Current trends and insights on EMS mutagenesis application to studies on plant abiotic stress tolerance and development

Abstract

Ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS)-induced mutagenesis is a powerful tool to generate genetic resource for identifying untapped genes and characterizing the function of genes to understand the molecular basis of important agronomic traits. This review focuses on application of contemporary EMS mutagenesis in the field of plant development and abiotic stress tolerance research, with particular focuses on reviewing the mutation types, mutagenesis site, mutagen concentration, mutagenesis duration, the identification and characterization of mutations responsible for altered stress tolerance responses. The application of EMS mutation breeding combined with genetic engineering in the future plant breeding and fundamental research was also discussed. The collective information in this review will provide good insight on how EMS mutagenesis is efficiently applied to improve abiotic stress tolerance of crops with the utilization of Next-generation sequencing (NGS) for mutation identification.

Molecular, morphological, and biomolecular characterization of ethyl methanesulfonate-induced mutations in Aerides odoratum, an orchid

“…Mutation by EMS is known to increase resistance to abiotic stress through the accumulation of osmolytes such as carbohydrates and amino acids. These compounds serve to maintain turgor pressure in the form of organic and inorganic compounds such as amino acids, sucrose, soluble sugars, reducing sugars, and various other solutes in the cytoplasm to increase the absorption of water from the soil [37,38].…”

Selection of M5 mutant lines of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) for agronomic traits and biomass allocation under drought stress and non-stressed conditions

“…Induced mutagenesis using various mutagenic agents (e.g., gamma radiation and chemical mutagens) is a rapid approach to achieve new genetic and phenotypic variation for crop improvement programs ( Pacher and Puchta, 2017 ). Ethyl methane sulfonate (EMS) is the most effective and widely used chemical mutagen due to its ability to induce high mutation frequencies for the selection of desirable traits, including grain yield and drought tolerance ( Rajdev et al., 2022 ; Chen et al., 2023 ). EMS mutagenesis aided the development of new wheat mutant lines, in India with improved drought tolerance and stay-green traits ( Singh and Vaishali, 2017 ).…”

Effect of chemical mutagen (Ethyl methane sulfonate) on Money plant (Epipremnum aureum)

“…Physical mutagens like X-rays, gamma rays, and neutrons and chemical mutagens like sodium azide and ethyl methane sulphonate have been used to increase the genetic resources of plants. Induced mutagenesis by EMS is a powerful tool to identify and characterizing the gene function (Chen et al, 2023). EMS is a typical alkylating chemical that has proven its effectiveness as a mutagen to cause genetic variation.…”