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Agronomy
Special Issues
Genetic Improvement of Cereals for Sustainable Agriculture and Food Supplies
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Genetic Improvement of Cereals for Sustainable Agriculture and Food Supplies

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (22 December 2021) | Viewed by 13566

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Muhammad Amjad Nawaz

E-Mail Website1 Website2 Website3
Guest Editor
Department of Bio-Economics and Food Safety, School of Economics and Management, Far Eastern Federal University, Vladivostok, Russia
Interests: plant genomics; evolutionary phylogenomics; grain legumes; soybean; plant breeding; cereals; genetic improvement
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Kirill S. Golokhvast

E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
1. Siberian Federal Scientific Center of Agrobiotechnology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 633501 Krasnoobsk, Russia
2. Laboratory of Supercritical Fluid Research and Application in Agrobiotechnology, Tomsk State University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
3. Vavilov All-Russian Institute of Plant Genetic Resources, 190000 Sankt-Petersburg, Russia
4. Institute of Life Science and Biomedicine, Far Eastern Federal University, 690922 Vladivostok, Russia
Interests: ecotoxicology, sustainability; environmental protection
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Considering population growth forecasts, we urgently need a transformation in agriculture and food supplies. Research in cereals has played a role in food security and sustainable agriculture throughout human history. This has been made possible by increasing cereal yields by making them more resilient to biotic and abiotic stresses. However, the current trajectory of the yield enhancement is insufficient to ensure we will be able to feed the world’s population by 2050. Even now, more than 690 million people remain hungry. For the past two to three years, the number of undernourished people has been increasing. Recently, a consensus has emerged among cereal breeders that we need cereals with higher and sustainable production against the backdrop of climate change. A recent estimate has suggested that by 2050, we will need an overall 40% increase in cereal production. Such a big change in next 29 years is possible by the genetic improvement of major, minor, and neglected cereal crops. In particular, the recent developments in gene manipulation techniques and genomics are greatly assisting in understanding the pathways and genes that can significantly contribute towards yield improvement. Advancements in genomic technologies have expedited cereal breeding and yield enhancement by focusing on environment resilience and sustainability. This Special Issue will focus on such efforts by the global cereal community.

Dr. Muhammad Amjad Nawaz
Prof. Dr. Kirill S. Golokhvast
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

  • Cereal crops
  • Genetic improvement
  • Cereal genomics
  • Sustainable crop production
  • Yield improvement
  • Climate change
  • Abiotic stress
  • Biotic stress
  • Environment resilience

