Eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) is a crop of significant nutritional value within the Solanaceae family; however, advancements in breeding for fruit quality, stress resilience, and architectural traits are limited due to the quantitative nature of inheritance for these traits. Meta-QTL (MQTL) analysis provides a powerful approach for integrating QTL information from various studies for identifying stable genomic regions. We integrated 620 initial QTLs derived from 23 independent studies that encompass traits related to morphology, fruit characteristics, anthocyanin content, prickles, and resistance to biotic stress. A high-density consensus genetic framework was constructed, onto which 425 QTLs (68.54
Unlocking the molecular mechanisms and pathways of underground storage organ development and nutrient and non-nutrient traits may provide more avenues to tailor elite germplasm enriched with these characteristics in root, tuber, and bulb crops. Biofortified cassava, potato, and sweet potato provide food and nutritional security to millions of people in Africa, Asia, and Latin American regions. Root and tuber crops provide food and nutritional security to millions of people in Africa, Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean, while garlic and onions, in addition to strong therapeutic potential, are widely used in food preparation to add flavour and taste. Root, tuber, and bulb (RTB) crops are a good source of carbohydrates, minerals, and bioactive compounds. However, these crops also possess a variety of allergens and toxic compounds, limiting their consumption. Here, we synthesized i) the contribution of RTB crops on food and nutrition security in the Global South, ii) the various types of allergens and toxic compounds detected in these crops, iii) catalogue germplasm resources across national and international genebanks, iv) document the range of genetic variation in edible organs morphology, nutrient and non-nutrient traits, v) discuss advances in high-throughput phenomics to monitor variability, vi) assess population structure and diversity in germplasm pool, vii) list genomic regions (QTL) and genes (both functionally characterized and candidate genes and QTL) associated with storage organs (roots or tubers) morphology, nutrient and non-nutrient traits, viii) uptake, transport, and storage of minerals in edible vegetable organs and their effects on consumers, and ix) advances in genetic improvement of nutritionally enhanced (nutrient and non-nutrient traits) and productive germplasm through crossbreeding and biotechnological interventions. Assessing and exploiting functional diversity, combined with the use of functionally characterized genes and associated markers for storage root growth/thickening, and nutrient and non-nutrient traits, can be deployed in breeding programs to improve these characteristics in RTB crops. Numerous candidate genes and genomic regions (or quantitative trait loci) reported herein must be functionally validated before being deployed in crop breeding programs. A greater emphasis should be placed on genetically and phenotypically characterizing RTB germplasm, and on combining empirical breeding with molecular tools to enhance precision, efficiency, and rapid genetic gain. Millions of rural households in parts of Africa, Asia, and Latin America are currently benefiting from the commercialization of provitamin A-enriched cassava, potato, and sweet potato. The development of orange-fleshed sweet potato cultivars with higher levels of provitamin A was awarded the ‘‘World Food Prize’’ in 2016. There are more opportunities to enhance nutrition status and food security through improvement of root, tuber, and bulb crops.
Abstract Key message Deeper sowing of canola into cooler, moist soil could improve crop establishment in stressful conditions. We demonstrate cultivars with long hypocotyls emerge better from deeper sowing than short hypocotyl cultivars. Abstract Poor seedling establishment is a major constraint to canola ( Brassica napus L.) productivity globally. Optimum seeding depths are commonly 1–2 cm under favourable soil moisture and temperature conditions., However, drying autumn conditions with climate change coupled with increasing farm size often results in canola sown earlier when the soil surface is hot and dry. Deeper sowing (> 3–4 cm) into stored water and more stable temperature allows for timely establishment of early sown crops. Under favourable moisture and temperature conditions, current cultivars establish well at shallow sowing depths but emerge poorly when sown deeper. This study investigated the potential to breed canola cultivars with longer hypocotyls to improve emergence from deep sowing as a strategy to adapt to earlier sowing under climate change – a concept demonstrated successfully with longer coleoptile wheat. A diverse panel of 255 open-pollinated accessions was phenotyped using high-throughput laboratory assays for hypocotyl length and cross-sectional area. Genome-wide association analysis revealed hypocotyl length was under polygenic control, and several significant marker–trait associations were identified. Emergence was validated in multiple field environments with both conventional (2 cm) and deeper (5 cm) sowing. Increased hypocotyl length was strongly associated with improved emergence from deep sowing, supporting its value as a breeding target to improve canola establishment under increasingly variable and challenging growing conditions.
Using germplasm accumulated over 50 years in China’s cold, arid region, 20 drought-responsive loci were identified through GWAS, and 7 key candidate genes were further revealed by integrating RNA-Seq data from drought-tolerant and sensitive lines. Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is a major staple crop central to global food security, yet yield is severely constrained by drought. To dissect the genetic basis of drought tolerance, we evaluated 257 spring wheat germplasm lines, accumulated over five decades of breeding in the cold and arid region of China, under well-watered (WW) and rain-fed water stress (WS) conditions for seven yield-related traits. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) for seven agronomic traits and three drought tolerance indices, utilizing three analytical models identified 20 stable loci significantly associated with drought response. Transcriptome profiling of drought-tolerant and drought-sensitive lines under both conditions revealed 4,411 drought-responsive genes. Integrative analysis of GWAS and RNA-Seq data prioritized seven candidate genes, one of which for plant height overlapped with weighted gene co-expression network analysis hub modules, highlighting potential regulators of drought adaptation. Furthermore, genomic prediction based on the identified loci, using Bayesian ridge regression, achieved high trait-specific accuracies, with plant height reaching 85.4
