Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Opinion
  • Published:

Improving plant breeding with exotic genetic libraries

Nature Reviews Genetics volume 2, pages 983–989 (2001)Cite this article

Abstract

Naturally occurring variation among wild relatives of cultivated crops is an under-exploited resource in plant breeding. Here, I argue that exotic libraries, which consist of marker-defined genomic regions taken from wild species and introgressed onto the background of elite crop lines, provide plant breeders with an important opportunity to improve the agricultural performance of modern crop varieties. These libraries can also act as reagents for the discovery and characterization of genes that underlie traits of agricultural value.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: The central dogma of plant breeding.
Figure 2: Wild, hybrid and cultivated watermelons.
Figure 3: The Lycopersicon pennellii library.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Khush, G. S. Green Revolution: the way forward. Nature Rev. Genet. 2, 815–822 (2001).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Peng, J. et al. 'Green Revolution' genes encode mutant gibberellin response modulators. Nature 400, 256–261 (1999).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Lev-Yadun, S., Gopher, A. & Abbo, S. Archaeology. The cradle of agriculture. Science 288, 1602–1603 (2000).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Ladizinsky, G. Plant Evolution under Domestication (Kluwer Academic, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, 1998).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  5. Jarret, R. L. & Newman, M. Phylogenetic relationships among species of Citrullus and the placement of C. rehmii De Winter as determined by internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequence heterogeneity. Genet. Res. Crop Evol. 47, 215–222 (2000).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Koornneef, M. & Stam, P. Changing paradigms in plant breeding. Plant Physiol. 125, 156–159 (2001).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  7. Bessey, C. E. Crop improvement by utilizing wild species. Am. Breed. Assoc. II, 112–118 (1906).

    Google Scholar 

  8. Fedak, G. Molecular aids for integration of alien chromatin through wide crosses. Genome 42, 584–591 (1999).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Villareal, R. L., Del Toro, E., Mujeeb-Kazi, A. & Rajaram, S. The 1BL/1RS chromosome translocation effect on yield characteristics in a Triticum aestivum L. cross. Plant Breed. 114, 497–500 (1995).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Hoisington, D. et al. Plant genetic resources: what can they contribute toward increased crop productivity? Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 96, 5937–5943 (1999).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  11. Kovacs, M. I. P., Howes, N. K., Clarke, J. M. & Leisle, D. Quality characteristics of durum wheat lines deriving high protein from Triticum dicoccoides (6b) substitution. J. Cereal Sci. 27, 47–51 (1998).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Pan, Q. et al. Comparative genetics of nucleotide binding site-leucine rich repeat resistance gene homologues in the genomes of two dicotyledons: tomato and Arabidopsis. Genetics 155, 309–322 (2000).

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  13. Rick, C. M. High soluble-solids content in large-fruited tomato lines derived from a wild green-fruited species. Hilgardia 42, 493–510 (1974).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Ronen, G., Carmel-Goren, L., Zamir, D. & Hirschberg, J. An alternative pathway to β-carotene formation in plant chromoplasts discovered by map-based cloning of β- and old-gold color mutations in tomato. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 97, 11102–11107 (2000).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  15. Plunknett, D. L., Smith, N. J. H., Williams, J. T. & Murthi-Anishetty, N. Gene Banks and the World's Food (Princeton Univ. Press, Princeton, New Jersey, 1987).

    Google Scholar 

  16. Brar, D. S. & Khush, G. S. Alien introgression in rice. Plant Mol. Biol. 35, 35–47 (1997).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Moncada, P. et al. Quantitative trait loci for yield and yield components in an Oryza sativa x O. rufipogon BC2F2 population evaluated in an upland environment. Theor. Appl. Genet. 102, 41–52 (2001).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Yano, M. Genetic and molecular dissection of naturally occurring variation. Curr. Opin. Plant Biol. 4, 130–135 (2001).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Singh, R. J. & Hymowitz, T. Soybean genetic resources and crop improvement. Genome 42, 605–616 (1999).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Sebolt, A. M., Shoemaker, R. C. & Diers, B. W. Analysis of a quantitative trait locus allele from wild soybean that increases seed protein concentration in soybean. Crop Sci. 40, 1438–1444 (2000).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Small, R. L., Ryburn, J. A. & Wendel, J. F. Low levels of nucleotide diversity at homoeologous Adh loci in allotetraploid cotton (Gossypium L.). Mol. Biol. Evol. 16, 491–501 (1999).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Iqbal, M. J., Reddy, O. U. K., El-Zik, K. M. & Pepper, A. E. A genetic bottleneck in the 'evolution under domestication' of upland cotton Gossypium hirsutum L. examined using DNA fingerprinting. Theor. Appl. Genet. 103, 547–554 (2001).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. McCarty, J. C. & Percy, R. G. in Genetic Improvement of Cotton: Emerging Technologies (eds Jenkins, J. N. & Saha, S.) 65–79 (USDA — Agricultural Research Service: Science, Enfield, New Hampshire, 2001).

    Google Scholar 

  24. Doebley, J. & Stec, A. Inheritance of the morphological differences between maize and teosinte: comparison of results for two F2 populations. Genetics 134, 559–570 (1993).