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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16 pages, 3530 KiB  
Article
Long-Term Multilocal Monitoring of Leaf Rust Resistance in the Spring Bread Wheat Genetic Resources from Institute of Plant Genetic Resources (VIR)
by Lev Gennadievich Tyryshkin, Yuliya Vital’evna Zeleneva, Alla Nikolaevna Brykova, Evgeniya Yurievna Kudryavtseva, Valentina Alekseevna Loseva, Magomed Alievich Akhmedov, Asef Zilfikarovich Shikhmuradov and Evgeny Valerievich Zuev
Agronomy 2022, 12(2), 242; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12020242 - 19 Jan 2022
Viewed by 2221
Abstract
Triticum aestivum L. (bread wheat) is the most important cereal crop in world grain production, including in the territory of the Russian Federation. One of the most important factors influencing the yield and quality of wheat grain is the affection of plants with [...] Read more.
Triticum aestivum L. (bread wheat) is the most important cereal crop in world grain production, including in the territory of the Russian Federation. One of the most important factors influencing the yield and quality of wheat grain is the affection of plants with leaf rust (Puccinia triticina Erikss.). To broaden the set of sources for effective rust resistance, spring bread wheat samples from N.I. Vavilov All-Russian Institute of Plant Genetic Resources (VIR) were monitored for adult resistance to the disease under natural infections for many decades at three distant locations of the Russian Federation: the Dagestan Experimental Station (DES) of VIR (10,549 accessions), Yekaterinino Experimental Station (YES) (4384 accessions), and Pushkin Experimental Field (PEF) (7704 accessions). Information on the disease development at these three stations is presented at least for 51 last years. As a result of disease development evaluation under natural epiphytotic conditions for not less than 3 years, 293 (15 landraces, 127 breeding lines, and 151 commercial varieties), 118 (1 landrace, 38 breeding lines, and 79 commercial varieties), and 127 (10 landraces, 48 breeding lines, and 69 commercial varieties) samples were classified as resistant to leaf rust at DES, YES, and PEF, respectively. Among samples from the State Register of Breeding Achievements in Russia, 15, 13, and 8 spring wheat varieties were resistant to leaf rust at DES, YES, and PEF, respectively. Juvenile resistance was estimated under laboratory conditions after seedling inoculation with a complex population of P. triticina: 73 highly resistant varieties and breeding lines were identified; all landraces, including those classified as resistant in the fields, were susceptible to disease at the seedling stage. A total of 26 wheat accessions were identified to be resistant to leaf rust at two to three locations; 14 of them possess adult resistance, and 12 samples have seedling resistance. According to results of PCR amplification with primers specific to markers of effective genes for leaf rust resistance, 6 accessions have gene Lr9, 1 sample is protected by Lr19, and 1 sample possesses gene Lr24. Wheat samples identified as possessing effective seedling or adult resistance could be of interest for breeding in some regions of the Russian Federation and other countries. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genetic Improvement of Cereals for Sustainable Agriculture and Food Supplies)
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12 pages, 1889 KiB  
Article
Effects of Combining the Genes Controlling Anthocyanin and Melanin Synthesis in the Barley Grain on Pigment Accumulation and Plant Development
by Anastasiya Glagoleva, Tatjana Kukoeva, Sergey Mursalimov, Elena Khlestkina and Olesya Shoeva
Agronomy 2022, 12(1), 112; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12010112 - 2 Jan 2022
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3956
Abstract
Anthocyanins and melanins are phenolic pigments of plants and accumulate in seed envelopes of the barley grain, thereby giving them a blue, purple, or black color. To explore the effects of combined accumulation of anthocyanins and melanins in the grain, a barley near-isogenic [...] Read more.
Anthocyanins and melanins are phenolic pigments of plants and accumulate in seed envelopes of the barley grain, thereby giving them a blue, purple, or black color. To explore the effects of combined accumulation of anthocyanins and melanins in the grain, a barley near-isogenic line (NIL), characterized by simultaneous accumulation in both pigments, was developed using a marker-assisted approach. The presence of both pigments in the grain pericarp was evaluated by light microscopy. Emergence of anthocyanin pigmentation proved to be temporally separated from that of melanin, and the formation of anthocyanin pigments began at an earlier stage of spike maturation. During spike maturation, a significantly higher total anthocyanin content was noted in the created NIL than in the parental anthocyanin-accumulating NIL, indicating a positive influence of the Blp1 gene on the anthocyanin content at some developmental stages. In a comparative analysis of yield components, it was found that the observed differences between the barley NILs are possibly caused by environmental factors, and the presence of pigments does not decrease plant productivity. Our results should facilitate investigation into genetic mechanisms underlying overlaps in the biosynthesis of pigments and into breeding strategies aimed at the enrichment of barley varieties with polyphenols. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genetic Improvement of Cereals for Sustainable Agriculture and Food Supplies)
