Induced Polyploidy: A Tool for Forage Species Improvement

Saeed Rauf, Rodomiro Ortiz, Dariusz P. Malinowski, Wellington Ronildo Clarindo, Wardah Kainat, Muhammad Shehzad, Ummara Waheed and Syed Wasim Hassan
Additional contact information
Saeed Rauf: Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, College of Agriculture, University of Sargodha, Sargodha 40100, Pakistan
Rodomiro Ortiz: Department of Plant Breeding, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sundsvagen 10 Box 101, SE 23053 Alnarp, Sweden
Dariusz P. Malinowski: Texas A&M AgriLife Research, Texas A&M University, P.O. Box 1658, Vernon, TX 76385, USA
Wellington Ronildo Clarindo: Department of General Biology, Federal University of Viçosa, Viçosa MG 36.570-900, Brazil
Wardah Kainat: Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, College of Agriculture, University of Sargodha, Sargodha 40100, Pakistan
Muhammad Shehzad: Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, College of Agriculture, University of Sargodha, Sargodha 40100, Pakistan
Ummara Waheed: Institute of Biotechnology and Plant Breeding, MSN-University of Agriculture, Multan 59920, Pakistan
Syed Wasim Hassan: Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, College of Agriculture, University of Sargodha, Sargodha 40100, Pakistan

Agriculture, 2021, vol. 11, issue 3, 1-16

Abstract: Polyploidy means having more than two basic sets of chromosomes. Polyploid plants may be artificially obtained through chemical, physical and biological (2 n gametes) methods. This approach allows an increased gene scope and expression, thus resulting in phenotypic changes such as yield and product quality. Nonetheless, breeding new cultivars through induced polyploidy should overcome deleterious effects that are partly contributed by genome and epigenome instability after polyploidization. Furthermore, shortening the time required from early chromosome set doubling to the final selection of high yielding superior polyploids is a must. Despite these hurdles, plant breeders have successfully obtained polyploid bred-germplasm in broad range of forages after optimizing methods, concentration and time, particularly when using colchicine. These experimental polyploids are a valuable tool for understanding gene expression, which seems to be driven by dosage dependent gene expression, altered gene regulation and epigenetic changes. Isozymes and DNA-based markers facilitated the identification of rare alleles for particular loci when compared with diploids, and also explained their heterozygosity, phenotypic plasticity and adaptability to diverse environments. Experimentally induced polyploid germplasm could enhance fresh herbage yield and quality, e.g., leaf protein content, leaf total soluble solids, water soluble carbohydrates and sucrose content. Offspring of experimentally obtained hybrids should undergo selection for several generations to improve their performance and stability.

Keywords: amphiploidy; disomic polyploidy; synthetic polyploidy; plant genome evolution; polysomic polyploidy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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