Agro-Morphological Characterization of Lentil Germplasm of Indian National Genebank and Development of a Core Set for Efficient Utilization in Lentil Improvement Programs

Abstract

Lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) is one of the major cool-season pulse crops worldwide. Its increasing demand as a staple pulse has led to the unlocking of diverse germplasm collections conserved in the genebanks to develop its superior varieties. The Indian National Genebank, housed at the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)-National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources, New Delhi, India, currently has 2,324 accessions comprising 1,796 indigenous and 528 exotic collections. This study was conducted to unveil the potential of lentil germplasm by assessing its agro-morphological characteristics and diversity, identifying trait-specific germplasm, and developing a core set. The complete germplasm set was characterized for two years, i.e., 2017–2018 and 2018–2019, and data were recorded on 26 agro-morphological traits. High phenotypic variability was observed for nine quantitative and 17 qualitative traits. A core set comprising 170 accessions (137 Indian and 33 exotic) was derived based on the characterization data as well as geographical origin using a heuristic method and PowerCore software. This core set was found to be sufficiently diverse and representative of the entire collection based on the comparison made using Shannon–Weaver diversity indices and χ2 test. These results were further validated by summary statistics. The core set displayed high genetic diversity as evident from a higher coefficient of variance in comparison to the entire set for individual traits and overall Shannon–Weaver diversity indices (entire: 1.054; core: 1.361). In addition, the total variation explained by the first three principal components was higher in the core set (70.69%) than in the entire collection (68.03%). Further, the conservation of pairwise correlation values among descriptors in the entire and core set reflected the maintenance of the structure of the whole set. Based on the results, this core set is believed to represent the entire collection, completely. Therefore, it constitutes a potential set of germplasm that can be used in the genetic enhancement of lentils.

Comparative transcriptome analysis, unfolding the pathways regulating the seed-size trait in cultivated lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.)

“…Thus, to study various other seed parameters like area, length, width, compactness, volume, and perimeter, this study for the first time used the state-of-the-art VideometerLab instrument and very precise data were generated using 20 replicates. As recorded for this study, previous studies also revealed large variations in seed weight and diameters in lentils ( Tullu et al, 2001 ; Tripathi et al, 2022 ).…”

Mining legume germplasm for genetic gains: An Indian perspective

“…Promising germplasm lines have been identified for various agronomic traits, such as seedling vigor, earliness, number of pods/peduncle, number of pods/plant, and seed weight ( Singh., 1995 ). In another large-scale characterization conducted at the ICAR–NBPGR, accessions were characterized on 26 agro-morphological traits, and a core set of 170 accessions was developed ( Tripathi et al, 2021a ). Kumar et al (2013) have also highlighted important lines for traits such as winter hardiness, short duration type, mechanical harvesting, and higher seed weight.…”

Morpho-biochemical characterization of a RIL population for seed parameters and identification of candidate genes regulating seed size trait in lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.)

“…Generally, microsperma types are more common in southeast Asia, while macrosperma types in western Asia and Europe ( Barulina, 1930 ). Previous genetic studies revealed large variations for seed weight and seed diameter in lentils ( Tullu et al., 2001 ; Dutta et al., 2022 ; Tripathi et al., 2022 ).…”

“…Seed weight is known to be governed by several genes and thus identification of linked markers with the seed weight QTLs will help in the better selection for this trait. This will also help in speeding up of new variety development having desired seed parameters ( Tripathi et al., 2022 ). Also, for the implementation of molecular breeding approach for seed size trait, there is a need for the development of an experimental population involving contrasting parents, so that the linkage can be established between marker and the trait.…”