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Advances in Genetics, Breeding, and Quality Traits in Forage and...
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Advances in Genetics, Breeding, and Quality Traits in Forage and Turf Grass—2nd Edition

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2024) | Viewed by 5557

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Wanjun Zhang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Grassland Science and technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
Interests: genetic improvement of forage and turf stress resistance; biomass yield and forage quality; legume–rhizobium interaction
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Jingjin Yu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Agro-Grassland Science, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
Interests: turfgrass physiology; climate change; abiotic stress resistance; turf grass breeding
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, much progress has been achieved in the areas of forage and turf grass genetics, functional gene identification, and the modification of important quality traits via direct genetic transformation. Recently, the genome sequencing of several important forage and turf grasses has been completed. With the techniques of transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics, many potentially important genes and metabolic regulatory pathways have been suggested or illustrated. To summarize the latest research findings, this Special Issue will encompass the following topics:

  1. Development of key molecular markers of important quality traits for marker-assisted breeding;
  2. Gene functional identification of important quality traits, such as stress resistance, biomass yield, forage quality, etc.;
  3. Development of fast breeding techniques, such as CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing technology;
  4. The molecular mechanisms of important trait formation in grass.

Authors are invited to submit original research articles and review articles.

Dr. Wanjun Zhang
Prof. Dr. Jingjin Yu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agronomy is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • turf grass
  • forage grass
  • functional gene
  • stress resistance
  • quality trait

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 2098 KiB  
Article
The Half-Heading Stage May Represent the Optimal Harvest Time for the First Cut of Tall Wheatgrass
by Wei Li, Qiang Xiao, Zhengwu Fang, Qi Zheng, Hongwei Li and Zhensheng Li
Agronomy 2025, 15(4), 763; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15040763 - 21 Mar 2025
Viewed by 207
Abstract
Timely harvest is pivotal for the pasture management of tall wheatgrass, which has recently been suggested for coastal saline and alkaline soils. In this work, different culm parts in the top three internodes of tall wheatgrass during various heading stages were investigated to [...] Read more.
Timely harvest is pivotal for the pasture management of tall wheatgrass, which has recently been suggested for coastal saline and alkaline soils. In this work, different culm parts in the top three internodes of tall wheatgrass during various heading stages were investigated to explore the precise harvesting time for the first cut, factors influencing forage quality, and correlations between the expression levels of genes involved in cellulose and lignin biosynthesis and forage nutritive value. The results show that the culms clipped at the half heading stage produced the highest crude protein (CP) yield. The top three leaves contributed the greatest proportion of total culm CP yield, accounting for 49%, 40%, and 30% of total culm CP yield at the just, half, and full heading stages, respectively. By contrast, the leaves and spikes produced lower yields of neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), acid detergent lignin (ADL), crude cellulose (CC), and hemicellulose (HC) than leaf sheaths and stems, indicating that the leaf/stem ratio can be used as an index for the cultivation and genetic improvement of tall wheatgrass. The lignin and cellulose biosynthesis genes expressed differentially in different culm parts of tall wheatgrass in response to the heading stage. The expression levels of HCT, encoding a hydroxycinnamoyl CoA:shikimate hydroxycinnamoyl transferase, were negatively correlated with the CP content and relative feed value, but positively correlated with the yields of dry matter, NDF, ADF, CC, and HC, suggesting that it may be used as a marker gene linked to the forage quality of tall wheatgrass. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Genetics, Breeding, and Quality Traits in Forage and Turf Grass—2nd Edition)
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13 pages, 7720 KiB  
Article
The Effects of Different Grazing Periods on the Functional Traits of Leymus chinensis (Trin.) Tzvelev in a Typical Inner Mongolia Steppe
by Hongbin Xu, Jiatao Zhang, Taogetao Baoyin, Lei Zhang and Ting Yuan
Agronomy 2024, 14(10), 2370; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14102370 - 14 Oct 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1121
Abstract
Plant functional traits are effective indicators and predictors of environmental change, revealing plants’ ecological countermeasures and adaptability through phenotypic plasticity. We conducted a 6-year grazing experiment on typical temperate grassland to assess the impact of different grazing periods on the plasticity and variability [...] Read more.
Plant functional traits are effective indicators and predictors of environmental change, revealing plants’ ecological countermeasures and adaptability through phenotypic plasticity. We conducted a 6-year grazing experiment on typical temperate grassland to assess the impact of different grazing periods on the plasticity and variability of the functional traits of Leymus chinensis and the relationship between traits and individual plant biomass. Our study included four treatments: CK (enclosure), T1 (grazing in May and July), T2 (grazing in June and August), and T3 (grazing in July and September). The results for 13 functional traits indicated that the T3 treatment showed the smallest reduction in individual plant biomass, plant height, leaf area, stem length, and leaf length, making it the most effective type of grassland management and optimal for the maintenance and restoration of L. chinensis traits. Under T1, T2, and T3, the plasticity of stem weight, total leaf weight, total leaf area, and stem length was higher and crucial for regulating individual plant biomass. The results underscore that the changes and plasticity of dominant species under grazing treatments are key to understanding the relationship between ecosystem function and grassland management. This study provides a theoretical basis and data support for the adaptive utilization and restoration management of typical grassland resources. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Genetics, Breeding, and Quality Traits in Forage and Turf Grass—2nd Edition)
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14 pages, 4044 KiB  
Article
Transcriptome Analysis Reveals the Vital Role of ABA Plays in Drought Tolerance of the ABA-Insensitive Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.)
by Mingzhi Xu, Zhenpeng Xu, Yanrong Liu, Yaling Liu, Jinghui Liu and Wanjun Zhang
Agronomy 2024, 14(3), 406; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14030406 - 20 Feb 2024
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2261
Abstract
Drought stress severely affects alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) growth and production. It is particularly important to analyze the key networks of drought in alfalfa through physiological and molecular levels. However, how to quickly screen drought-tolerant alfalfa germplasm and how to elucidate the [...] Read more.
Drought stress severely affects alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) growth and production. It is particularly important to analyze the key networks of drought in alfalfa through physiological and molecular levels. However, how to quickly screen drought-tolerant alfalfa germplasm and how to elucidate the molecular pathways of alfalfa responding to drought are less studied. In this study, based on our previous research, we further verified the association between the heritability of ABA sensitivity during seed germination and drought tolerance of plants and identified the key pathways of drought tolerance differences between ABA-sensitivity (S1-0) and -insensitivity (S1-50) plants via RNA-seq and analysis. The results showed that the sensitivity to ABA in alfalfa seeds can be inherited and that plants that are insensitive to ABA during germination show stronger drought tolerance. An analysis of the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) revealed that ABA biosynthesis and signaling, amino acid metabolism, LEA, and wax synthesis-related pathways may be the key pathways that can be used for drought tolerance improvement in alfalfa. DEGs such as NCED, PYR/PYL, and PP2C may contribute to drought tolerance in the S1-50 plant. The study further confirms that screening with ABA at the seed germination stage can select alfalfa lines with good drought tolerance, which provides a new theoretical basis for alfalfa drought tolerance breeding. The expression of the key genes of alfalfa in response to drought stress was also tested. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Genetics, Breeding, and Quality Traits in Forage and Turf Grass—2nd Edition)
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17 pages, 2943 KiB  
Article
The Relationship between Endogenous Hormone Content and Related Gene Expression and Tillering in Wild Kentucky Bluegrass
by Xue Ha, Jinqing Zhang, Fenqi Chen, Yajun Li and Huiling Ma
Agronomy 2023, 13(12), 2899; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13122899 - 25 Nov 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1338
Abstract
Poa pratensis is widely distributed in cold temperate regions and can be used as a species for stress restoration and as a forage for livestock. Studying the genetic characteristics of tillering occurrence in bluegrass provides a theoretical basis for studying plant yield formation, [...] Read more.
Poa pratensis is widely distributed in cold temperate regions and can be used as a species for stress restoration and as a forage for livestock. Studying the genetic characteristics of tillering occurrence in bluegrass provides a theoretical basis for studying plant yield formation, environmental adaptation, and improving survival competitiveness. The regulating effects of endogenous hormone IAA content and the expression of related genes ARF1, ARF12, ARF14, ZT content and the expression of related genes CKX2, CKX3, CKX4, SL content and the expression of related genes D14-like, D14.1-like and D14 in wild Kentucky bluegrass were investigated. Kentucky bluegrass from Sunan and Qingshui was used to evaluate the influence of hormone and gene expression on tillering behavior. Endogenous hormone contents and expression levels of related genes in stems and roots of both materials were measured at prophase, peak, and anaphase of tillering. The results showed that among the three materials, the Sunan material had a better tillering ability for Poa pratensis, while the Qingshui material had poorer tillering ability. The downregulation of CKX2, CKX3, and CKX4 gene expression levels promotes the synthesis of ZT, thereby improving the tillering ability of the germplasm. Upregulation of ARF14, D14, and D14.1-like gene expression levels enhances the synthesis of IAA and SL, thereby inhibiting tillering. More importantly, the interaction between hormones affects the tillering ability of bluegrass, and high levels of ZT/IAA, ZT/SL, and ZT/(IAA+SL) values promote tillering. In summary, this study reveals the mechanism by which hormones regulate the occurrence of tillering in Kentucky bluegrass, providing a theoretical basis for understanding the genetic characteristics of plant type, effectively regulating tillering, studying yield development, environmental adaptation, and improving survival rate. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Genetics, Breeding, and Quality Traits in Forage and Turf Grass—2nd Edition)
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