Displaying publications 1 - 20 of 21 in total

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  1. Baadu R, Chong KP, Gansau JA, Mohamed Zin MR, Dayou J
    PeerJ, 2023;11:e15682.
    PMID: 37868055 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.15682
    In the 1920s, Lewis Stadler initiated the introduction of permanent improvements to the genetic makeup of irradiated plants. Since then, studies related to breeding mutations have grown, as efforts have been made to expand and improve crop productivity and quality. Stadler's discovery began with x-rays on corn and barley and later extended to the use of gamma-rays, thermal, and fast neutrons in crops. Radiation has since been shown to be an effective and unique method for increasing the genetic variability of species, including rice. Numerous systematic reviews have been conducted on the impact of physical mutagens on the production and grain quality of rice in Southeast Asia. However, the existing literature still lacks information on the type of radiation used, the rice planting materials used, the dosage of physical mutagens, and the differences in mutated characteristics. Therefore, this article aims to review existing literature on the use of physical mutagens in rice crops in Southeast Asian countries. Guided by the PRISMA Statement review method, 28 primary studies were identified through a systematic review of the Scopus, Science Direct, Emerald Insight, Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing, and MDPI journal databases published between 2016 and 2020. The results show that 96% of the articles used seeds as planting materials, and 80% of the articles focused on gamma-rays as a source of physical mutagens. The optimal dosage of gamma-rays applied was around 100 to 250 Gy to improve plant development, abiotic stress, biochemical properties, and nutritional and industrial quality of rice.
    Matched MeSH terms: Crops, Agricultural/genetics
  2. Azizi P, Hanafi MM, Sahebi M, Harikrishna JA, Taheri S, Yassoralipour A, et al.
    Funct Plant Biol, 2020 05;47(6):508-523.
    PMID: 32349860 DOI: 10.1071/FP19077
    Chromatin modulation plays important roles in gene expression regulation and genome activities. In plants, epigenetic changes, including variations in histone modification and DNA methylation, are linked to alterations in gene expression. Despite the significance and potential of in vitro cell and tissue culture systems in fundamental research and marketable applications, these systems threaten the genetic and epigenetic networks of intact plant organs and tissues. Cell and tissue culture applications can lead to DNA variations, methylation alterations, transposon activation, and finally, somaclonal variations. In this review, we discuss the status of the current understanding of epigenomic changes that occur under in vitro conditions in plantation crops, including coconut, oil palm, rubber, cotton, coffee and tea. It is hoped that comprehensive knowledge of the molecular basis of these epigenomic variations will help researchers develop strategies to enhance the totipotent and embryogenic capabilities of tissue culture systems for plantation crops.
    Matched MeSH terms: Crops, Agricultural/genetics
  3. Nor A'azizam NM, Chopra S, Guleria P, Kumar V, Abd Rahim MH, Yaacob JS
    Funct Integr Genomics, 2024 Feb 29;24(2):44.
    PMID: 38421529 DOI: 10.1007/s10142-024-01325-y
    By 2050, the global population is projected to exceed 9.5 billion, posing a formidable challenge to ensure food security worldwide. To address this pressing issue, mutation breeding in horticultural crops, utilizing physical or chemical methods, has emerged as a promising biotechnological strategy. However, the efficacy of these mutagens can be influenced by various factors, including biological and environmental variables, as well as targeted plant materials. This review highlights the global challenges related to food security and explores the potential of mutation breeding as an indispensable biotechnological tool in overcoming food insecurity. This review also covers the emergence of CRISPR-Cas9, a breakthrough technology offering precise genome editing for the development of high-yield, stress-tolerant crops. Together, mutation breeding and CRISPR can potentially address future food demands. This review focuses into these biotechnological advancements, emphasizing their combined potential to fortify global food security in the face of a booming population.
    Matched MeSH terms: Crops, Agricultural/genetics
  4. Moradpour M, Abdulah SNA
    Plant Biotechnol J, 2020 Jan;18(1):32-44.