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24 pages, 29475 KiB  
Article
Characterization of Gamma-Rays-Induced Spring Wheat Mutants for Morphological and Quality Traits through Multivariate and GT Bi-Plot Analysis
by Sana Zulfiqar, Shumila Ishfaq, Muhammad Ikram, Muhammad Amjad Nawaz and Mehboob-ur- Rahman
Agronomy 2021, 11(11), 2288; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11112288 - 12 Nov 2021
Cited by 20 | Viewed by 3230
Abstract
Exploiting new genetic resources is an effective way to achieve sustainable wheat production. To this end, we exposed wheat seeds of the “Punjab-11” cultivar to gamma rays. A total of 32 stable mutants (M7) were developed, followed by characterization by conducting [...] Read more.
Exploiting new genetic resources is an effective way to achieve sustainable wheat production. To this end, we exposed wheat seeds of the “Punjab-11” cultivar to gamma rays. A total of 32 stable mutants (M7) were developed, followed by characterization by conducting multilocation trials over two seasons. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that the first six components accounted for 90.28% of the total variation among the plant height, tillers per plant, 1000-kernel weight, grain yield, and quality traits. All mutants were grouped into three clusters based on high yield index values. The genotype by trait (GT) bi-plot revealed significant associations between yield and its components among the mutants. Positive correlations were estimated for tillers per plant, plant height, 1000-kernel weight, and grain yield; however, yield components showed negative associations with protein, moisture, and gluten contents. The mutant lines Pb-M-59 waxy, Pb-M-1272 waxy, Pb-M-2260, Pb-M-1027 waxy, Pb-M-1323 waxy, and Pb-M-1854 exhibited maximum grain yield, 1000-grain weight, and tillers per plant values. Likewise, Pb-M-2725, Pb-M-2550, and Pb-M-2728 were found to be the best mutant lines in terms of grain quality; thus, the use of gamma radiation is effective in improving the desirable traits, including yield and grain quality. It is suggested that these traits can be improved beyond the performance of corresponding traits in their parent genotypes. The newly produced mutants can also be used to explore the genetic mechanisms of complex traits in the future. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genetic Improvement of Cereals for Sustainable Agriculture and Food Supplies)
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24 pages, 6269 KiB  
Article
Phytohormonal and Transcriptomic Response of Hulless Barley Leaf in Response to Powdery Mildew Infection
by Zha Sang, Minjuan Zhang, Wang Mu, Haizhen Yang, Chunbao Yang and Qijun Xu
Agronomy 2021, 11(6), 1248; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11061248 - 19 Jun 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2740
Abstract
Powdery mildew (PM) caused by Blumeria graminis (DC.) Golovin ex Speer f. sp. hordei Marchal (Bgh) is one of the major yield reducing diseases in hulless barley (Hordeum vulgare L. var. nudum Hook. f.). Genotypes with contrasting resistance to PM [...] Read more.
Powdery mildew (PM) caused by Blumeria graminis (DC.) Golovin ex Speer f. sp. hordei Marchal (Bgh) is one of the major yield reducing diseases in hulless barley (Hordeum vulgare L. var. nudum Hook. f.). Genotypes with contrasting resistance to PM offer unique opportunities to explore the transcriptome in order to understand the expression changes in genes and pathways. In this study, we explored the phytohormone levels and transcriptome of a Bgh susceptible (XL19) and resistant (ZYM1288) hulless barley genotypes at 0, 5, 12, 24, and 36 h post infection (hpi) with Bgh. We found relatively higher levels of abscisic acid, jasmonic acid, salicylic acid, and cytokinins in ZYM1288. The transcriptome analyses identified 31,354 genes that were enriched in signaling, energy, and defense related pathways. Higher numbers of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were found in XL19 as compared to ZYM1288 after 5 (3603 vs. 2341) and 12 hpi (3530 vs. 2416). However, after 24 and 36 hpi, the number of DEGs was higher in ZYM1288 as compared to XL19 i.e., 3625 vs. 3034 and 5855 vs. 2725, respectively. Changes in hormone levels drove downstream expression changes in plant-hormone signaling that helped ZYM1288 to perform better under Bgh infection. The expression of DEGs in MAPK-signaling and Toll-like receptor signaling pathways, glucosinolate biosynthesis, glutathione metabolism, brassinosteroid metabolism, and energy related pathways indicated their common roles in defense against PM. Key genes related to PM-resistance were upregulated in the resistant genotype. These genes provide key information towards differences in both genotypes towards resistance to PM. The transcriptomic signatures explored in this study will broaden our understanding towards molecular regulation of resistance to PM in hulless barley. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genetic Improvement of Cereals for Sustainable Agriculture and Food Supplies)
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