Genetics and Genomics of Plant Reproductive Systems

Dear Colleagues,

Reproduction in plants is crucial not only for shaping genetic diversity within and maintaining genetic diversity between species, by promoting, limiting, or avoiding the exchange of genes and chromosomes between different genomes, but also for modeling the genetic structure of populations, hence contributing to the composition of individual genotypes within species and the organization of their genomes. Consequently, strategies for preserving plant germplasm resources, as well as methods and schemes for improving crop plant populations and breeding new varieties, depend on plant reproductive systems. Furthermore, comprehending the genetic and molecular bases of plant reproductive systems can also help to overcome the reproductive barriers that limit crop yield and quality in crop species and, in general, to understand the evolutionary dynamics, genetic structure, and diversity partitioning models of plant populations.

With the strengthening of genomics and biotechnologies, the scientific community is now aware that mapping and cloning, as well as editing or silencing, the genes that control meiosis, gametogenesis, pollen–pistil interaction, fertilization and fertilization-independent seed and seedless fruit production are promptly achievable. In addition, studying and unveiling the mechanisms that regulate plant reproductive systems in crop species and their wild relatives, including progenitors, are crucial as the overall production of cultivated populations (i.e., varieties) typically depend on genetic factors and networks controlling the fundamental steps of seed and fruit developmental pathways.

I am confident that the control of plant reproduction systems and sexual barriers (e.g., male sterility and self-incompatibility, apomixis, etc.) can potentially change the distribution and scale of actions for preserving and exploiting biodiversity, and investments for breeding new varieties disrupt the existing commercial supply chains and lead to greater use efficiency of agronomic inputs, thereby contributing to the amelioration of environmental quality traits and mitigation of climate change risks. Within this context, genomics along with biotechnologies will play a central role in the advancement of knowledge in plant genetics and breeding, as their main applicative tools and platforms are suitable for studying reproductive systems and their effects on population genetics, including the transmission and expression of quali-quantitative traits.

This SI of Plants is dedicated to all these compelling and inspiring topics. The main aim is to outline recent advances and novel findings in the genetics and genomics of plant reproductive systems in both cultivated species and wild ancestors, and to provide a better understanding of their potential applications in crop plant improvement.

Prof. Dr. Gianni Barcaccia
Guest Editor

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• plant reproduction
• meiosis
• apomeiosis
• gametes
• mating systems
• pollen–pistil interaction
• fertilization
• male sterility
• self-incompatibility
• parthenogenesis
• apomixis
• parthenocarpy
• seeds
• fruits

Title: A Reappraisal of the Genetic Diversity Patterns in Puya raimondii - The Queen of the Andes: Insights from Molecular Markers and Genomics Data
Authors: Samela Draga; Gianni Barcaccia
Affiliation: 1. Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and Environment (DAFNAE), University of Padova, Agripolis, 35020 Legnaro, Italy 2. Interdepartmental Centre for Research in Viticulture and Enology, University of Padua, Via XXVIII Aprile, 31015 Conegliano, Italy
Abstract: Puya raimondii Harms is a charismatic species, discovered and described in the Cordillera Blanca (now Huascarán National Park, Peru) by Antonio Raimondi in 1867. The importance of this plant is due to its imposing size - it is the largest of the Bromeliaceae, to the unusual and specific ecosystem that depends on it, and to the fact that it is linked to the name of the great Italian-born Peruvian geographer and naturalist. Known as the queen of the Andes, P. raimondii, is a high-altitude species living at 3.200 - 4.400 m of altitude and reproducing only once in a lifetime (i.e. semelparity) with plants usually flowering at 40 - 100 years of age. Four studies investigating the genetic diversity dynamics of P. raimondii have reported a wide range of fixation indices (Fst), varying from a minimum of 0.144 to a maximum of 0.961. However, recent whole-genome sequencing has indicated Fst values of 0.88 to 0.92, showing that most of the genetic variation occurs among populations rather than within them. Consequently, P. raimondii is considered genetically fragile, fragmented and endangered, because of its long generation time and death after its first reproduction, biological features that prevent genetic diversity.