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Agronomy
Special Issues
Germplasm Conservation and Genetic Improvement in Tropical and Subtropical Crops
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Germplasm Conservation and Genetic Improvement in Tropical and Subtropical Crops

A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Crop Breeding and Genetics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 1 March 2026 | Viewed by 2880

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Xing Huang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Environment and Plant Protection Institute, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Sanya 572024, China
Interests: plant development; plant biotechnology; plant; genetics
Dr. Qibin Wu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
National Key Laboratory for Tropical Crop Breeding, Institute of Tropical Bioscience and Biotechnology/Sanya Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Sanya 572024, China
Interests: sugarcane; sugarcane breeding; sugarcane smut

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Tropical and subtropical climates cover over half of the world and create diverse plant species. Many of these have been planted for food supply and industrial applications, including rice, maize, rapeseed, cassava, sugarcane, rubber tree, banana, mango, coffee, pineapple, sisal, etc. However, global climate change has brought severe challenges for the plantation and production of tropical and subtropical crops. It is of great importance to explore adaptive traits in germplasms, with the aim of breeding excellent varieties for extreme weather. During the past decade, the research progress of tropical and subtropical crops has significantly accelerated, due to the rapid development of advanced technologies, such as omics and gene editing.

This Special Issue will focus on “Germplasm Conservation and Genetic Improvement in Tropical and Subtropical Crops”. We welcome novel reviews, research, opinions, protocols, etc., covering all topics related to germplasm evaluation and conservation, including phenotyping, diversity, domestication, omics, in vitro propagation, and the physiological and biochemical characteristics of tropical and subtropical crops. In addition, the aim of this Special Issue is also to gather information concerning genetic improvement in relation to individual gene studies, cultivars exploited for commercial applications, breeding, and methods and applications of genetic transformation

Dr. Xing Huang
Dr. Qibin Wu
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

  • tropical and subtropical crops
  • germplasm
  • genetic improvement
  • biotechnology
  • omics technology
  • adaptive traits
  • climate change

