Evaluation of Yield Potential and Combining Ability in Thai Elite Cassava Varieties for Breeding Selection
, Passorn Wonnapinij 2,3, Hernan Ceballos 4,5, Ekaphan Kraichak 6, Choosak Jompuk 7 and Piya Kittipadakul 1,5,*Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Line 130: at 12 months -> at 12th month
Line 274: tested -> test
Line 280: the study by [28] -> add the cited name
GCA and SCA: please use abbreviations throughout the paper once you defined it in the beginning.
Overall the English quality is good except for some minor grammar mistakes.
Author Response
Thank you for your time processing our manuscript.
Reviewer 1
Comments and Suggestions for Authors
Line 130: at 12 months -> at 12th month
- Modified as suggested.
Line 274: tested -> test
- Modified as suggested.
Line 280: the study by [28] -> add the cited name
- The name has been added.
GCA and SCA: please use abbreviations throughout the paper once you defined it in the beginning.
- The full terms have been replaced with the abbreviations and check throughout.
Reviewer 2 Report
This manuscript assess the combining ability of six Thai cassava elite varieties for four key traits, including fresh root yield (FRY), fresh shoot yield (FSY), harvest index (HI) and starch content (SC) through an analysis of the diallel mating design over two years. This study found that each line have special positive influence on the traits. In addition, cultivation conditions could also impact the evaluation of genetic effects. The above conclusions have important reference significance for the hybrid breeding of cassava.
A little writing advice for the manuscript.
1:The Figure 1 and Figure 2 should be clearer for readers to understand.
2:line 39, delete “ countries such as ”
3:line 40 “ extensive breeding efforts ” should be revised.
4:line 48 “with little to no ”???
5:line 68 69 should be revised to understand.
6:line 76 77 Suggest modifications “The 15 F1 progenies and parents were evaluated using an augmented RCBD design in Northeastern Thailand.”
7:line 146: the SC averages of F1
8:line 248 249 250 Language colloquialism needs to be modified.
9:line 256 “summarized by” ???
10:line 257 258 can not understand
11: line 2612620 263 should be more concise.
12:line 269 270 271 needs to be modified.
13:line 280 the study by????
14:line 282 no significant in SCA and almost equal to the value of GCA
15:line 287 288 it is wrong. Homozygous genotypes can lead to the accumulation of harmful mutations, rather than heterozygous genotypes.
16:line 306 307 can not understand
The language of the entire manuscript needs to be carefully revised.
Minor editing of English language required
Author Response
Thank you for your time processing our manuscript.
Reviewer 2
Comments and Suggestions for Authors
This manuscript assess the combining ability of six Thai cassava elite varieties for four key traits, including fresh root yield (FRY), fresh shoot yield (FSY), harvest index (HI) and starch content (SC) through an analysis of the diallel mating design over two years. This study found that each line have special positive influence on the traits. In addition, cultivation conditions could also impact the evaluation of genetic effects. The above conclusions have important reference significance for the hybrid breeding of cassava.
A little writing advice for the manuscript.
1:The Figure 1 and Figure 2 should be clearer for readers to understand.
- We have modified both Figures for higher resolutions.
2:line 39, delete “ countries such as ”
- Modified as suggested.
3:line 40 “ extensive breeding efforts ” should be revised.
- Modified as follows: “Efforts have been made over the past 40 years to breed high-yield varieties that are well-adapted to local soil and climate conditions”
4:line 48 “with little to no ”???
- Modified to “with little or no information regarding the segregating progenies”
5:line 68 69 should be revised to understand.
- We have removed this sentence as we found that this is merely repetitive to the first sentence of the paragraph.
6:line 76 77 Suggest modifications “The 15 F1 progenies and parents were evaluated using an augmented RCBD design in Northeastern Thailand.”
- Modified as suggested.
7:line 146: the SC averages of F1
- Line 246: Modified as suggested.
