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Kapazoglou A, Gerakari M, Lazaridi E, Kleftogianni K, Sarri E, Tani E, Bebeli PJ. Crop Wild Relatives: A Valuable Source of Tolerance to Various Abiotic Stresses. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 12:plants12020328. [PMID: 36679041 PMCID: PMC9861506 DOI: 10.3390/plants12020328] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2022] [Revised: 12/22/2022] [Accepted: 12/23/2022] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Global climate change is one of the major constraints limiting plant growth, production, and sustainability worldwide. Moreover, breeding efforts in the past years have focused on improving certain favorable crop traits, leading to genetic bottlenecks. The use of crop wild relatives (CWRs) to expand genetic diversity and improve crop adaptability seems to be a promising and sustainable approach for crop improvement in the context of the ongoing climate challenges. In this review, we present the progress that has been achieved towards CWRs exploitation for enhanced resilience against major abiotic stressors (e.g., water deficiency, increased salinity, and extreme temperatures) in crops of high nutritional and economic value, such as tomato, legumes, and several woody perennial crops. The advances in -omics technologies have facilitated the elucidation of the molecular mechanisms that may underlie abiotic stress tolerance. Comparative analyses of whole genome sequencing (WGS) and transcriptomic profiling (RNA-seq) data between crops and their wild relative counterparts have unraveled important information with respect to the molecular basis of tolerance to abiotic stressors. These studies have uncovered genomic regions, specific stress-responsive genes, gene networks, and biochemical pathways associated with resilience to adverse conditions, such as heat, cold, drought, and salinity, and provide useful tools for the development of molecular markers to be used in breeding programs. CWRs constitute a highly valuable resource of genetic diversity, and by exploiting the full potential of this extended allele pool, new traits conferring abiotic-stress tolerance may be introgressed into cultivated varieties leading to superior and resilient genotypes. Future breeding programs may greatly benefit from CWRs utilization for overcoming crop production challenges arising from extreme environmental conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aliki Kapazoglou
- Institute of Olive Tree, Subtropical Crops and Viticulture (IOSV), Department of Vitis, Hellenic Agricultural Organization-Dimitra (ELGO-Dimitra), Sofokli Venizelou 1, Lykovrysi, 14123 Athens, Greece
| | - Maria Gerakari
- Laboratory of Plant Breeding and Biometry, Department of Crop Science, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 11855 Athens, Greece
| | - Efstathia Lazaridi
- Laboratory of Plant Breeding and Biometry, Department of Crop Science, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 11855 Athens, Greece
| | - Konstantina Kleftogianni
- Laboratory of Plant Breeding and Biometry, Department of Crop Science, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 11855 Athens, Greece
| | - Efi Sarri
- Laboratory of Plant Breeding and Biometry, Department of Crop Science, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 11855 Athens, Greece
| | - Eleni Tani
- Laboratory of Plant Breeding and Biometry, Department of Crop Science, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 11855 Athens, Greece
| | - Penelope J. Bebeli
- Laboratory of Plant Breeding and Biometry, Department of Crop Science, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 11855 Athens, Greece
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Wu R, Xu B, Shi F. Leaf transcriptome analysis of Medicago ruthenica revealed its response and adaptive strategy to drought and drought recovery. BMC PLANT BIOLOGY 2022; 22:562. [PMID: 36460952 PMCID: PMC9716755 DOI: 10.1186/s12870-022-03918-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2022] [Accepted: 10/28/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Drought is one of the main causes of losses in forage crop yield and animal production. Medicago ruthenica (L.) cv. Zhilixing is a high-yielding alfalfa cultivar also known for its high tolerance to drought. We analyzed the transcriptome profile of this cultivar throughout drought stress and recovery and we were able to describe its phased response through the expression profiles of overlapping gene networks and drought-specific genes. RESULTS The ABA and auxin signal transduction pathways are overlapping pathways in response to drought and drought recovery in forage crops. Medicago ruthenica (L.) cv. Zhilixing adopts different strategies at different degrees of drought stress. On the 9th day of drought, transcriptional regulations related to osmoregulation are enhanced mainly through increased activities of carbohydrate and amino acid metabolism, while photosynthetic activities were reduced to slow down growth. With drought prolonging, on the 12th day of drought, the synthesis of proline and other stored organic substances was suppressed in general. After recovery, Medicago ruthenica synthesizes flavonoids through the flavonoid biosynthesis pathway to remove accumulated ROS and repair the oxidative damage from water stress. In addition, the regulation of circadian rhythm seems to accelerate the drought recovery process. CONCLUSIONS Medicago ruthenica adapts to drought by regulating the osmoregulatory system and photosynthesis, which appears to involve the ABA and auxin signaling pathways as key regulators. Furthermore, the synthesis of flavonoids and the regulation of the circadian rhythm can accelerate the recovery process. These results enriched our knowledge of molecular responses to drought and drought recovery in Medicago ruthenica and provide useful information for the development of new legume forage grass varieties with improved adaptability to drought stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rina Wu
- Key Laboratory of Grassland Resources of the Ministry of Education, College of Grassland Resources and Environment, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot, China
| | - Bo Xu
- Key Laboratory of Grassland Resources of the Ministry of Education, College of Grassland Resources and Environment, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot, China
| | - Fengling Shi
- Key Laboratory of Grassland Resources of the Ministry of Education, College of Grassland Resources and Environment, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot, China.
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