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  25. Wang, R. L., Stec, A., Hey, J., Lukens, L. & Doebley, J. The limits of selection during maize domestication. Nature 398, 236–239 (1999).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Mauricio, R. Mapping quantitative trait loci in plants: uses and caveats for evolutionary biology. Nature Rev. Genet. 2, 370–381 (2001).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Ray, J. D., Kindiger, B. & Sinclair, T. R. Introgressing root aerenchyma into maize. Maydica 44, 113–117 (1999).

    Google Scholar 

  28. Tanksley, S. D. & McCouch, S. R. Seed banks and molecular maps: unlocking genetic potential from the wild. Science 277, 1063–1066 (1997).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Lee, M. Genome projects and gene pools: new germplasm for plant breeding? Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 95, 2001–2004 (1998).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  30. Fulton, T. M. et al. Advanced backcross QTL analysis of a Lycopersicon esculentum x L. parviflorum cross. Theor. Appl. Genet. 100, 1025–1042 (2000).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. Eshed, Y. & Zamir, D. Less than additive epistatic interactions of QTL in tomato. Genetics 143, 1807–1817 (1996).

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  32. Kuspira, J. & Unrau, J. Genetic analysis of certain characters in common wheat using all chromosome substitution lines. Can. J. Plant Sci. 37, 300–326 (1957).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Eshed, Y. & Zamir, D. An introgression line population of Lycopersicon pennellii in the cultivated tomato enables the identification and fine mapping of yield-associated QTL. Genetics 141, 1147–1162 (1995).

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  34. Fridman, E., Pleban, T. & Zamir, D. A recombination hotspot delimits a wild-species quantitative trait locus for tomato sugar content to 484 bp within an invertase gene. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 97, 4718–4723 (2000).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  35. Ramsay, L. D. et al. The construction of a substitution library of recombinant backcross lines in Brassica oleracea for the precision mapping of quantitative trait loci. Genome 39, 558–567 (1996).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  36. Young, N. D. A cautiously optimistic vision for marker-assisted breeding. Mol. Breed. 5, 505–510 (1999).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. Roessner, U. et al. Metabolic profiling allows comprehensive phenotyping of genetically or environmentally modified plant systems. Plant Cell 13, 11–29 (2001).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  38. Gale, M. D. & Devos, K. M. Plant comparative genetics after 10 years. Science 282, 656–659 (1998).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  39. Patterson, A. H. et al. Convergent domestication of cereal crops by independent mutations at corresponding genetic loci. Science 269, 1714–1717 (1995).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  40. Zhong, G. Y. Genetic issues and pitfalls in transgenic plant breeding. Euphytica 118, 137–144 (2001).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  41. Uzogara, S. G. The impact of genetic modification of human foods in the 21st century: a review. Biotechnol. Adv. 18, 179–206 (2000).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  42. Mann, C. C. Crop scientists seek a new revolution. Science 283, 310–314 (1999).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  43. Acdemy, N. Transgenic Plants and World Agriculture (National Academy Press, Washington DC, 2000).

    Google Scholar 

  44. Mitten, D. H., MacDonald, R. & Klonus, D. Regulation of foods derived from genetically engineered crops. Curr. Opin. Biotechnol. 10, 298–302 (1999).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  45. Kuiper, H. A., Kleter, G. A., Noteborn, H. P. J. M. & Kok, E. J. Assessment of food safety issues related to genetically modified foods. Plant J. 27, 503–528 (2001).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

I thank E. Fridman, Y. Eshed and S. Abbo for helpful discussions. This work was supported by the United States–Israel Binational Research and Development Fund (BARD).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Otto Warburg Center for Agricultural Biotechnology, Faculty of Agriculture, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, PO Box 12, Rehovot, 76100, Israel

    Dani Zamir

Authors
  1. Dani Zamir
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Related links

Related links

DATABASES

Maize Database 

tb1

FURTHER INFORMATION

C. M. Rick Tomato Genetics Resource Center (TGRC)

Consultative group on international agricultural research

Encyclopedia of Life Sciences: Plant breeding and crop improvement

L. pennellii tomato introgression lines

Maize genome database

Map of L. pennellii introgression lines

Rice genome research program

The Solanaceae Genome Network

Glossary

ACCESSION

A sample of plant material that is collected at a specific location and maintained in a seed bank.

ELITE VARIETY

A variety that excels under conditions of modern intensive agriculture.

EPISTASIS

An interaction between non-allelic genes, such that one gene masks, interferes with or enhances the expression of the other gene.

HETEROSIS

Hybrid vigour that leads to superior crop varieties.

INTROGRESSION BREEDING

The incorporation of selected traits from an unadapted exotic resource through a succession of crosses (backcrosses) to a commercially elite variety.

LANDRACE

A locally adapted, cultivated variety that is selected by farmers.

LODGING

The collapse of top-heavy plants, particularly grain crops.

PYRAMIDING

The accumulation of several independent traits in the same genotype through introgression breeding.

QUANTITATIVE TRAIT LOCI

(QTL). Genetic loci that are identified through the statistical analysis of complex traits (such as plant height or body weight). Quantitative traits are typically affected by more than one gene and by the environment.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Zamir, D. Improving plant breeding with exotic genetic libraries. Nat Rev Genet 2, 983–989 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/35103590

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/35103590

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing