Breeding Forage and Bioenergy Grasses for Enhanced Productivity and Stress Resistance

A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Grassland and Pasture Science".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 May 2026 | Viewed by 1030

Special Issue Editor

Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
Interests: germplasm conservation; genetics and molecular biology; gene function; gene family; alfalfa; maize
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In the face of a growing global population and increasing demand for food, feed, and energy, the development of forage and bioenergy grasses with enhanced productivity and stress resistance has become a crucial task for agricultural scientists and breeders. These grasses play a vital role in sustainable agriculture, providing high-quality forage for livestock, as well as a renewable source of energy through biomass production. However, they can face various environmental stresses, such as drought, heat, salinity, and diseases, which can significantly reduce their productivity and quality. To address these challenges, breeding programs for improving the genetic potential of forage and bioenergy grasses are urgently needed. This Special Issue, titled “Breeding Forage and Bioenergy Grasses for Enhanced Productivity and Stress Resistance,” will bring together the latest research and advancements in this field, highlighting innovative breeding strategies, genetic and genomic tools, and field evaluation methods that contribute to the development of superior grass varieties. We invite researchers, breeders, and practitioners to submit original research articles, review papers, and short communications on the following topics:

  • Genetic and Genomic Resources: Exploring and utilizing genetic diversity in forage and bioenergy grasses, as well as identifying key genes and quantitative trait loci (QTLs) associated with productivity and stress resistance;
  • Breeding Strategies and Techniques: Conventional and modern breeding approaches, including hybridization, selection, marker-assisted breeding, and genome editing, as well as the development of breeding populations and germplasm with improved traits;
  • Phenotyping and Field Evaluation: High-throughput phenotyping platforms and methods for assessing productivity, biomass yield, forage quality, and stress tolerance in field conditions, as well as the establishment of field trials and experimental designs;
  • Stress Physiology and Adaptation Mechanisms: Understanding the physiological and molecular mechanisms underlying stress resistance in forage and bioenergy grasses, as well as elucidating plant responses to abiotic and biotic stresses.

Dr. Chen Lin
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • forage grasses
  • bioenergy grasses
  • breeding productivity
  • stress resistance
  • genetics
  • genomics
  • phenotyping

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 3568 KB  
Article
Transcriptome-Based Development of EST-SSR Molecular Markers and Fingerprint Construction of Trifolium Species
by Jie He, Lijun Yan, Ruchang Hu, Jieyu Ma, Xinquan Zhang and Gang Nie
Agronomy 2025, 15(12), 2764; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15122764 - 29 Nov 2025
Viewed by 220
Abstract
The genus Trifolium comprises numerous species that serve as globally important forage and ornamental crops. However, phenotypic difference between species were difficult to define in many cases because of the wide range of diversity caused by primary polymorphism. To effectively identify and differentiate [...] Read more.
The genus Trifolium comprises numerous species that serve as globally important forage and ornamental crops. However, phenotypic difference between species were difficult to define in many cases because of the wide range of diversity caused by primary polymorphism. To effectively identify and differentiate Trifolium species, a total of 5288 candidate EST-SSR molecular markers were developed based on Trifolium repens transcriptome sequencing results, and 132 EST-SSRs that produced clear, reproducible, and highly polymorphic bands were verified after random selection and initial screening. Finally, 202 different bands were amplified by the 28 pairs of SSR primers, and variety identification and DNA fingerprinting were constructed for 16 Trifolium varieties mainly cultivated in China. The polymorphism information index (PIC) ranged from 0.117 to 0.432, with an average of 0.311. Cluster analysis and principal component analysis demonstrated that white clover clustered into a separate group, suggesting a relatively distant genetic relationship with the other 12 Trifolium materials. The DNA fingerprint map of Trifolium species constructed using highly polymorphic markers can effectively distinguish 16 different Trifolium materials. Notably, these markers developed from T. repens show high interspecific transferability, providing a powerful tool for further dissecting genetic diversity within the Trifolium genus, accelerating marker-assisted breeding programs, and reconstructing species domestication trajectories. Full article
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19 pages, 2639 KB  
Article
Determining the Genetic Architecture and Breeding Potential of Quality Traits in Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) Through Genome-Wide Association Study and Genomic Prediction
by Ming Xu, Kai Zhu, Xueqian Jiang, Fan Zhang, Bilig Sod, Huajuan Leng, Tian Zhang, Yanchao Xu, Tianhui Yang, Mingna Li, Xue Wang, Qingchuan Yang, Junmei Kang, Tiejun Zhang, Lin Chen, Ruicai Long and Fei He
Agronomy 2025, 15(12), 2679; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15122679 - 21 Nov 2025
Viewed by 342
Abstract
Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is a high-nutritive-value forage crop that provides livestock with abundant protein and essential nutrients. Breeding elite cultivars with superior quality has become a major goal in modern alfalfa improvement. This study systematically evaluated 12 quality-related traits under field [...] Read more.
Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is a high-nutritive-value forage crop that provides livestock with abundant protein and essential nutrients. Breeding elite cultivars with superior quality has become a major goal in modern alfalfa improvement. This study systematically evaluated 12 quality-related traits under field conditions using a diverse panel of 176 alfalfa accessions and investigated the genetic basis underlying these traits. Phenotypic analysis revealed variability across all traits, with coefficients of variation ranging from 2.56% to 15.72%. Based on multi-trait clustering analysis, 16 accessions with overall superior quality were identified. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) detected 45 significant single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and 12 structural variants (SVs). Within the associated genomic regions, eight candidate genes were prioritized. RT-qPCR validation indicated that three of these genes (Msa.H.0301430, Msa.H.0290550, and Msa.H.0313490) negatively regulate quality traits, while one gene (Msa.H.0479570) acts as a positive regulator. Haplotype analysis further revealed a positive correlation between the number of favorable haplotypes and phenotypic performance. Genomic prediction (GP) achieved accuracies ranging from 0.71 to 0.86 for the traits when incorporating the top 5000 SNPs identified from GWAS. This study provides valuable insights into the genetic architecture of quality-related traits in alfalfa and lays a solid foundation for future molecular design breeding. Full article
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