    PMID: 31392820 DOI: 10.1111/pbi.13232
    Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR) and Cas9-associated protein systems provide a powerful genetic manipulation tool that can drive plant research forward. Nuclease-dead Cas9 (dCas9) is an enzymatically inactive mutant of Cas9 in which its endonuclease activity is non-functional. The applications of CRISPR/dCas9 have expanded and diversified in recent years. Originally, dCas9 was used as a CRISPR/Cas9 re-engineering tool that enables targeted expression of any gene or multiple genes through recruitment of transcriptional effector domains without introducing irreversible DNA-damaging mutations. Subsequent applications have made use of its ability to recruit modifying enzymes and reporter proteins to DNA target sites. In this paper, the most recent progress in the applications of CRISPR/dCas9 in plants, which include gene activation and repression, epigenome editing, modulation of chromatin topology, live-cell chromatin imaging and DNA-free genetic modification, will be reviewed. The associated strategies for exploiting the CRISPR/dCas9 system for crop improvement with a dimer of the future of the CRISPR/dCas9 system in the functional genomics of crops and the development of traits will be briefly discussed.
    Matched MeSH terms: Crops, Agricultural/genetics*
  5. Darsan Singh JK, Mat Jalaluddin NS, Sanan-Mishra N, Harikrishna JA
    Plant Cell Rep, 2019 Dec;38(12):1449-1463.
    PMID: 31350570 DOI: 10.1007/s00299-019-02446-6
    Recent developments in modern biotechnology such as the use of RNA interference (RNAi) have broadened the scope of crop genetic modification. RNAi strategies have led to significant achievements in crop protection against biotic and abiotic stresses, modification of plant traits, and yield improvement. As RNAi-derived varieties of crops become more useful in the field, it is important to examine the capacity of current regulatory systems to deal with such varieties, and to determine if changes are needed to improve the existing frameworks. We review the biosafety frameworks from the perspective of developing countries that are increasingly involved in modern biotechnology research, including RNAi applications, and make some recommendations. Malaysia and India have approved laws regulating living modified organisms and products thereof, highlighting that the use of any genetically modified step requires regulatory scrutiny. In view of production methods for exogenously applied double-stranded RNAs and potential risks from the resulting double-stranded RNA-based products, we argue that a process-based system may be inappropriate for the non-transformative RNAi technology. We here propose that the current legislation needs rewording to take account of the non-transgenic RNAi technology, and discuss the best alternative for regulatory systems in India and Malaysia in comparison with the existing frameworks in other countries.
    Matched MeSH terms: Crops, Agricultural/genetics*
  6. Kwong QB, Ong AL, Teh CK, Chew FT, Tammi M, Mayes S, et al.
    Sci Rep, 2017 06 06;7(1):2872.
    PMID: 28588233 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-02602-6
    Genomic selection (GS) uses genome-wide markers to select individuals with the desired overall combination of breeding traits. A total of 1,218 individuals from a commercial population of Ulu Remis x AVROS (UR x AVROS) were genotyped using the OP200K array. The traits of interest included: shell-to-fruit ratio (S/F, %), mesocarp-to-fruit ratio (M/F, %), kernel-to-fruit ratio (K/F, %), fruit per bunch (F/B, %), oil per bunch (O/B, %) and oil per palm (O/P, kg/palm/year). Genomic heritabilities of these traits were estimated to be in the range of 0.40 to 0.80. GS methods assessed were RR-BLUP, Bayes A (BA), Cπ (BC), Lasso (BL) and Ridge Regression (BRR). All methods resulted in almost equal prediction accuracy. The accuracy achieved ranged from 0.40 to 0.70, correlating with the heritability of traits. By selecting the most important markers, RR-BLUP B has the potential to outperform other methods. The marker density for certain traits can be further reduced based on the linkage disequilibrium (LD). Together with in silico breeding, GS is now being used in oil palm breeding programs to hasten parental palm selection.
    Matched MeSH terms: Crops, Agricultural/genetics*
  7. Azizi MMF, Lau HY, Abu-Bakar N
    J Biosci, 2021;46.
    PMID: 34544910
    Identification of plant variety and cultivar is pivotal in the agricultural sector due to the abundance of plant varieties and cultivars developed in many crop species. However, plant variety and cultivar identification via basic morphological features is problematic and challenging when differentiating closely related species not only due to their limited differences but also due to technical limitations of the process being time-consuming, labour-intensive and costly, and statistically imprecise information being available due to phenotypic plasticity. Therefore, it is imperative to have rapid and highly efficient techniques to mitigate these limitations. This review provides an overview and summarization of the development and application of molecular markers such as Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD), Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP), Simple Sequence Repeats (SSR), Inter-simple sequence repeats (ISSR), Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP), Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and DNA barcoding, High-resolution melting (HRM) and biosensor technology as potential tools in the identification of plant variety and cultivar.
    Matched MeSH terms: Crops, Agricultural/genetics*
  8. Ramos-Madrigal J, Runge AKW, Bouby L, Lacombe T, Samaniego Castruita JA, Adam-Blondon AF, et al.
    Nat Plants, 2019 Jun;5(6):595-603.