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

31 pages, 6233 KB  
Article
Genome-Wide Identification of Flowering-Related Genes and Their Pleiotropic Roles in Regulating Flowering Time and Plant Height in Soybean
by Xiao Li, Hui Wang, Bei Liu, Yunhua Yang, Han Gou, Huan Du, Yuhao Chen, Huakun Yu, Mingqi Zhou, Jinming Zhao and Fengjie Yuan
Agronomy 2025, 15(9), 2204; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15092204 - 17 Sep 2025
Viewed by 509
Abstract
Soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) flowering time and plant height are critical agronomic traits that significantly influence yield and environmental adaptability. To clarify the regulatory mechanisms of flowering-related genes and their associations with plant height, a genome-wide identification of such genes in [...] Read more.
Soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) flowering time and plant height are critical agronomic traits that significantly influence yield and environmental adaptability. To clarify the regulatory mechanisms of flowering-related genes and their associations with plant height, a genome-wide identification of such genes in soybean were performed. This analysis used Arabidopsis thaliana flowering genes as references, employing BLASTP searches and pathway classification. All of the identified flowering-related genes were classified into eight regulatory pathways, with the photoperiod pathway (Ph) being the most prominent. Evolutionary and expression analyses revealed that core regulators (e.g., GmFTs, GmSOC1s) are conserved across pathways and are preferentially expressed in shoot apical meristems (SAMs). Additionally, both flowering-related genes and key hormones (e.g., IAA, GA, ABA) exhibited rhythmic responses to light signals. CRISPR-Cas9-mediated validation confirmed that genes GmSAUR46b regulates both flowering time and plant height, as mutants of this gene showed early flowering and reduced height. Notably, a large proportion of previously mapped flowering genes overlapped with our identified ones, while some remained undetected, likely due to whole-genome duplication and adaptive evolution, which generate new regulatory networks. Most of the identified flowering-related genes, however, have not been mapped, which highlights substantial uncharacterized potential in soybean flowering and plant height regulation. This provides a valuable molecular framework to guide soybean molecular breeding for enhanced yield and environmental adaptability. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Germplasm Conservation and Genetic Improvement in Tropical and Subtropical Crops)
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16 pages, 2206 KB  
Article
Identification and Characterization of SWEET Gene Family in Peanuts and the Role of AhSWEET50 in Sugar Accumulation
by Tiecheng Cai, Yijing Pan, Chong Zhang, Lang Chen, Biaojun Ji, Qiang Yang, Faqian Xiong and Weijian Zhuang
Agronomy 2025, 15(5), 1149; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15051149 - 8 May 2025
Viewed by 706
Abstract
The SWEET (sugars will eventually be exported transporter) gene family represents a novel class of sugar transporters capable of bidirectionally transporting sugars along the concentration gradient. In this study, we identified 50 SWEET genes from the peanut cultivar Shitouqi, which were phylogenetically classified [...] Read more.
The SWEET (sugars will eventually be exported transporter) gene family represents a novel class of sugar transporters capable of bidirectionally transporting sugars along the concentration gradient. In this study, we identified 50 SWEET genes from the peanut cultivar Shitouqi, which were phylogenetically classified into four clades. Promoter analysis revealed that the AhSWEET genes contain multiple cis-acting elements associated with stress responses, growth regulation, and hormone signaling, suggesting their potential roles in plant development and adaptation to environmental challenges. Transcriptome profiling highlighted AhSWEET50 as the most highly expressed member during early seed development stages in both low- and high-sucrose peanut cultivars and also highly expressed at the mature stage. Subcellular localization confirmed the presence of AhSWEET50 in both the plasma membrane and cytoplasm, with predominant expression observed in embryos. The heterologous overexpression of AhSWEET50 in Arabidopsis significantly increased soluble sugar accumulation when compared to wild-type plants. These results validate the functional role of AhSWEET50 in sugar transport and provide a foundation for understanding the mechanisms of sugar allocation in peanuts, which has implications for improving seed quality through metabolic engineering. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Germplasm Conservation and Genetic Improvement in Tropical and Subtropical Crops)
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11 pages, 3087 KB  
Article
Population Structure and Genetic Diversity of Agave Germplasms in China
by Xiaoli Hu, Yubo Li, Shibei Tan, Lisha Chen, Dietram Samson Mkapa, Chen Lin, Qingqing Liu, Gang Jin, Tao Chen, Xu Qin, Kexian Yi and Xing Huang
Agronomy 2025, 15(3), 722; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15030722 - 17 Mar 2025
Viewed by 983
Abstract
Agave hybrid cultivar 11,648 has been planted for sisal fiber production in China since the 1960s. However, little is known about the population structure and genetic diversity of agave germplasms in China. Therefore, we developed a group of core SNP markers to evaluate [...] Read more.
Agave hybrid cultivar 11,648 has been planted for sisal fiber production in China since the 1960s. However, little is known about the population structure and genetic diversity of agave germplasms in China. Therefore, we developed a group of core SNP markers to evaluate the population structure and genetic diversity of 125 agave germplasms in China, including 20 cultivars, 14 breeding lines, and 89 transplanted resources from different areas. Cost-effective amplicon sequencing technology was used to identify genetic variants. The results grouped most cultivars and breeding lines together, which indicated that local agave breeding programs aimed to improve fiber and disease-resistance traits. These breeding programs have reduced genetic diversity, even with the gene flows from other Agave species. The neighbor-joining phylogenetic tree revealed the relationships between A. H11648 and its parents. The phylogenetic relationship between A. sisalana and A. amanuensis is doubtful, even if they are considered heterotypic synonyms. The 11 agave germplasms introduced from Mexico suggest the abundant diversity of agave germplasms in Mexico, which is also the source of agave germplasms in China. This study provides a sketch map for agave germplasms in China, which will benefit future studies related to population genetics and breeding works of agave. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Germplasm Conservation and Genetic Improvement in Tropical and Subtropical Crops)
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