Characterization of tomato germplasm accessions for breeding research

Phenotypic and Molecular Screening of Tomato Germplasm for Resistance to Tomato Yellow Leaf Curl Virus

Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) is a major tomato virus in tropical and subtropical regions. In this study, 134 accessions of Solanum lycopersicum and six accessions of Solanum peruvianum were assessed for resistance to an Iranian isolate of TYLCV. Plants were inoculated using whiteflies (Bemisia tabaci) and the reaction of plants was evaluated based on either disease symptoms or viral DN...

Breeding: Incorporation of Exotic Germplasm

Exotic germplasm refers to crop varieties unadapted to a breeder’s target environment, and is an important resource for crop improvement. Because genetic diversity within elite cultivars of a crop is limited compared to the variability within the species and its relatives worldwide, genes from exotic germplasm can protect the crop against new biotic and abiotic stresses, and may represent uniqu...

Phenotypic Characterization and Simple Sequence Repeat Identification of Red-fleshed Kiwifruit Germplasm Accessions

Big fruit size and nice red pigmentation combined with good flavor should be the major target for red-fleshed kiwifruit (Actinidia spp.) breeding programs. Genetic diversity and plant characteristics were evaluated on a set of kiwifruit accessions with predominantly red flesh to identify the superior individuals for further breeding or study of commercial application. The leading phenotypic cha...

Combining maize base germplasm for cold tolerance breeding

Genome projects and gene pools: new germplasm for plant breeding?

Crop gene pools have adapted to and sustained the demands of agricultural systems for thousands of years. Yet, very little is known about their content, distribution, architecture, or circuitry. The presumably shallow elite gene pools often continue to yield genetic gains while the exotic pools remain mostly untapped, uncharacterized, and underutilized. The concept and content of a crop's gene ...