Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
6.2
3.3
Journals
Agronomy
Special Issues
Novel Studies in Crop Breeding for Promoting Agro-Biodiversity
share announcement

Novel Studies in Crop Breeding for Promoting Agro-Biodiversity

A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Crop Breeding and Genetics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2024) | Viewed by 6960

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Roberto Pilu

E-Mail
Guest Editor
Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences—Production, Landscape, Agroenergy, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via G. Celoria 2, 20133 Milan, Italy
Interests: breeding; molecular plant breeding; plant genetics; plant genomics; agrobiodiversity; germplasm bank
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Michela Landoni

E-Mail
Guest Editor
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Pavia, Via S. Epifanio 14, 27100 Pavia, Italy
Interests: molecular plant breeding; plant genetics; agrobiodiversity; germplasm bank
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Agrobiodiversity is the result of human and natural selection over millennia and has allowed the development of all civilizations as we know them today. In fact, it has provided food, fodder, fiber, medicines, fuel, and other useful products. The legacy of the selection made by the farmers of the past was the starting point for the development of the modern varieties used today.  In this Special Issue, we will give emphasis on the new studies regarding conservation,  valorization, and breeding activities aimed at increasing agrobiodiversity. In recent years, molecular tools implemented the ability to quickly develop new varieties narrowing the genetic bases of the cultivated species in some cases limiting yield and productivity globally. For this motif, recently, pre-breeding activity has become commonly used in order to introgress useful genes from wild relatives, promising landraces, and traditional cultivars. Contributions to this Special Issue are invited from experts working at different system levels including species, varieties, and environment/ecological perspectives, and using any study methodology. Works concerning in situ and ex situ germplasm bank collection studies, pre-breeding, breeding, molecular breeding, and genome studies are welcomed.

Prof. Dr. Roberto Pilu
Prof. Dr. Michela Landoni
Guest Editors

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. Agronomy 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

  • breeding
  • molecular breeding
  • plant genetics
  • plant genomics
  • agrobiodiversity
  • germplasm bank

Published Papers (5 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review

16 pages, 5154 KiB  
Article
Rice Regeneration in a Genebank: 21 Years of Data
by Francesca Sansoni, Lorenzo Sena, Virginia Pozzi, Marco Canella and Patrizia Vaccino
Agronomy 2024, 14(7), 1379; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14071379 - 26 Jun 2024
Viewed by 701
Abstract
Genebanks, other than their pivotal role as diversity conservation repositories, regenerate part of their collection every year to maintain their material in optimal conditions. During regeneration cycles, morpho-physiological data are collected, contributing to the creation of large datasets that offer a valuable resource [...] Read more.
Genebanks, other than their pivotal role as diversity conservation repositories, regenerate part of their collection every year to maintain their material in optimal conditions. During regeneration cycles, morpho-physiological data are collected, contributing to the creation of large datasets that offer a valuable resource of information. In Italy, rice cultivation has been documented since the second half of the 15th century, and nowadays, Italy contributes more than 50% of the total European rice production. The ex situ collection of rice (mainly Oryza sativa L. subgroup japonica) held at the Research Center for Cereal and Industrial Crops (CREA-CI) of Vercelli is quite unique in Italy and its establishment dates back to the beginning of the 20th century. The collection is hereby presented through the analysis of 21 years of historic data, from 2001 to 2022, in 17 different locations in Northern Italy, for a total of 6592 entries, 677 genotypes analyzed and 9 phenotypic traits under investigation. An R script has been developed to analyze the dataset. The BLUEs calculation, heritability, PCA and correlation with weather data provided a comprehensive overview of the germplasm stored in the genebank. The great variability and phenotypic diversity were assessed, key aspects from the perspective of breeding programs. This work starts a re-evaluation of historic data, historic cultivars, and represents the first step toward the shift of the genebank to a bio-digital resource center. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Studies in Crop Breeding for Promoting Agro-Biodiversity)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

