About Book

The improvement of crop species has been a basic pursuit since cultivation began thousands of years ago. To feed an ever-increasing world population will require a great increase in food production. Well-managed, agriculture can enhance livelihoods, conserve soil and water resources, preserve tree and biodiversity, and contribute to the locking of carbon. Badly-managed, it can lead to food insecurity, environmental degradation and pollution, depletion of natural resources, contaminated food, and poor nutrition and health. To pursue the fastest and most practical route to improved yield, the near- term strategy is application and extension of existing agricultural technologies. This would lead to substantial improvement in crop and soil management practices, which are currently suboptimal. This book provides recent developments relevant to crop improvement which as intellectual property rights, biotechnology and the use and conservation of genetic resources. It focuses on soilless culture, next-generation sequencing, CRISPR/Cas9 system, plant metabolomics, legume crops and transcription factors. It aims to equip students and experts with the advanced topics and upcoming concepts in this area such as horticultural practices and methods for crop improvement. It is to present researches that have transformed this discipline and aided its advancement. It is a compilation of chapters that discuss the most vital concepts and emerging trends in this field of crop improvement. It studies, analyses and upholds the pillars of crop production and its utmost significance in modern times. For someone with an interest and eye for detail, this book covers the most significant topics in the field of vegetable crop production.

Preface............................................................................................................v

Chapter 1 Neglected and Underutilized Legume Crops: Improvement and Future Prospects..........................................................................................1

Abstract...................................................................................................1

1. Introduction............................................................................................2

2. What are miscellaneous, neglected and underutilized grain

legumes (MNUGLs?)............................................................................3

3. General background information: grain legumes...........................4

4. Conclusions..........................................................................................15

Chapter 2 The Role of Thiamine in Plants and Current Perspectives in Crop Improvement..............................................................................................29

Abstract.................................................................................................29

1. Introduction..........................................................................................29

2. Role of thiamine..................................................................................30

3. Role of thiamine in plant protection...............................................30

4. Thiamine biosynthesis is regulated by TPP riboswitch..............32

5. Thiamine pyrophosphate: the dominant class of riboswitch.....32

6. Thiamine biofortification in plants..................................................34

7. Conclusion............................................................................................36

Acknowledgements.............................................................................36

Chapter 3 Transcription Factors and MicroRNA Interplay: A New Strategy for Crop Improvement.............................................................................43

Abstract.................................................................................................43

1. Introduction..........................................................................................44

2. Regulatory roles of transcription factors in plants......................46

3. Interplay between transcription factors and miRNA..................49

4. Conclusion............................................................................................55

Chapter 4 Landraces and Crop Genetic Improvement.......................................69

Abstract.................................................................................................69

1. Introduction..........................................................................................69

2. Historical background of landrace oriGin.....................................71

3. Lack of formal genetic improvement..............................................72

4. Recognizable identity.........................................................................76

5. High genetic diversity........................................................................76

6. Local genetic adaptation....................................................................77

7. Association with traditional farming systems...............................79

8. Threat to landrace diversity..............................................................79

9. The concept of local variety..............................................................80

10. On-farm management of local seed diversity...............................80

11. Durum wheat.......................................................................................80

12. Rice.........................................................................................................82

13. Advantages of landrace over modern cultivated agriculture....83

14. Disadvantages......................................................................................83

15. Implication of replacement of landraces by commercial

cultivars.................................................................................................83

16. Landrace conservation........................................................................84

17. Conclusion and future perspective..................................................85

Acknowledgements.............................................................................85

Chapter 5 Plant Metabolomics: An Emerging Technology for Crop

Improvement..............................................................................................91

Abstract.................................................................................................91

1. Introduction..........................................................................................92

2. Different platforms to gather metabolomic data..........................92

3. Gene identification..............................................................................94

4. Breeding program...............................................................................94

5. Metabolomic approaches to improve rice quality........................95

6. Metabolomic approach to improve legume crops.....................100

7. Metabolomic approaches to evaluate GM crops........................101

8. Conclusions and future perspective..............................................102

Acknowledgements...........................................................................102

Chapter 6 The CRISPR/cas9 System for Crop Improvement: Progress and

Prospects ..................................................................................................109

Abstract...............................................................................................109

1. Introduction........................................................................................110

2. Mechanism of CRISPR/Cas9 system.............................................116

3. Application and recent advances...................................................121

4. Social acceptance and regulation...................................................125

5. Future prospects................................................................................126

Acknowledgements...........................................................................127

Chapter 7 Reaping the Benefits of Next-generation Sequencing Technologies for Crop Improvement — Solanaceae...............................................135

Abstract ..............................................................................................135

1. Introduction........................................................................................136

2. Next-generation sequencing technologies....................................137

3. Application of NGS technology in Solanaceae genetics and

genomics studies...............................................................................138

4. High-throughput genotyping technolOgies.................................160

5. Genotyping By Sequencing (GBS).................................................162

6. Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS)..................................163

7. Next-generation sequencing toward translational research......164

8. Conclusion and future direction....................................................166

Chapter 8 Influence of Soilless Culture Substrate on Improvement of Yield and Produce Quality of Horticultural Crops...................................182

1. Introduction........................................................................................182

2. Improvement of horticultural produce quality through soilless

hydroponics........................................................................................186

3. Production of specialty crops providing human health benefits

through soilless hydroponics..........................................................192

4. Reuse of soilless culture substrate with an economic view point

and environmental issues................................................................195

5. Future prospects of soilless culture for maximizing yield of

horticultural crops.............................................................................197

Chapter 9 Perspectives on the Application of Next-generation Sequencing to the Improvement of Africa’s Staple Food Crops............................221

Abstract...............................................................................................221

1. Introduction........................................................................................222

2. NGS-based omics resources: Current and prospective.............223

3. Application to crop improvement.................................................235

4. Disease diagnostics and monitoring.............................................243

5. Conclusions: Prospects and perspectives.....................................244

6. Acronyms............................................................................................246

Citation......................................................................................................265

Index...........................................................................................................267

About Author

Patrick Feng holds M.Sc. in Sustainable Crop Production & Ph.D. in Plant Physiology from Technological University, Heidelberg. He has written several articles and journals related to crop management, horticulture, plant science, biochemistry and biotechnology. He is a Research Associate at Public University, Dourados. He was awarded the "Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching" award for his outstanding contribution to the student community in the field or crop protection and management. He is also an active member and a regular contributor to several researcher clubs and societies.