Biotechnological interventions in sea buckthorn (Hippophae L.): current status and future prospects

Abstract

Sea buckthorn (Hippophae L., Elaeagnaceae) is an economically and ecologically important medicinal plant comprising of species which are winter hardy, dioecious, wind-pollinated multipurpose shrubs bearing yellow or orange berries with nitrogen-fixing ability. It grows widely in cold regions of Indian Himalayas, China, Russia, Europe and many other countries. It is commonly known as 'cold desert gold' due to its high potential as a bio-resource for land reclamation, reducing soil erosion and its multifarious uses. The wild populations are being used for harvesting economic benefits with negligible plantation efforts. Although this plant has many excellent traits, it is still in an early phase of domestication. This woody plant is prone to many pests and diseases which destroy the plants and halt its commercial production. Limited progress has been made for improvement of sea buckthorn through breeding programs due to long juvenile period and lack of QTL linkage map, which makes screening of mapping populations a time-consuming and labor-intensive task. Conventional propagation methods, i.e. seeds, softwood and hardwood cuttings, and suckers are in place but are cumbersome and season dependent. Therefore, application of modern tools of biotechnology needs to be standardized for harnessing maximum benefits from this nutraceutical plant. Improvement of this genus through genetic transformation requires an efficient regeneration system, which is yet to be standardized. Taxonomic status of the genus is controversial and requires more inputs. Taxonomic delineation of species and subspecies and also the breeding programs can be more robustly addressed using molecular markers. This review summarizes the progress made and suggests some future directions of research for this important fruit species.

Mining of microsatellites using next generation sequencing of seabuckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.) transcriptome

“…Attempts have been made to review different marker systems used to access phylogenetic relationship and genetic diversity in seabuckthorn (Ghangal et al 2008;Kalia et al 2011;Ruan et al 2013). Till date, very limited information is available on microsatellite markers in seabuckthorn (Wang et al 2008;Jain et al 2010).…”

Development of a Genetic Transformation Method for Seabuckthorn (<i>Hippophae rhamnoides</i> L.)

“…Seabuckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.) and its relatives in the family Eleaegnaceae are shrubs and small trees having berries containing compounds with high nutritional and medicinal value [1] [2]. These plants are also able to form symbiotic N 2 -fixing root nodules and explore infertile soils.…”

“…Expected increased cultivation of seabuckthorn is enhancing demands for genetic improvement [2]. Breeding goals will be those requested by growers, breeders and consumers to meet problems with pathogens, quality, yield and cultivation.…”

Sea-buckthorn: a species with a variety of uses, especially in land reclamation

“…Genus Hippophaë L. (2n=24) belongs to the family Elaeagnaceae (Kalia et al 2011). The taxonomy of this genus has been a subject of debate among specialists regarding the exact number of species, in spite of many molecular, taxonomic and phylogenetic studies done (Aras et al 2007).…”