Plant breeding

Plant breeding is the production of plants by selective mating or hybridization. It is the traditional mechanism for producing new varieties of plants for horticulture and agriculture.

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    Mutations in two single genes (AtPS1 and AtJAS) in Arabidopsis thaliana are individually sufficient to restore haploid male fertility with no effect on haploid female fertility. Genes restoring haploid male fertility can bypass laborious and resource-intensive chemical methods, thereby markedly increasing the efficiency of doubled haploid (DH) technology to accelerate crop breeding.

    Nature Plants, 1-2

  • News & Views |

    The long and trailing vines of most cucurbits represent an undomesticated trait that hampers dense planting and yields, and also incurs a high labour cost. A targeted artificial evolution strategy was developed to suppress stem elongation of cucurbits in a dose-dependent manner, thereby enhancing yield and reducing labour costs.

    • Nai-Qian Dong
    •  & Hong-Xuan Lin
    Nature Plants 8, 1335-1336

  • News & Views |

    Appropriate root system architecture (RSA) is essential for efficient water and nutrient use, especially in high-density planting conditions in intensive maize cropping systems. Modern maize breeding has favoured steeper, narrower root systems. We identified two auxin-related genes, ZmRSA3.1 and ZmRSA3.2, which can potentially be used for future improvement of maize RSA.

    Nature Plants 8, 1337-1338

  • News & Views |

    The successful breeding and cultivation of perennial rice enables up to eight grain harvests from a single planting, with reduced labour input, improved soil health and potential to affect farming systems in frost-free environments between 40° N and 40° S. Perennial rice reconciles food production with environmental security in a changing climate.

    Nature Sustainability 6, 17-18
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