DH),using microspore culture and obtained a 4.05-GB high-quality,chromosome-scale genome assembly for D.villosum.The assembly contains39727 high-confidence genes,and 85.31% of the sequences are repetitive.Two reciprocal translocation events were detected,and 7VS-4VL is a unique translocation in D.villosum.The prolamin seed storage protein-coding genes were found to be duplicated;in particular,the genes encoding low-molecular-weight glutenin at the Glu-V3 locus were significantly expanded.RNA sequencing(RNA-seq)analysis indicated that,after Blumeria graminearum f.sp tritici(Bgt)inoculation,there were more upregulated genes involved in the pattern-triggered immunity and effector-triggered immunity defense pathways in D.villosum than in Triticum urartu.MNase hypersensitive sequencing(MH-seq)identified two Bgt-inducible MH sites(MHSs),one in the promoter and one in the 3'terminal region of the powdery mildew resistance(Pm)gene NLR1-V.Each site had two subpeaks and they were termed MHS1(MHS1.1/1.2)and MHS2(MHS2.1/2.2).Bgt-inducible MHS2.2 was uniquely present in D.villosum,and MHS1.1 was more inducible in D.villosum than in wheat,suggesting that MHSs may be critical for regulation of NLR1-V expression and plant defense.In summary,this study provides a valuable genome resource for functional genomics studies and wheat-D.villosum introgression breeding.The identified regulatory mechanisms may also be exploited to develop new strategies for enhancing Pm resistance by optimizing gene expression in wheat.