Pottorff M, Ehlers JD, Fatokun C, Roberts PA, and Close TJ (2012). Leaf morphology in Cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp]: QTL analysis, physical mapping and identifying a candidate gene using synteny with model legume species. BMC Genomics 13:234. (DOI:10.1186/1471-2164-13-234). (G6010.02/G7010.07.01).

Cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp] exhibits a considerable variation in leaf shape. Although cowpea is mostly utilized as a dry grain and animal fodder crop, cowpea leaves are also used as a high-protein pot herb in many countries of Africa.

This study has demonstrated how integrated genomic resources can be utilized for a candidate gene approach. Identification of genes which control leaf morphology may be utilized to improve the quality of cowpea leaves for vegetable and or forage markets as well as contribute to more fundamental research understanding the control of leaf shape in legumes.

Upadhyaya HD, Kashiwagi J, Varshney RK, Gaur PM, Saxena KB, Krishnamurthy L, Gowda CLL, Pundir RPS,  Chaturvedi SK, Basu PS and Singh IP (2012). Phenotyping chickpeas and pigeonpeas for adaptation to drought.  Frontiers in Plant Physiology 3:179. (DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2012.00179).

The chickpea and pigeonpea are protein-rich grain legumes used for human consumption in many countries. Grain yield of these crops is low to moderate in the semi-arid tropics with large variation due to high GxE interaction. In the Indian subcontinent chickpea is grown in the post-rainy winter season on receding soil moisture, and in other countries during the cool and dry post winter or spring seasons. The pigeonpea is sown during rainy season which flowers and matures in post-rainy season. The rainy months are hot and humid with diurnal temperature varying between 25 and 35˚C (maximum) and 20 and 25˚C (minimum) with an erratic rainfall. The available soil water during post-rainy season is about 200–250 mm which is bare minimum to meet the normal evapotranspiration. Thus occur- rence of drought is frequent and at varying degrees. To enhance productivity of these crops cultivars tolerant to drought need to be developed.

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Federer WT and Crossa J (2012). Screening experimental designs for quantitative trait loci, association mapping, genotype-by environment interaction, and other investigations. Frontiers in Plant Physiology 3:156. (DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2012.00156).

Crop breeding programs using conventional approaches, as well as new biotechnological tools, rely heavily on data resulting from the evaluation of genotypes in different environmentalconditions (agronomic practices, locations, and years). Statistical methods used for designing field and laboratory trials and for analyzing the data originating from those trials need to be accurate and efficient.The statistical analysis of multi-environment trails (MET)is useful for assessing genotype×environment interaction (GEI), mapping quantitative trait loci (QTLs), and studying QTL×environment interaction (QEI). Large populations are required for scientific study of QEI, and for determining the association between molecular markers and quantitative trait variability.

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Billot C, Rivallan R, Sall MN, Fonceka D, Deu M, Glaszmann J-C, Noyer J-L, Rami J-F, Risterucci A-M, Wincker P, Ramu P and Hash CT (2012). A reference microsatellite kit to assess for genetic diversity of Sorghum bicolor (Poaceae). American Journal of Botany 99(6):e245–e250. (DOI: 10.3732/ajb.1100548).

Discrepancies in terms of genotyping data are frequently observed when comparing simple sequence repeat (SSR) data sets across genotyping technologies and laboratories. This technical concern introduces biases that hamper any synthetic studies or comparison of genetic diversity between collections. To prevent this for Sorghum bicolor, we developed a control kit of 48 SSR markers.

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Liu J, Luo X, Shaff J, Liang C, Jia X, Li Z, Magalhães J and Kochian LV (2012). A promoter-swap strategy between the AtALMT and AtMATE genes increased Arabidopsis aluminium resistance and improved carbon-use efficiency for aluminium resistance. The Plant Journal 71(2):327–337. (DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-313X.2012.04994.x).

The primary mechanism of Arabidopsis aluminum (Al) resistance is based on root Al exclusion, resulting from Al-activated root exudation of the Al3+-chelating organic acids, malate and citrate. Root malate exudation is the major contributor to Arabidopsis Al resistance, and is conferred by expression of AtALMT1, which encodes the root malate transporter. Root citrate exudation plays a smaller but still significant role in Arabidopsis Al resistance, and is conferred by expression of AtMATE, which encodes the root citrate transporter. In this study, we demonstrate that levels of Al-activated root organic acid exudation are closely correlated with expression of the organic acid transporter genes AtALMT1 and AtMATE.

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Gowda VRP, Henry A, Vadez V, Shashidhar HE, Serraj R (2012). Water uptake dynamics under progressive drought stress in diverse accessions of the OryzaSNP panel of rice (Oryza sativa). Functional Plant Biology 39(5):402–411. (DOI: 10.1071/FP12015). (G3008.06). Not open access: view abstract

Hamidou F, Halilou O & Vadez V (2013). Assessment of groundnut under combined heat and drought stress. Journal of Agronomy and Crop Science. Pubished online. (DOI:10.1111/j.1439-037X.2012.00518.x). Also printed in 2013.

In semi-arid regions, particularly in the Sahel, water and high-temperature stress are serious constraints for groundnut production. Understanding of combined effects of heat and drought on physiological traits, yield and its attributes is of special significance for improving groundnut productivity. Two hundred and sixty-eight groundnut genotypes were evaluated in four trials under both intermittent drought and fully irrigated conditions, two of the trial being exposed to moderate temperature, while the two other trials were exposed to high temperature. The objectives were to analyse the component of the genetic variance and their interactions with water treatment, year and environment (temperature) for agronomic characteristics, to select genotypes with high pod yield under hot- and moderate-temperature conditions, or both, and to identify traits conferring heat and/or drought tolerance.

Belko N, Zaman-Allah M, Cisse N, Diop NN, Zombre G, Ehlers JD and Vadez (2012). Lower soil moisture threshold for transpiration decline under water deficit correlates with lower canopy conductance and higher transpiration efficiency in drought-tolerant cowpea. Functional Plant Biology 39(4):306–322. (DOI: 10.1071/FP11282). (G4009.07.04). Not open access: view abstract

Zhang J, Sun M, Zhang D, Yan J, Shen S (2012). Primary identification and evaluation of wheat germplasm from Generation Challenge Programme. Journal of Shanxi Agricultural Sciences 40(5):429–432. (DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1002-2481.2012.05.01). (G7010.02.01). Article in Chinese with abstract in English. Not open access: view online

An identification and evaluation for 1 000 seed weight, grain number per ear, ear number per plant, plant height, plumpness of kernels and yield of 146 wheat germplasms from GCP projects were conducted. The results showed that: the tested varieties had a wealth of genetic diversity in yield, grain number per ears, ear number per plant and so on; there were different correlations in each trait; heading and maturity stages had effects to grain number per ear, yield and 1 000 seed weight. We had successfully selected 8 big ear fertility varieties, 8 big grain fertility varieties, 5 short stalk fertilities and 25 fine varieties of super traits and outstanding fertility.

Lei M, Li A, Chang X, Xu Z, Ma Y, Liu H, Jing R (2012). Functional marker mapping and association analysis of gene W16 in common wheat. Scientia Agricultura Sinica 45(9):1667–1675. (DOI: 10.3864/j.issn.0578-1752.2012.09.001). (G7010.02.01). Article in Chinese with abstract in English. Not open access: view abstract