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ARS Home » Plains Area » Fargo, North Dakota » Edward T. Schafer Agricultural Research Center » Sunflower and Plant Biology Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #334948
Title: Accelerating Silphium domestication: an opportunity to develop new crop ideotypes and breeding strategies informed by multiple disciplines

Author
item VAN TASSEL, DAVID - The Land Institute
item ALBRECHT, KENNETH - University Of Wisconsin
item BEVER, JAMES - University Of Kansas
item BOE, ARVID - South Dakota State University
item BRANDVAIN, YANIV - University Of Minnesota
item CREWS, TIMOTHY - The Land Institute
item GANSBERGER, MARKUS - Austrian Agency For Health And Food Safety Ltd (AGES)
item GERSTBERG, PEDRO - University Of Bayreuth
item GONZALEZ-PALEO, LUCIANA - Consejo Nacional De Investigaciones Científicas Y Técnicas(CONICET)
item Hulke, Brent
item KANE, NOLAN - University Of Colorado
item JOHNSON, PAUL - South Dakota State University
item PICASSO RISSO, VALENTIN - University Of Wisconsin
item PESTSOVA, ELENA - Heinrich-Heine University
item Prasifka, Jarrad
item RAVETTA, DAMIAN - Consejo Nacional De Investigaciones Científicas Y Técnicas(CONICET)
item SCHLAUTMAN, BRANDON - The Land Institute
item SHEAFFER, CRAIG - University Of Minnesota
item SMITH, KEVIN - University Of Minnesota
item SPERANZA, PABLO - Universidad Del La Republica
item TURNER, KATHRYN - The Land Institute
item VILELA, ALEJANDRA - Consejo Nacional De Investigaciones Científicas Y Técnicas(CONICET)
item VON GEHREN, PHILIPPE - Austrian Agency For Health And Food Safety Ltd (AGES)
item WEAVER, CHRISTIAN - Heinrich-Heine University

Submitted to: Crop Science
Publication Type: Review Article
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/16/2017
Publication Date: 6/16/2017
Citation: Van Tassel, D.L., Albrecht, K.A., Bever, J.D., Boe, A.A., Brandvain, Y., Crews, T.E., Gansberger, M., Gerstberg, P., Gonzalez-Paleo, L., Hulke, B.S., Kane, N.C., Johnson, P.J., Pestsova, E.G., Picasso Risso, V.D., Prasifka, J.R., Ravetta, D.A., Schlautman, B., Sheaffer, C.C., Smith, K.P., Speranza, P.R., Turner, M.K., Vilela, A.E., von Gehren, P., Weaver, C. 2017. Accelerating Silphium domestication: an opportunity to develop new crop ideotypes and breeding strategies informed by multiple disciplines. Crop Science. 57(3):1274-1284.

Interpretive Summary: Silphium spp., close relatives to domesticated sunflower, are a potential new oilseed crop that has similar characteristics to sunflower. It is superior to sunflower in that it is extremely drought resistant and it is perennial, which may have advantages including soil stabilization, improved soil water utilization, and reduction in input costs to producers. However, its current low yield and poor adaptation to cultivation need to be overcome by plant breeding. In this paper, we discuss lessons we learned from sunflower breeding as well as breeding in other systems and apply the theory to domestication of Silphium. Multiple methods, from very low-technology solutions all the way to modern genomics, are discussed in detail. The ability to document in detail the domestication of a plant from start to finish, as would be the case with Silphium, also provides significant benefits to the evolutionary biology community, in that parallels can be found to ancient domestication of plants by human intervention.

Technical Abstract: Silphium perfoliatum L. (cup plant, silphie) and S. integrifolium Michx. (rosinweed, silflower) are in the same sub-family and tribe as sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.). S. perfoliatum has been grown in many countries a forage or bioenergy crop with forage quality approaching that of alfalfa and biomass yield close to maize in some environments. S. integrifolium has large seeds with taste and oil quality similar to traditional oilseed sunflower. Silphium species are all long-lived, diploid perennials. Crops from this genus could improve the yield stability, soil, and biodiversity of agricultural landscapes because in their wild state they are deep-rooted and support pollinators. In contrast to premodern domestication, de novo domestication should be intentional and scientific. We have the luxury and obligation at this moment in history to expand the domestication ideotype from food/energy production to (1) crop-driven ecosystem services important for sustainability, (2) genetic diversity to enable breeding progress for centuries, (3) natural adaptations and microbiome associations conferring resource use efficiency and stress tolerance, (4) improving domestication theory itself by monitoring genetic, morphological and ecophysiological changes from pre-domestication baselines. Achieving these goals rapidly will require the use of next generation sequencing for marker development and an international, interdisciplinary team committed to collaboration and strategic planning.