8:line 248 249 250 Language colloquialism needs to be modified.
- We have modified the sentence as follows: “This outcome is not unexpected since the progenitors were selected for their exceptional performance over the years, while each F1 family represents a random sample of all potential genotypes that could result from a particular cross.”
9:line 256 “summarized by” ???
- Modified as suggested: “summarized by Ceballos et al. [5].”
10:line 257 258 can not understand
- This sentence has been modified as follows: “Numerous diallel analysis studies [7,9,12,13,27,28] and combining ability analyses have consistently demonstrated higher ratios of SCA to GCA for FRY [8,10,11,14,29-36].”
11: line 2612620 263 should be more concise.
- The sentence has been revised as follows: “Our study, using locally developed germplasm grown under subtropical conditions in Southeast Asia, further supports for this notion from studies conducted in South America or Africa.”
12:line 269 270 271 needs to be modified.
- We have modified the sentence as follows: “]. Although our results align with this conclusion, the mode of inheritance for HI and FSY is rather inconsistent, as SCA effects were reported to be more important for these traits in some trial locations”
13:line 280 the study by????
- Modified as suggested: “The study by Calle et al. [28]”
14:line 282 no significant in SCA and almost equal to the value of GCA
- Modified as suggested.
15:line 287 288 it is wrong. Homozygous genotypes can lead to the accumulation of harmful mutations, rather than heterozygous genotypes.
- We have removed this sentence.
16:line 306 307 can not understand
- This sentence has been removed.
The language of the entire manuscript needs to be carefully revised.
- The manuscript has undergone language proofreading to enhance sentence clarity and accuracy.
Reviewer 3 Report
Cassava breeding is a critical aspect of sustainable agriculture to address the challenges of food security and climate change. This study to assess the combining ability of six Thai cassava elite varieties for four key traits, including fresh root yield (FRY), fresh shoot yield (FSY), harvest index (HI) and starch content (SC) through an analysis of the diallel mating design over two years, provides a useful basis for the selection of parental lines for cassava breeding programs and insights into the genetic control of yield and related traits in the Thai elite cassava germplasm. I have some concerns that require the attention of the authors.
1、It is suggested in the introduction to introduce the application and importance of quantitative genetic analysis, including diallel hybridization and combining ability analysis in cassava breeding or other crop breeding programs(That is, the importance of combining ability analysis to select potential parents).
2、The materials and methods section mentioned that selection of six progenitors was based on yield and flowering ability, but why only FRY, FSY, HI and SC traits were evaluated, flowering related traits were not included?
3、The Data collection section should give the corresponding calculation formula, rather than a simple text description, and “24 seedling genotypes” are represent ?
4、The quality of the picture should be improved, such as the icons of Figures 1 are not clear. And is it possible to adjust the color and font size of the picture?
5、It is suggested that the Figure composed of multiple pictures (eg: Fig. 1/2)should be numbered for each small picture (such as A, B, C, D et al).
6、In order to be beautiful and convenient for readers to read, it is suggested to re-typeset the diagram, table and text layout of the article to avoid large blank space.
7、In Figure2, what do “2555” and “2556” represent respectively? Whether it is labeled incorrectly, and is “FSY-HI” in “Progenitor R1 showed adequate breeding value for FRY and FSY-HI” incorrectly expressed?
8、The “P” in all analysis of variance mentioned in the article should be changed to “P”.
9、The format of References is not uniform, the format needs to be unified.
10、It is suggested to add a brief summary of this study at the end of the article.
The English language of the paper needs to be improved
Author Response
Thank you for your time processing our manuscript.
Reviewer 4
Comments and Suggestions for Authors
Cassava breeding is a critical aspect of sustainable agriculture to address the challenges of food security and climate change. This study to assess the combining ability of six Thai cassava elite varieties for four key traits, including fresh root yield (FRY), fresh shoot yield (FSY), harvest index (HI) and starch content (SC) through an analysis of the diallel mating design over two years, provides a useful basis for the selection of parental lines for cassava breeding programs and insights into the genetic control of yield and related traits in the Thai elite cassava germplasm. I have some concerns that require the attention of the authors.
