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Williams K, Subramani M, Lofton LW, Penney M, Todd A, Ozbay G. Tools and Techniques to Accelerate Crop Breeding. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2024; 13:1520. [PMID: 38891328 PMCID: PMC11174677 DOI: 10.3390/plants13111520] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2024] [Revised: 05/25/2024] [Accepted: 05/30/2024] [Indexed: 06/21/2024]
Abstract
As climate changes and a growing global population continue to escalate the need for greater production capabilities of food crops, technological advances in agricultural and crop research will remain a necessity. While great advances in crop improvement over the past century have contributed to massive increases in yield, classic breeding schemes lack the rate of genetic gain needed to meet future demands. In the past decade, new breeding techniques and tools have been developed to aid in crop improvement. One such advancement is the use of speed breeding. Speed breeding is known as the application of methods that significantly reduce the time between crop generations, thereby streamlining breeding and research efforts. These rapid-generation advancement tactics help to accelerate the pace of crop improvement efforts to sustain food security and meet the food, feed, and fiber demands of the world's growing population. Speed breeding may be achieved through a variety of techniques, including environmental optimization, genomic selection, CRISPR-Cas9 technology, and epigenomic tools. This review aims to discuss these prominent advances in crop breeding technologies and techniques that have the potential to greatly improve plant breeders' ability to rapidly produce vital cultivars.
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Affiliation(s)
- Krystal Williams
- Molecular Genetics and Epigenomics Laboratory, Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources, College of Agriculture, Science, and Technology, Delaware State University, Dover, DE 19901, USA;
| | - Mayavan Subramani
- Molecular Genetics and Epigenomics Laboratory, Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources, College of Agriculture, Science, and Technology, Delaware State University, Dover, DE 19901, USA;
| | - Lily W. Lofton
- Department of Plant Pathology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA;
- Toxicology & Mycotoxin Research Unit, US National Poultry Research Center, USDA-ARS, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Miranda Penney
- Plant Breeding and Genetics Section, School of Integrative Plant Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA;
| | - Antonette Todd
- Molecular Genetics and Epigenomics Laboratory, Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources, College of Agriculture, Science, and Technology, Delaware State University, Dover, DE 19901, USA;
| | - Gulnihal Ozbay
- One Health Laboratory, Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources, College of Agriculture, Science, and Technology, Delaware State University, Dover, DE 19901, USA
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Cook TM, Biswas E, Dutta S, Aboobucker SI, Hazinia S, Lübberstedt T. Assessing data analysis techniques in a high-throughput meiosis-like induction detection system. PLANT METHODS 2024; 20:7. [PMID: 38212773 PMCID: PMC10785433 DOI: 10.1186/s13007-023-01132-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2023] [Accepted: 12/26/2023] [Indexed: 01/13/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Strategies to understand meiotic processes have relied on cytogenetic and mutant analysis. However, thus far in vitro meiosis induction is a bottleneck to laboratory-based plant breeding as factor(s) that switch cells in crops species from mitotic to meiotic divisions are unknown. A high-throughput system that allows researchers to screen multiple candidates for their meiotic induction role using low-cost microfluidic devices has the potential to facilitate the identification of factors with the ability to induce haploid cells that have undergone recombination (artificial gametes) in cell cultures. RESULTS A data analysis pipeline and a detailed protocol are presented to screen for plant meiosis induction factors in a quantifiable and efficient manner. We assessed three data analysis techniques using spiked-in protoplast samples (simulated gametes mixed into somatic protoplast populations) of flow cytometry data. Polygonal gating, which was considered the "gold standard", was compared to two thresholding methods using open-source analysis software. Both thresholding techniques were able to identify significant differences with low spike-in concentrations while also being comparable to polygonal gating. CONCLUSION Our study provides details to test and analyze candidate meiosis induction factors using available biological resources and open-source programs for thresholding. RFP (PE.CF594.A) and GFP (FITC.A) were the only channels required to make informed decisions on meiosis-like induction and resulted in detection of cell population changes as low as 0.3%, thus enabling this system to be scaled using microfluidic devices at low costs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tanner M Cook
- Department of Agronomy, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA
| | - Eva Biswas
- Department of Statistics, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA
| | - Somak Dutta
- Department of Statistics, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA
| | | | - Sara Hazinia
- Department of Agronomy, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA
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