18 pages, 3420 KiB  
Article
Constitution of a Camelina sativa L. Synthetic Population and Agronomic Comparison between Spring and Winter Cultivation in North Italy
by Martina Ghidoli, Sara Frazzini, Stefano De Benedetti, Stefano Sangiorgio, Michela Landoni, Alessio Scarafoni, Luciana Rossi and Roberto Pilu
Agronomy 2023, 13(6), 1562; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13061562 - 7 Jun 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1336
Abstract
In recent years, the interest in increasingly sustainable agriculture has also turned attention towards new cover crops suitable for use in marginal areas that could enter the food chain as new protein and oil sources or for biodiesel production. In this scenario, Camelina [...] Read more.
In recent years, the interest in increasingly sustainable agriculture has also turned attention towards new cover crops suitable for use in marginal areas that could enter the food chain as new protein and oil sources or for biodiesel production. In this scenario, Camelina sativa is a perfect crop to study. Camelina is an annual herbaceous plant belonging to the Brassicaceae which is interesting in terms of its oil content, since the seeds contain about 40% oils, with a high level of polyunsaturated fatty acids (30–40% alpha linolenic acid, 15–25% linoleic acid, 15% oleic acid and about 15% eicosenoic acid). It is a hexaploid species (2n = 40, genome size ~782 Mb) characterized by rapid growth, a short life cycle (85–100 days for spring varieties, 190–210 for autumn varieties) and low input cultivation needs. However, its use in feed and food is limited by the presence of glucosinolates (GLS). GLS are sulfur molecules involved in plant defense. In recent years, they have been studied not only as antinutritionals but also for their anti-carcinogenic effects against chronic inflammatory and heart diseases and for their use as natural pesticides. Given the recent interest in camelina and its highly nutritious oil, eight pure lines and a synthetic population were compared in two different growing periods, spring and winter. In this work, the genetic materials were characterized for different phenotypic traits, yields and yield components, and bromatological and glucosinolate content. The results confirmed that in North Italy, camelina has higher yields if cultivated in the autumn–winter period (about 2 t/ha vs. 0.6 t/ha); furthermore, a negative correlation was found between spring and winter yields, indicating that varieties that produce more in winter cultivation produce less in spring cultivation. Moreover, to our knowledge, it is the first work in which a synthetic population of Camelina sativa has been tested and proved to be a valid solution for use in various environments both for its adaptability and for the low content of glucosinolates (about 17 mmol/kg). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Studies in Crop Breeding for Promoting Agro-Biodiversity)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research

35 pages, 522 KiB  
Review
Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture: The Role and Contribution of CREA (Italy) within the National Program RGV-FAO
by Patrizia Vaccino, Maurizio Antonetti, Carlotta Balconi, Andrea Brandolini, Silvia Cappellozza, Angelo Raffaele Caputo, Andrea Carboni, Marco Caruso, Andrea Copetta, Giovanbattista de Dato, Pasquale De Vita, Giancarlo Fascella, Luca Ferretti, Nadia Ficcadenti, Pietro Fusani, Massimo Gardiman, Daniela Giovannini, Jessica Giovinazzi, Angela Iori, Rita Leogrande, Vincenzo Montalbano, Maria Antonietta Palombi, Luciano Pecetti, Enzo Perri, Milena Petriccione, Tea Sala, Paolo Storchi, Alessandro Tondelli, Pasquale Tripodi, Nino Virzì and Ignazio Verdeadd Show full author list remove Hide full author list
Agronomy 2024, 14(6), 1263; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14061263 - 12 Jun 2024
Viewed by 1198
Abstract
Conservation, characterization and exploitation of agrobiodiversity are key factors to guarantee food security and face future challenges such as climate changes. These issues are the subject of a series of international agreements, such as the Convention of Biological Diversity, with its Nagoya Protocol, [...] Read more.
Conservation, characterization and exploitation of agrobiodiversity are key factors to guarantee food security and face future challenges such as climate changes. These issues are the subject of a series of international agreements, such as the Convention of Biological Diversity, with its Nagoya Protocol, and the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) adopted in 2001 and entered into force in 2004. Italy ratified the Treaty in 2004 and instituted a long-lasting program, RGV-FAO, to implement it. CREA is one of the three organizations involved in the RGV-FAO Program, together with the National Research Council (CNR) and Reti Semi Rurali. CREA maintains a total of 40,186 accessions including cereals, vegetables, fruits, forages, industrial crops, forest and woody crops, medicinal and aromatic plants, and their wild relatives. Accessions are conserved using different ex situ conservation systems (seeds, in vivo plants, vegetative organs and in vitro plantlets), and characterized using genetic, morpho-phenological and/or biochemical methods. Herein, we will present the CREA long-lasting program RGV-FAO with some examples of the use of plant genetic resources in breeding programs, including molecular approaches. Some critical issues related to access and benefit sharing in PGRFA, such as the Nagoya Protocol and the Digital Sequence Information, will be discussed, highlighting their potential impact on food security and on the advancement of knowledge. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Studies in Crop Breeding for Promoting Agro-Biodiversity)
19 pages, 1416 KiB  
Review
Diversity as a Plant Breeding Objective
by Salvatore Ceccarelli and Stefania Grando
Agronomy 2024, 14(3), 550; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14030550 - 8 Mar 2024
Viewed by 1197
Abstract
This review paper addresses the importance of increasing agrobiodiversity to cope with climate change and, at the same time, providing a sufficient amount of healthy food. This is in agreement with the messages from ecology and medicine indicating the advantages of biodiversity in [...] Read more.
This review paper addresses the importance of increasing agrobiodiversity to cope with climate change and, at the same time, providing a sufficient amount of healthy food. This is in agreement with the messages from ecology and medicine indicating the advantages of biodiversity in general and agrobiodiversity in particular for the planet and for our health. Plant breeding is considered to be one of the causes of the decline in agrobiodiversity, and therefore, this paper illustrates alternatives to the commonly used approach based on centralized selection. The first alternative is decentralized participatory breeding, which adapts crops to both different agronomic environments and client preferences, representing an “option by context” model of research. The second alternative is evolutionary breeding, which is a more dynamic strategy than participatory plant breeding because it merges the advantages of decentralization with the ability of dynamic mixtures and evolutionary populations to cope with biotic and abiotic stresses and evolve, thus adapting to climate change and to the associated changes in the spectrum of pests. A crop capable of evolving as the environment around it evolves appears to be the most ideal way of responding to climate change and increasing agricultural biodiversity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Studies in Crop Breeding for Promoting Agro-Biodiversity)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

