Utilization of Wild and Exotic Germplasm for Crop Improvement
A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 May 2019) | Viewed by 383
Special Issue Editor
Interests: genetic resource development; wide hybridization; molecular breeding; domestication genetics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Genetic variation is a fundamental resource in any crop improvement program. Intensive selection for only a small number of key traits including yield, plant architecture and quality traits during domestication has significantly narrowed the genetic base of crops, resulting in the vulnerability of present-day domesticates to emerging biotic and abiotic challenges. Wild and exotic germplasm constitutes a rich reservoir of useful alleles that has been left behind during domestication. Selective pressures that acted on these germplasm for several millennia have driven the evolution of unique forms of adaptive mechanisms that allowed these wild or exotic species to thrive in harsh environments even without human intervention. In the face of continuous agro-environmental decline brought about by climate change, the utilization of natural genetic variation present in these wild and exotic relatives will be instrumental to our collective efforts to develop crops with improved adaptation to extremes of temperature, drought, flooding and saline soils, as well as to new biotypes of pests and diseases.
This Special Issue on the “Utilization of wild and exotic germplasm for crop improvement” includes papers on both basic and applied research highlighting all aspects of the conservation, characterization and utilization of wild and exotic germplasm for the improvement of trait performance in crops.
Dr. Rosalyn B. Angeles-Shim
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- wild relatives
- genetic variation
- crop improvement
- climate change
- adaptation
- germplasm
- wide hybridization
- introgression lines
