Biotechnology and crop improvement

Agricultural and Food Science, 2008

Plants bind solar energy to organic matter via photosynthesis and assimilation of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and comprise the major source of nutrition and bioenergy. Plant biotechnology contributes to solution of important constraints in food and feed production and creates new technologies and applications for the sustainable use of plant resources. Genome-wide approaches such as massive parallel sequencing and microarrays to study gene expression, molecular markers for selection of important traits in breeding, characterization of genetic diversity with the aforementioned approaches, and somatic hybridization and genetic transformation are important tools in plant biotechnology. In this paper, studies carried out on enhanced resistance to viruses and tolerance of cold stress in potato, genetic modification of flower pigmentation and morphology in gerbera, production of edible vaccines in transgenic barley seeds, and expression of heterologous proteins for pharmaceutical purposes from vector viruses were chosen to exemplify the general utility of biotechnological approaches and also how plant biotechnology research has developed on cultivated plants at University of Helsinki. The studies reveal cellular and genetic mechanisms and provide scientific information that can be used for widening the uses of crop plants. They can also be used to detect any putative risks associated with the use of the biotechnological application in agriculture and horticulture and to develop practises which reduce any inadvertent negative consequences that plant production may have to the environment.

Biochimie, 2002

Knowledge on plant genomes has progressed during the past few years. Two plant genomes, those of Arabidopsis thaliana and rice, have been sequenced. Our present knowledge of synteny also indicates that, despite plasticity contributing to the diversity of the plant genomes, the organization of genes is conserved within large sections of chromosomes. In parallel, novel plant transformation systems have been proposed, notably with regard to plastid transformation and the removal of selectable marker genes in transgenic plants. Furthermore, a number of recent works considerably widen the potential of plant biotechnology.

Journal of Natural Sciences Research, 2020

Molecular marker is applicable to many aspects of plant improvement and crop production. The main objective of plant breeding to produce crops with improved characteristics with the utilization of the available genetic variability and producing sufficient genetic variability of crops by different breeding techniques. There are possibilities to improve the desired traits through conventional breeding methods in the presence of genetic diversities. However, there are several challenges to make the significant improvement on the crop through conventional breeding. Conventional breeding is almost always based on phenotypic variation of the crops, which is affected by environments (non-heritable components) and crop improvement cycle takes long time. However, molecular marker is designed to meet this challenges regardless of its cost and it's not affected by environment where ever the experiment is conducted either in laboratory or field condition. Molecular marker procedures are playing a significant role to increase the effectiveness in breeding and shorten the development crop improvement stages. Molecular markers also used develop resistant crop to pests and diseases, develop tolerant crop to environmental conditions and improve the crop in required quality. In facing the challenge of improving several lines for quantitative traits, marker assisted selection strategies use DNA markers in one key selection step to maximize their impact. With the development of molecular marker technology, the fate of plant breeding has changed. Different types of molecular markers have been developed in identification and characterization germplasm, DNA sequences in identification of the genomic regions involved in the expression of the target traits, to analysis the genetic variation, cytogenetic, quantitative genetics, biotechnology and genomics and it's applied in genetic diversity analysis in crop improvement. It is possible to increase agricultural productivity through addressing the problems of yield reduction and its links with pest management and climate change using advanced breeding technologies. There are several major challenges in the application of molecular markers to agronomically important traits. Some of them are: economic factors, lack of grants to researchers, lack of adequately trained personnel. Generally, the integrating molecular marker technologies with the conventional breeding strategies are increasingly important to realize genetic gains with greater speed and precision.

Acta horticulturae, 2003

While the future of commercializing GM plants seemed doomed just two years ago, as the public concerns were approaching panic, especially in Europe, the global area of transgenic crops between 2000 and 2001 reached about 130 million acres towards the end of 2001, which were grown by 5.5 million farmers and represented a 19% increase during the year 2000 and a 30-fold increase since 1996. The use of GM crops and related R&D activities is likely to increase in the years to come because plant genetic engineering is an efficient and a practical breeding technique that enables more sustainable and improved production of quality food, and is more environmentally friendly. Most important, we are more aware of the potential risks, the biosafety issues, and are able to take all precautionary steps. Plant biotechnology has changed the horticultural scene in three major areas: Control over plant growth and development; Protecting plants against the increasing threats of biotic stress; Improving food, and producing biochemicals and pharmaceuticals. The major challenges ahead include: Alleviating the hazards of abiotic stress, foremost salinity, drought and extreme temperatures; Maintenance and improvement of the environment, both large open spaces and unique ecological niches (foremost forests, grasslands and savannas); Improvement of crop quality and design of "specialty food", using biochemical engineering. This includes a shift from the production of low-priced food and bulk commodities to high-priced, special plant-derived products. Biotechnology cannot solve all problems, however, it is a most powerful technique that can and will be integrated with all classical breeding programs of many horticultural plants. The only criterion to evaluate the efficiency of genetic engineering will be its cost effectiveness, actual needs, and benefits to sustainable development. THE PLANT AND AGRICULTURAL BIOTECHNOLOGY REVOLUTION: ACHIEVEMENTS AND CHALLENGES AHEAD In between West Asia and East Asia, extending to Africa and the Americas-East and West-stretches the world where we live. Scientists have made a promise to the billions of inhabitants of this world: to create a better world, to increase food production and to produce high quality food. We made it in the name of the plant biotechnology revolution. This promise was a necessity: biotechnology was meant to be yet another revolution in humanity's long march from food gathering and hunting to building well-fed and, thus, healthier and more prosperous societies. Early domestication of plants and animals, started some 12,000 years ago, combined gradual long-term changes in qualitative and quantitative traits as a result of continuous breeding and selection of useful traits. Domestication and the resulting increase in yields were followed by the requirement for food storage and, consequently, with the growth of microorganisms in the stored food. Thus, was born classical food fermentation, the earliest known application of

Trends in Biotechnology, 2015