Genomics Enabled Breeding Strategies for Major Biotic Stresses in Pea (Pisum sativum L.)

Abstract

Pea (Pisum sativum L.) is one of the most important and productive cool season pulse crops grown throughout the world. Biotic stresses are the crucial constraints in harnessing the potential productivity of pea and warrant dedicated research and developmental efforts to utilize omics resources and advanced breeding techniques to assist rapid and timely development of high-yielding multiple stress-tolerant–resistant varieties. Recently, the pea researcher’s community has made notable achievements in conventional and molecular breeding to accelerate its genetic gain. Several quantitative trait loci (QTLs) or markers associated with genes controlling resistance for fusarium wilt, fusarium root rot, powdery mildew, ascochyta blight, rust, common root rot, broomrape, pea enation, and pea seed borne mosaic virus are available for the marker-assisted breeding. The advanced genomic tools such as the availability of comprehensive genetic maps and linked reliable DNA markers hold great promise toward the introgression of resistance genes from different sources to speed up the genetic gain in pea. This review provides a brief account of the achievements made in the recent past regarding genetic and genomic resources’ development, inheritance of genes controlling various biotic stress responses and genes controlling pathogenesis in disease causing organisms, genes/QTLs mapping, and transcriptomic and proteomic advances. Moreover, the emerging new breeding approaches such as transgenics, genome editing, genomic selection, epigenetic breeding, and speed breeding hold great promise to transform pea breeding. Overall, the judicious amalgamation of conventional and modern omics-enabled breeding strategies will augment the genetic gain and could hasten the development of biotic stress-resistant cultivars to sustain pea production under changing climate. The present review encompasses at one platform the research accomplishment made so far in pea improvement with respect to major biotic stresses and the way forward to enhance pea productivity through advanced genomic tools and technologies.

Genome and Transcriptome Analysis of Ascochyta pisi Provides Insights into the Pathogenesis of Ascochyta Blight of Pea

“…Until now, at least seven fungal species have been identified as the causative agents of ascochyta blight of pea ( 2 , 3 , 5 – 7 ). They are soilborne, pathogenic fungi and survive as chlamydospores, mycelia, or sclerotia in soil, and they can coexist on peas or exist independently from each other ( 9 ).…”

“…Ascochyta blight (syn., black spot) is the most devastating disease of peas worldwide. Ascochyta blight reduces production, with yield losses of 28 to 88% depending on the environmental conditions and the quality of the peas ( 2 – 4 ). At least seven fungal species have been identified as pathogens of ascochyta blight of pea, including Ascochyta pisi , Ascochyta koolunga , Ascochyta pinodes , Ascochyta pinodella , Phoma herbarum , Phoma glomerata , and Boeremia exigua var.…”

“…At least seven fungal species have been identified as pathogens of ascochyta blight of pea, including Ascochyta pisi , Ascochyta koolunga , Ascochyta pinodes , Ascochyta pinodella , Phoma herbarum , Phoma glomerata , and Boeremia exigua var. exigua ( 2 , 3 , 5 – 7 ). These pathogens cause similar symptoms on pea plants, with foot rot, black stem and leaf, and pod spot ( 3 ).…”

Editorial: Identification and characterization of contrasting genotypes/cultivars to discover novel players in crop responses to abiotic/biotic stresses, volume II

“…Biotic stresses are crucial constraints to the productivity of crop plants, especially under climate change conditions (Parihar et al, 2022), and lead to more than 20% crop yield losses (Savignac et al, 2022). Galewski et al identified specific genomic features associated with seedling rhizoctonia resistance by whole genome sequencing of selected and unselected bulk derived from a synthetic outcrossing sugar beet population and the genome-wide variation resulting from the selection.…”

“…Biotic stresses are crucial constraints to the productivity of crop plants, especially under climate change conditions ( Parihar et al., 2022 ), and lead to more than 20% crop yield losses ( Savignac et al., 2022 ). Galewski et al.…”