    PMID: 31182840 DOI: 10.1038/s41477-019-0437-5
    The Eurasian grapevine (Vitis vinifera) has long been important for wine production as well as being a food source. Despite being clonally propagated, modern cultivars exhibit great morphological and genetic diversity, with thousands of varieties described in historic and contemporaneous records. Through historical accounts, some varieties can be traced to the Middle Ages, but the genetic relationships between ancient and modern vines remain unknown. We present target-enriched genome-wide sequencing data from 28 archaeological grape seeds dating to the Iron Age, Roman era and medieval period. When compared with domesticated and wild accessions, we found that the archaeological samples were closely related to western European cultivars used for winemaking today. We identified seeds with identical genetic signatures present at different Roman sites, as well as seeds sharing parent-offspring relationships with varieties grown today. Furthermore, we discovered that one seed dated to ~1100 CE was a genetic match to 'Savagnin Blanc', providing evidence for 900 years of uninterrupted vegetative propagation.
    Matched MeSH terms: Crops, Agricultural/genetics*
  9. Ahmed F, Rafii MY, Ismail MR, Juraimi AS, Rahim HA, Asfaliza R, et al.
    Biomed Res Int, 2013;2013:963525.
    PMID: 23484164 DOI: 10.1155/2013/963525
    Submergence or flood is one of the major harmful abiotic stresses in the low-lying countries and crop losses due to waterlogging are considerably high. Plant breeding techniques, conventional or genetic engineering, might be an effective and economic way of developing crops to grow successfully in waterlogged condition. Marker assisted selection (MAS) is a new and more effective approach which can identify genomic regions of crops under stress, which could not be done previously. The discovery of comprehensive molecular linkage maps enables us to do the pyramiding of desirable traits to improve in submergence tolerance through MAS. However, because of genetic and environmental interaction, too many genes encoding a trait, and using undesirable populations the mapping of QTL was hampered to ensure proper growth and yield under waterlogged conditions Steady advances in the field of genomics and proteomics over the years will be helpful to increase the breeding programs which will help to accomplish a significant progress in the field crop variety development and also improvement in near future. Waterlogging response of soybean and major cereal crops, as rice, wheat, barley, and maize and discovery of QTL related with tolerance of waterlogging, development of resistant variety, and, in addition, future prospects have also been discussed.
    Matched MeSH terms: Crops, Agricultural/genetics*
  10. Song BK, Chuah TS, Tam SM, Olsen KM
    Mol Ecol, 2014 Oct;23(20):5003-17.
    PMID: 25231087 DOI: 10.1111/mec.12922
    Weedy rice is a close relative of domesticated rice (Oryza sativa) that competes aggressively with the crop and limits rice productivity worldwide. Most genetic studies of weedy rice have focused on populations in regions where no reproductively compatible wild Oryza species occur (North America, Europe and northern Asia). Here, we examined the population genetics of weedy rice in Malaysia, where wild rice (O. rufipogon) can be found growing in close proximity to cultivated and weedy rice. Using 375 accessions and a combined analysis of 24 neutral SSR loci and two rice domestication genes (sh4, controlling seed shattering, and Bh4, controlling hull colour), we addressed the following questions: (i) What is the relationship of Malaysian weedy rice to domesticated and wild rice, and to weedy rice strains in the USA? (ii) To what extent does the presence of O. rufipogon influence the genetic and phenotypic diversity of Malaysian weeds? (iii) What do the distributions of sh4 and Bh4 alleles and associated phenotypes reveal about the origin and contemporary evolution of Malaysian weedy rice? Our results reveal the following: independent evolutionary origins for Malaysian weeds and US strains, despite their very close phenotypic resemblance; wild-to-weed gene flow in Malaysian weed populations, including apparent adaptive introgression of seed-shattering alleles; and a prominent role for modern Malaysian cultivars in the origin and recent proliferation of Malaysian weeds. These findings suggest that the genetic complexity and adaptability of weedy crop relatives can be profoundly influenced by proximity to reproductively compatible wild and domesticated populations.
    Matched MeSH terms: Crops, Agricultural/genetics
  11. Arora S, Steuernagel B, Gaurav K, Chandramohan S, Long Y, Matny O, et al.
    Nat Biotechnol, 2019 02;37(2):139-143.
