Robotized indoor phenotyping allows genomic prediction of adaptive traits in the field.

Breeding for resilience to climate change requires considering adaptive traits such as plant architecture, stomatal conductance and growth, beyond the current selection for yield. Robotized indoor phenotyping allows measuring such traits at high throughput for speed breeding, but is often considered as non-relevant for field conditions. Here, we show that maize adaptive traits can be inferred in different fields, based on genotypic values obtained indoor and on environmental conditions in each considered field.

Precise control of water stress in the field reveals different response thresholds for forage yield and digestibility of maize hybrids.

Introduction: With dwindling global freshwater supplies and increasing water stress, agriculture is coming under increasing pressure to reduce water use. Plant breeding requires high analytical capabilities. For this reason, near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) has been used to develop prediction equations for whole-plant samples, particularly for predicting dry matter digestibility, which has a major impact on the energy value of forage maize hybrids and is required for inclusion in the official French catalogue.

Natural Variation in Vitamin B and Vitamin B Contents in Rice Germplasm.

Insufficient dietary intake of micronutrients contributes to the onset of deficiencies termed hidden hunger-a global health problem affecting approximately 2 billion people. Vitamin B (thiamine) and vitamin B (pyridoxine) are essential micronutrients because of their roles as enzymatic cofactors in all organisms. Metabolic engineering attempts to biofortify rice endosperm-a poor source of several micronutrients leading to deficiencies when consumed monotonously-have led to only minimal improvements in vitamin B and B contents.

Enhancement of vitamin B levels in rice expressing Arabidopsis vitamin B biosynthesis de novo genes.

Vitamin B (pyridoxine) is vital for key metabolic reactions and reported to have antioxidant properties in planta. Therefore, enhancement of vitamin B content has been hypothesized to be a route to improve resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. Most of the current studies on vitamin B in plants are on eudicot species, with monocots remaining largely unexplored.

Cassava geminivirus agroclones for virus-induced gene silencing in cassava leaves and roots.

Aim: We report the construction of a Virus-Induced Gene Silencing (VIGS) vector and an agroinoculation protocol for gene silencing in cassava ( Crantz) leaves and roots. The African cassava mosaic virus isolate from Nigeria (ACMV-[NOg]), which was initially cloned in a binary vector for agroinoculation assays, was modified for application as VIGS vector. The functionality of the VIGS vector was validated in and subsequently applied in wild-type and transgenic cassava plants expressing the gene under the control of the CaMV 35S promoter in order to facilitate the visualization of gene silencing in root tissues.

Vitamin B1 diversity and characterization of biosynthesis genes in cassava.

Vitamin B1, which consists of the vitamers thiamin and its phosphorylated derivatives, is an essential micronutrient for all living organisms because it is required as a metabolic cofactor in several enzymatic reactions. Genetic diversity of vitamin B1 biosynthesis and accumulation has not been investigated in major crop species other than rice and potato. We analyzed cassava germplasm for accumulation of B1 vitamers.

Rationalising vitamin B biofortification in crop plants.

Vitamin B encompasses a group of related compounds (vitamers) that can only be biosynthesised de novo by plants and microorganisms. Enzymatic cofactor and antioxidant functions for vitamin B are established in all kingdoms. Human vitamin B dietary insufficiency or genetic defects in B vitamer interconversion result in various neurological and inflammatory pathologies with several populations at-risk or marginal for vitamin B status.