Biotechnology and Plant Breeding

Applications and Approaches for Developing Improved Cultivars

Aluízio Borém, Roberto Fritsche-Neto

• Publisher: Academic Press
• Year: 2014
• ISBN:
  9780124172920
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Agronomy
• Index: Technology & Engineering

Biotechnology and Plant Breeding includes critical discussions of the newest and most important applications of biotechnology in plant breeding, covering key topics such as biometry applied to molecular analysis of genetic diversity, genetically modified plants, and more. This work goes beyond recombinant DNA technology to bring together key information and references on new biotech tools for cultivar development, such as double-haploids, molecular markers, and genome-wide selection, among others.

It is increasingly challenging for plant breeders and agricultural systems to supply enough food, feed, fiber and biofuel for the global population. As plant breeding evolves and becomes increasingly sophisticated, a staggering volume of genetic data is now generated. Biotechnology and Plant Breeding helps researchers and students become familiar with how the vast amounts of genetic data are generated, stored, analyzed and applied.

This practical resource integrates information about plant breeding into the context of modern science, and assists with training for plant breeders including those scientists who have a good understanding of molecular biology/biotechnology and need to learn the art and practice of plant breeding. Plant biologists, breeding technicians, agronomists, seed technologists, students, and any researcher interested in biotechnologies applied to plant breeding will find this work an essential tool and reference for the field.

• Presents in-depth but easy-to-understand coverage of topics, so plant breeders can readily comprehend them and apply them to their breeding programs
• Includes chapters that address the already developed and optimized biotechnologies for cultivar development, with real-world application for users
• Features contributions by authors with several years of experience in their areas of expertise

1

Plant Breeding and Biotechnological Advances

Aluízio Borém^a, Valdir Diola^b and Roberto Fritsche-Neto^c, ^aFederal University of Viçosa, Viçosa, Brazil, ^bFederal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, ^cUniversity of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

Abstract

Currently, the global population comprises more than 7 billion people, and the global population clock is currently recording continuous growth. Such growth will continue until approximately 2050, the year during which population growth is expected to plateau at the staggering number of 9.1 billion people, according to United Nations (UN) predictions. It is notable that thousands of years were needed to increase the global population to the initial 2 billion people, yet another 2 billion will be added to the planet in the next 25 years.

Keywords

Precision farming

Micronutrient use

Protected cultivation

Integrated crop management

Hybridization

Genetics

Molecular markers

Introduction

Currently, the global population comprises more than 7 billion people, and the global population clock is currently recording continuous growth (http://www.apolo11.com/populacao.php

). Such growth will continue until approximately 2050, the year during which population growth is expected to plateau at the staggering number of 9.1 billion people, according to United Nations (UN) predictions. It is notable that thousands of years were needed to increase the global population to the initial 2 billion people, yet another 2 billion will be added to the planet in the next 25 years (Figure 1.1).

Figure 1.1 World population growth throughout the years.

Additionally, people are living longer and migrating from rural areas to cities. Furthermore, the population’s purchasing power and land competition for grain and renewable energy production are increasing (Beddington, 2010). Therefore, all current food production systems must either double in productivity until 2050 (Clay, 2011) or risk failing to meet the growing demand for food, thus materializing Malthus’s predictions of mass starvation, which were made approximately 200 years ago.

The challenges of feeding the world are tremendous and have led scientists to seek more efficient food production methods. In that context, many innovations are being incorporated into food production in order to meet that growing demand, including precision farming, micronutrient use, protected cultivation and integrated crop management, among others. Among other innovations, cultivar development from plant genetic breeding is considered one of the most important and has been responsible for more than half of the increases in crop yields over the last century.

Many definitions of plant breeding have been introduced by different authors, including evolution directed by the will of man (Vavilov, 1935), the genetic adjustment of plants to the service of man (Frankel, 1958), an exercise in exploring the genetic systems of plants (Williams, 1964), the art and science of improving the heredity of plants for the benefit of mankind (Allard, 1971), the exploration of the genetic potential of plants (Stoskopf et al., 1993), and the science, art, and business of improving plants for human benefit (Bernardo, 2010).

Undoubtedly, plant breeding enables agriculture to sustainably provide foods, fibers, and bioenergy to society. For example, breeding develops forage and grains for animal feed to support meat, milk, and egg production. Agro-bioenergy activities require the development of more efficient cultivars for power generation through combustion, ethanol, and biodiesel. In the future, breeding will also enable a drastic shift in the agriculture paradigm towards the production of other materials, including drugs, biopolymers, and chemicals.

Evolution of Genetics and Plant Breeding

Since the beginning of agriculture in approximately 10,000 BC, people have consciously or unconsciously selected plants with superior characteristics for the cultivation of future generations. However, there is controversy regarding the time when breeding became a science. Some believe that this occurred after Mendel’s findings, while others argue that it occurred even before the “era of genetics.”

One of the most important contributions to plant breeding was artificial plant hybridization, which permitted the gathering of advantageous characteristics into a single genotype. Consequently, some dates and events indicate the beginning of this new science, such as August 25, 1964, when R.J. Camerarius published the article “De sex plantarum epístola,” or even 1717, when Thomas Fairchild created the first hybrid plant in England. In addition to those events, J.G. Kolreuter conducted the first scientific experiment on plant hybridization in 1760.

During the nineteenth century, plant breeding had already begun in France, as Louis Vilmorin had developed wheat and sugar beet varieties with progeny tests. However, the monk Gregor Mendel from Brno, Czech Republic, unveiled the secrets of heredity and thus ushered in the “era of genetics,” the fundamental science of plant breeding, at the end of that century.

By placing a few more pieces into the puzzle of this new science, scientists in the first half of the twentieth century knew that something within cells was responsible for heritability. That hypothesis started a process of hypothesis generation and discovery, thus further enabling progress and knowledge accumulation in the field to continue apace. For example, the DNA double helix structure was elucidated in 1953 (Table 1.1). Twenty years later, in 1973, the discovery of restriction enzymes opened the doors of molecular biology to scientists. The first transgenic plant, wherein a bacterial gene was stably inserted into a plant genome, was created in 1983.

Table 1.1

Chronology of the Historical Facts Related to Key Advances in Genetics and Biotechnology That Are Relevant to Plant Breeding

Year	Historic Landmark
1744 to 1829	Lamarck describes the hypothesis of the hereditary transmission of acquired characters. Periodic observations that disregarded the effects of selection, adaptation, and mortality induced the erroneous conclusion that anatomical characteristics change according to the environmental requirements.
1809 to 1882	Charles Darwin writes the theory of natural selection, which was described in the book The Origin of Species, according to observations collected on the Galapag...

Table of contents

• Cover image
• Title page
• Table of Contents
• Copyright
• Contributors
• Preface
• 1: Plant Breeding and Biotechnological Advances
• 2: Molecular Markers
• 3: Biometrics Applied to Molecular Analysis in Genetic Diversity
• 4: Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS)
• 5: Genome-Wide Selection (GWS)
• 6: Genes Prospection
• 7: Tissue Culture Applications for the Genetic Improvement of Plants
• 8: Transgenic Plants
• 9: Double Haploids
• 10: Tools for the Future Breeder
• Index