    PMID: 30718880 DOI: 10.1038/s41587-018-0007-9
    Disease resistance (R) genes from wild relatives could be used to engineer broad-spectrum resistance in domesticated crops. We combined association genetics with R gene enrichment sequencing (AgRenSeq) to exploit pan-genome variation in wild diploid wheat and rapidly clone four stem rust resistance genes. AgRenSeq enables R gene cloning in any crop that has a diverse germplasm panel.
    Matched MeSH terms: Crops, Agricultural/genetics*
  12. Cui Y, Song BK, Li LF, Li YL, Huang Z, Caicedo AL, et al.
    G3 (Bethesda), 2016 Dec 07;6(12):4105-4114.
    PMID: 27729434 DOI: 10.1534/g3.116.035881
    Weedy rice is a conspecific form of cultivated rice (Oryza sativa L.) that infests rice fields and results in severe crop losses. Weed strains in different world regions appear to have originated multiple times from different domesticated and/or wild rice progenitors. In the case of Malaysian weedy rice, a multiple-origin model has been proposed based on neutral markers and analyses of domestication genes for hull color and seed shattering. Here, we examined variation in pericarp (bran) color and its molecular basis to address how this trait evolved in Malaysian weeds and its possible role in weed adaptation. Functional alleles of the Rc gene confer proanthocyanidin pigmentation of the pericarp, a trait found in most wild and weedy Oryzas and associated with seed dormancy; nonfunctional rc alleles were strongly favored during rice domestication, and most cultivated varieties have nonpigmented pericarps. Phenotypic characterizations of 52 Malaysian weeds revealed that most strains are characterized by the pigmented pericarp; however, some weeds have white pericarps, suggesting close relationships to cultivated rice. Phylogenetic analyses indicate that the Rc haplotypes present in Malaysian weeds likely have at least three distinct origins: wild O. rufipogon, white-pericarp cultivated rice, and red-pericarp cultivated rice. These diverse origins contribute to high Rc nucleotide diversity in the Malaysian weeds. Comparison of Rc allelic distributions with other rice domestication genes suggests that functional Rc alleles may confer particular fitness benefits in weedy rice populations, for example, by conferring seed dormancy. This may promote functional Rc introgression from local wild Oryza populations.
    Matched MeSH terms: Crops, Agricultural/genetics
  13. Cheng A
    Plant Sci, 2018 Apr;269:136-142.
    PMID: 29606211 DOI: 10.1016/j.plantsci.2018.01.018
    Genetic erosion of crops has been determined way back in the 1940s and accelerated some twenty years later by the inception of the Green Revolution. Claims that the revolution was a complete triumph remain specious, especially since the massive production boost in the global big three grain crops; wheat, maize, and rice that happened back then is unlikely to recur under current climate irregularities. Presently, one of the leading strategies for sustainable agriculture is by unlocking the genetic potential of underutilized crops. The primary focus has been on a suite of ancient cereals and pseudo-cereals which are riding on the gluten-free trend, including, among others, grain amaranth, buckwheat, quinoa, teff, and millets. Each of these crops has demonstrated tolerance to various stress factors such as drought and heat. Apart from being the centuries-old staple in their native homes, these crops have also been traditionally used as forage for livestock. This review summarizes what lies in the past and present for these underutilized cereals, particularly concerning their potential role and significance in a rapidly changing world, and provides compelling insights into how they could one day be on par with the current big three in feeding a booming population.
    Matched MeSH terms: Crops, Agricultural/genetics
  14. Chang Y, Liu H, Liu M, Liao X, Sahu SK, Fu Y, et al.
    Gigascience, 2019 03 01;8(3).
    PMID: 30535374 DOI: 10.1093/gigascience/giy152
    BACKGROUND: The expanding world population is expected to double the worldwide demand for food by 2050. Eighty-eight percent of countries currently face a serious burden of malnutrition, especially in Africa and south and southeast Asia. About 95% of the food energy needs of humans are fulfilled by just 30 species, of which wheat, maize, and rice provide the majority of calories. Therefore, to diversify and stabilize the global food supply, enhance agricultural productivity, and tackle malnutrition, greater use of neglected or underutilized local plants (so-called orphan crops, but also including a few plants of special significance to agriculture, agroforestry, and nutrition) could be a partial solution.

