Skip to main content
ARS Home » Midwest Area » Ames, Iowa » Plant Introduction Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #336103
Title: Emerging avenues for utilization of exotic germplasm

Author
item WANG, CUILING - Henan Institute Of Science And Technology
item HU, SONGLIN - Iowa State University
item Gardner, Candice
item LUBBERSTEDT, THOMAS - Iowa State University

Submitted to: Trends in Plant Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/4/2017
Publication Date: 5/2/2017
Citation: Wang, C., Hu, S., Gardner, C.A., Lubberstedt, T. 2017. Emerging avenues for utilization of exotic germplasm. Trends in Plant Science. 22(7):624-637. doi: 10.1016/j.tplants.2017.04.002.

Interpretive Summary: Utilization of diverse genetic resources is the foundation of crop improvement. Exotic germplasm such as landraces and wild relatives possess high levels of genetic diversity for valuable traits, including adaptation to stressful environments. Only a small portion of the naturally occurring genetic diversity held in genebanks has been, or is being used, in development of elite germplasm varieties. This review summarizes the challenges associated with using diverse, exotic germplasm and discusses the opportunities afforded by use of new high throughput phenomic and genomic data capture and analytical methods. Integration of various types of information will aid in improved targeting of useful germplasm, and ultimately aid in efforts to increase food security.

Technical Abstract: Breeders have been successful in increasing crop performance by exploiting genetic diversity over time. However, the reported annual yield increases are not sufficient in view of rapid human population growth and global environmental changes. Exotic germplasm such as landraces and wild relatives possess high levels of genetic diversity for valuable traits, including adaptation to stressful environments and more efficient nutrient utilization. However, only a small fraction of naturally occurring genetic diversity is utilized in elite germplasm. The yield gap between elite and exotic germplasm is large, which increases the effort needed to use exotic germplasm in current breeding programs, and to identify beneficial alleles and for their introgression. The advent of affordable high-throughput genotyping and phenotyping technologies together with emerging powerful biotechnologies and optimized plant breeding techniques provide new opportunities to explore exotic genetic variation. This review summarizes potential challenges for utilization of exotic germplasm and present solutions to address these problems.