Pea

Abstract

Development of gene technology methods for plants has allowed novel genes to be introduced, where natural variation is lacking, irrespective of hybridization barriers. Pea, an important agricultural crop worldwide, lacks certain genes for disease resistance and would benefit from introduction of novel resistance traits. In addition to its role in agricultural production, pea plays a vital dietary role in developing countries and could serve as a valuable vehicle to provide enhanced nutrition to malnourished populations. Gene technology in pea was first studied in the late 1980s and viable protocols for gene introduction and selection of transformed plants were established in the early 1990s. Although other methods have been tested, Agrobacterium tumefaciens ‐mediated methods for gene introduction are preferred. Several examples of successful transformation have been reported and the introduction of the α‐amylase gene from common bean for resistance to Bruchus pisorum , the pea seed weevil, has potential to overcome the adverse effects of this agronomically important pest. Consideration of regulatory hurdles and intellectual property rights are crucial to the successful implementation of gene technology and has hindered the use of Bruchid‐resistant peas. Application of gene technology has its greatest potential in basic studies of gene function. Gene complementation experiments allow the function of candidate genes to be verified and characterized. Overall, gene technology is a very powerful tool and is expected to have a significant impact on crop improvement and genomic evaluation of all crop plants.

Abiotic Stress Responses in Legumes: Strategies Used to Cope with Environmental Challenges

“…Although efforts have been made to apply molecular approaches for breeding pea under abiotic stress, there is no comparison with what have been done for disease improvement. Thus, 76 QTLs have been described so far in pea for 11 traits, but none of them with the exception of the recently reported freeze tolerance QTLs, were related to abiotic stress (Dita et al, 2006;Mc Phee, 2007). Using the Pop2 RIL population, derived from a cross between the freezing tolerant line Champagne and the sensitive line Terese, Lejeune-Hénaut et al (2008) and Dumont et al (2009) repeatedly detected four main QTL regions for frost tolerance in field or controlled conditions.…”

“…Accessions of P. elatius adapted to frozen temperatures have also been reported (Ali et al, 1994). In addition, since genetically modified pea has a relatively low risk for the environment (outcrossing level <1%), gene transformation could arise as an useful tool for pea breeding (Mc Phee, 2008). However, up to date very few gene transformation work were carried out for improving pea for abiotic stress tolerance may be due to the complexity of the plant tolerance mechanisms above presented (Grant and Cooper 2003;Jewell et al, 2010).…”