1. It is suggested in the introduction to introduce the application and importance of quantitative genetic analysis, including diallel hybridization and combining ability analysis in cassava breeding or other crop breeding programs(That is, the importance of combining ability analysis to select potential parents).
- We consider that enough information has been provided on the importance of quantitative genetics in the introduction. We mention the importance of diallel analysis and provide several references of such studies on cassava. We also provide enough information on GCA and SCA from diallel studies.
2. The materials and methods section mentioned that selection of six progenitors was based on yield and flowering ability, but why only FRY, FSY, HI and SC traits were evaluated, flowering related traits were not included?
- We meant that some elite varieties were rarely give flowers or flowering periods were not synchronize with others and therefore could not be used for crossing to generate progenies. We modified this sentence to clarify the meaning as follows: “Selection of six progenitors was based on yield and the ability to make crosses such as flowering ability and flowering period.”
3. The Data collection section should give the corresponding calculation formula, rather than a simple text description, and “24 seedling genotypes” are represent?
- We clarify that starch was directly determined with a Reimann scale (no formula needed)
- We added the formula for estimating harvest index (HI)
- We used 24 seedling genotypes and 6 parental lines per block as an experimental unit.
4. The quality of the picture should be improved, such as the icons of Figures 1 are not clear. And is it possible to adjust the color and font size of the picture?
- Figure 1 and 2 have been modified for a high resolution.
5. It is suggested that the Figure composed of multiple pictures (eg: Fig. 1/2) should be numbered for each small picture (such as A, B, C, D et al).
- Figure 1 and 2 have been modified accordingly.
6. In order to be beautiful and convenient for readers to read, it is suggested tore-typeset the diagram, table and text layout of the article to avoid large blank space.
- We afraid that this could not be changed as this is the journal format.
7. In Figure2, what do “2555” and “2556” represent respectively? Whether it is labeled incorrectly, and is “FSY-HI” in “Progenitor R1 showed adequate breeding value for FRY and FSY-HI”incorrectly expressed?
- Those numbers were incorrectly labelled. The Figure has been modified. We modified the text referred for the second question to “Progenitor R1 showed adequate breeding value for FRY, FSY and HI,”.
8. The “P” in all analysis of variance mentioned in the article should be changed to “P”.
“P” for P value has all been italicized.
9. The format of References is not uniform, the format needs to be unified.
- The reference format has been check throughout.
10. It is suggested to add a brief summary of this study at the end of the article.
- A brief summary gas been added at the end od Discussion section as follows:
“In summary, this study assessed the combining ability of six Thai cassava varieties for FRY, FSY, HI and SC in a diallel mating design over two years. The results demonstrated that non-additive SCA effects played a crucial role in determining FRY, while GCA effects were predominant for FSY, HI, and SC. The study also highlighted the influence of growing conditions on genetic effects and the need to consider specific crossing pairs for successful selection of high FRY. The findings provide insights for selecting parental lines in cassava breeding programs and understanding the genetic control of yield and related traits in Thai cassava germplasm.”
Comments on the Quality of English Language: The English language of the paper needs to be improved
- The manuscript has undergone language proofreading to enhance sentence clarity and accuracy.
Round 2
Reviewer 3 Report
Suggest the author to make the image clearer and enlarge the font to make it easier for readers to read.
Minor editing of English language required
Author Response
Thank you very much for evaluating our manuscript.
Comments and Suggestions for Authors
Suggest the author to make the image clearer and enlarge the font to make it easier for readers to read.
- We have modified both Figures by increasing the text font and a clearer presentation as suggested.
Comments on the Quality of English Language
Minor editing of English language required
- We have read through the text and made some minor grammatical corrections.
