Molecular Breeding Approaches to Improve Agronomic Traits and Stress Resistance in Cereals
A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Crop Genetics, Genomics and Breeding".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 April 2025 | Viewed by 140
Special Issue Editors
Interests: wheat; yield; gene cloning; regulation mechanism; plant–microbe interaction; stress resistance
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: molecular breeding; gluten content and composition; heat stress; genetic mapping; genome structure; genome editing
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Cereals are the most widely grown crops globally. With the decline in DNA sequencing costs, an increasing number of breeding programs have adopted DNA sequencing for genotyping to accelerate genetic gains within a given time frame. Additionally, advancements in mapping techniques, map-based cloning strategies like SHOREmap and MutMap, and functional genomic strategies have played a significant role in deepening our understanding of cereal genetics.
This knowledge has been applied to improve yield under changing environmental conditions and in response to pressures from pests and pathogens. Selection for traits such as plant height, spike morphology, seed weight, and seed number, which directly influence yield, as well as resistance or tolerance to fungal, bacterial, and viral pathogens, nematodes, and abiotic stressors (including drought, salt, heat, cold, and heavy metals) has been prioritized. Genes and QTLs for several agronomic traits and stress-resistance factors have been identified and localized to cereal chromosomes, with associated markers identified. Marker-assisted selection and genomic selection strategies have been employed to make rapid gains.
Given these developments, this Special Issue of Agriculture focuses on showcasing recent advances in the fields of cereal genetics, genomics, and biotechnology, as well as examples of their application in crop improvement through breeding for agronomic traits and stress tolerance. Different article types, such as original research articles, opinions, and reviews, are welcome.
Dr. Mingming Yang
Dr. Sachin Rustgi
Guest Editors
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Keywords
- cereals
- molecular breeding
- agronomic traits
- stress resistance
- molecular breeding
- genomics
- genome editing
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