    RESULTS: Here, we present draft genome information for five agriculturally, biologically, medicinally, and economically important underutilized plants native to Africa: Vigna subterranea, Lablab purpureus, Faidherbia albida, Sclerocarya birrea, and Moringa oleifera. Assembled genomes range in size from 217 to 654 Mb. In V. subterranea, L. purpureus, F. albida, S. birrea, and M. oleifera, we have predicted 31,707, 20,946, 28,979, 18,937, and 18,451 protein-coding genes, respectively. By further analyzing the expansion and contraction of selected gene families, we have characterized root nodule symbiosis genes, transcription factors, and starch biosynthesis-related genes in these genomes.

    CONCLUSIONS: These genome data will be useful to identify and characterize agronomically important genes and understand their modes of action, enabling genomics-based, evolutionary studies, and breeding strategies to design faster, more focused, and predictable crop improvement programs.

    Matched MeSH terms: Crops, Agricultural/genetics*
  15. Ton LB, Neik TX, Batley J
    Genes (Basel), 2020 09 30;11(10).
    PMID: 33008008 DOI: 10.3390/genes11101161
    Since their domestication, Brassica oilseed species have undergone progressive transformation allied with the development of breeding and molecular technologies. The canola (Brassica napus) crop has rapidly expanded globally in the last 30 years with intensive innovations in canola varieties, providing for a wider range of markets apart from the food industry. The breeding efforts of B. napus, the main source of canola oil and canola meal, have been mainly focused on improving seed yield, oil quality, and meal quality along with disease resistance, abiotic stress tolerance, and herbicide resistance. The revolution in genetics and gene technologies, including genetic mapping, molecular markers, genomic tools, and gene technology, especially gene editing tools, has allowed an understanding of the complex genetic makeup and gene functions in the major bioprocesses of the Brassicales, especially Brassica oil crops. Here, we provide an overview on the contributions of these technologies in improving the major traits of B. napus and discuss their potential use to accomplish new improvement targets.
    Matched MeSH terms: Crops, Agricultural/genetics*
  16. Sher A, Arfat MY, Ul-Allah S, Sattar A, Ijaz M, Manaf A, et al.
    PLoS One, 2021;16(12):e0260673.
    PMID: 34932582 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0260673
    Sunflower production is significantly lower in arid and semi-arid regions due to various crop management problem. Conservation of tillage provides the most excellent opportunity to reduce degradation of soil reserves and increase soil productivity. The main objective of this study was to investigate the combined effects of conservation tillage and drought stress on growth and productivity of different sunflower hybrids. Experimental treatments included two sunflower hybrids ('NK-Senji' and 'S-278'), two drought stress treatments (i.e., well-watered and drought stress at flowering and grain filling stages) and three tillage practices (i.e., conservation, minimum and deep tillage). The results indicated that morphological and physiological parameters, and yield-related traits were significantly (P≤0.05) affected by all individual factors; however, their interactive effects were non-significant. Among sunflower hybrids, 'NK-Senji' performed better for morphological, physiological, and yield-related traits than 'S-278'. Similarly, conservation tillage observed better traits compared to the rest of the tillage practices included in the study. Nonetheless, conservation tillage improved growth and yield-related traits of hybrid 'NK-Senji' under drought stress. Hence, it is concluded that conservation tillage can improve the productivity of sunflower under low moisture availability. Therefore, conservation tillage could be suggested in the areas of lower water ability to improve sunflower production. Nonetheless, sunflower hybrids or varieties need thorough testing for their adaptability to conservation tillage and low moisture availability before making recommendations.
    Matched MeSH terms: Crops, Agricultural/genetics
  17. Andrew J, Ismail NW, Djama M
    J Sci Food Agric, 2018 Jan;98(1):12-17.
    PMID: 28898466 DOI: 10.1002/jsfa.8666
    The application of agricultural biotechnology attracts the interest of many stakeholders. Genetically modified (GM) crops, for example, have been rapidly increasing in production for the last 20 years. Despite their known benefits, GM crops also pose many concerns not only to human and animal health but also to the environment. Malaysia, in general, allows the use of GM technology applications but it has to come with precautionary and safety measures consistent with the international obligations and domestic legal frameworks. This paper provides an overview of GM crop technology from international and national context and explores the governance and issues surrounding this technology application in Malaysia. Basically, GM research activities in Malaysia are still at an early stage of research and development and most of the GM crops approved for release are limited for food, feed and processing purposes. Even though Malaysia has not planted any GM crops commercially, actions toward such a direction seem promising. Several issues concerning GM crops as discussed in this paper will become more complex as the number of GM crops and varieties commercialised globally increase and Malaysia starts to plant GM crops. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.