18 pages, 2157 KiB  
Review
Genetics and Environmental Factors Associated with Resistance to Fusarium graminearum, the Causal Agent of Gibberella Ear Rot in Maize
by Andrea Magarini, Alessandro Passera, Martina Ghidoli, Paola Casati and Roberto Pilu
Agronomy 2023, 13(7), 1836; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13071836 - 11 Jul 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1887
Abstract
Maize is one of the most important food and feed sources at the worldwide level. Due to this importance, all the pathogens that can infect this crop can harm both food safety and security. Fungi are the most important pathogens in cultivated maize, [...] Read more.
Maize is one of the most important food and feed sources at the worldwide level. Due to this importance, all the pathogens that can infect this crop can harm both food safety and security. Fungi are the most important pathogens in cultivated maize, and Fusarium spp. are one of the most important families. Reduction in yield and production of dangerous mycotoxins are the main effects of Fusarium spp. infection. Fusarium graminearum (part of the Fusarium graminearum species complex) is one the most important fungi that infect maize, and it is the causative agent of Gibberella ear rot (GER). The main characteristics of this species include its ability to infect various species and its varying infection pressures across different years. This fungus produces various harmful mycotoxins, such as deoxynivalenol, zearalenone, butanolide, and culmorin. Infection can start from silk channels or from ear wounds. In the first case, the environmental conditions are the most important factors, but in the second, a key role is played by the feeding action of lepidopteran larvae (in Europe, Ostrinia nubilalis). All these factors need to be taken into account to develop a successful management strategy, starting from cropping methods that can reduce the source of inoculum to the direct control of the fungus with fungicide, as well as insect control to reduce ear wounds. But, the most important factor that can reduce the effects of this fungus is the use of resistant hybrids. Different studies have highlighted different defensive methods developed by the plant to reduce fungal infections, like fast drying of silk and kernels, chemical compounds produced by the plant after infection, and mechanical protection from insects’ wounds. The aim of this paper is to review the scientific evidence of the most important management strategies against GER in maize and to highlight the genetic basis which is behind hybrid resistance to this disease, with a focus on genes and QTLs found in studies conducted across the world and with different types of maize from tropical cultivars to European flint. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Studies in Crop Breeding for Promoting Agro-Biodiversity)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-5
Back to TopTop