    Matched MeSH terms: Crops, Agricultural/genetics*
  18. Ma NL, Che Lah WA, Abd Kadir N, Mustaqim M, Rahmat Z, Ahmad A, et al.
    PLoS One, 2018;13(2):e0192732.
    PMID: 29489838 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0192732
    Salinity threat is estimated to reduce global rice production by 50%. Comprehensive analysis of the physiological and metabolite changes in rice plants from salinity stress (i.e. tolerant versus susceptible plants) is important to combat higher salinity conditions. In this study, we screened a total of 92 genotypes and selected the most salinity tolerant line (SS1-14) and most susceptible line (SS2-18) to conduct comparative physiological and metabolome inspections. We demonstrated that the tolerant line managed to maintain their water and chlorophyll content with lower incidence of sodium ion accumulation. We also examined the antioxidant activities of these lines: production of ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and catalase (CAT) were significantly higher in the sensitive line while superoxide dismutase (SOD) was higher in the tolerant line. Partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) score plots show significantly different response for both lines after the exposure to salinity stress. In the tolerant line, there was an upregulation of non-polar metabolites and production of sucrose, GABA and acetic acid, suggesting an important role in salinity adaptation. In contrast, glutamine and putrescine were noticeably high in the susceptible rice. Coordination of different strategies in tolerant and susceptible lines show that they responded differently after exposure to salt stress. These findings can assist crop development in terms of developing tolerance mechanisms for rice crops.
    Matched MeSH terms: Crops, Agricultural/genetics
  19. Wu D, Shen E, Jiang B, Feng Y, Tang W, Lao S, et al.
    Nat Commun, 2022 02 03;13(1):689.
    PMID: 35115514 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-28359-9
    As one of the great survivors of the plant kingdom, barnyard grasses (Echinochloa spp.) are the most noxious and common weeds in paddy ecosystems. Meanwhile, at least two Echinochloa species have been domesticated and cultivated as millets. In order to better understand the genomic forces driving the evolution of Echinochloa species toward weed and crop characteristics, we assemble genomes of three Echinochloa species (allohexaploid E. crus-galli and E. colona, and allotetraploid E. oryzicola) and re-sequence 737 accessions of barnyard grasses and millets from 16 rice-producing countries. Phylogenomic and comparative genomic analyses reveal the complex and reticulate evolution in the speciation of Echinochloa polyploids and provide evidence of constrained disease-related gene copy numbers in Echinochloa. A population-level investigation uncovers deep population differentiation for local adaptation, multiple target-site herbicide resistance mutations of barnyard grasses, and limited domestication of barnyard millets. Our results provide genomic insights into the dual roles of Echinochloa species as weeds and crops as well as essential resources for studying plant polyploidization, adaptation, precision weed control and millet improvements.
    Matched MeSH terms: Crops, Agricultural/genetics*
  20. Bonthala VS, Mayes K, Moreton J, Blythe M, Wright V, May ST, et al.
    PLoS One, 2016;11(2):e0148771.
    PMID: 26859686 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0148771
    Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea (L.) Verdc.) is an African legume and is a promising underutilized crop with good seed nutritional values. Low temperature stress in a number of African countries at night, such as Botswana, can effect the growth and development of bambara groundnut, leading to losses in potential crop yield. Therefore, in this study we developed a computational pipeline to identify and analyze the genes and gene modules associated with low temperature stress responses in bambara groundnut using the cross-species microarray technique (as bambara groundnut has no microarray chip) coupled with network-based analysis. Analyses of the bambara groundnut transcriptome using cross-species gene expression data resulted in the identification of 375 and 659 differentially expressed genes (p<0.01) under the sub-optimal (23°C) and very sub-optimal (18°C) temperatures, respectively, of which 110 genes are commonly shared between the two stress conditions. The construction of a Highest Reciprocal Rank-based gene co-expression network, followed by its partition using a Heuristic Cluster Chiseling Algorithm resulted in 6 and 7 gene modules in sub-optimal and very sub-optimal temperature stresses being identified, respectively. Modules of sub-optimal temperature stress are principally enriched with carbohydrate and lipid metabolic processes, while most of the modules of very sub-optimal temperature stress are significantly enriched with responses to stimuli and various metabolic processes. Several transcription factors (from MYB, NAC, WRKY, WHIRLY & GATA classes) that may regulate the downstream genes involved in response to stimulus in order for the plant to withstand very sub-optimal temperature stress were highlighted. The identified gene modules could be useful in breeding for low-temperature stress tolerant bambara groundnut varieties.
    Matched MeSH terms: Crops, Agricultural/genetics
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