Utilization of molecular markers for improving the phosphorus efficiency in crop plants

Abstract

Phosphorus (P) is the second most growth limiting macronutrient after nitrogen and plays several important roles in all organisms including plants. In soil, P is available in both organic and inorganic forms. P deficiency reduces the growth and yield of several crop plants. Plants respond to P deficiency by the phenotypic changes especially by the modification of root architecture. Molecular marker-assisted breeding (MAB) has been proposed as an important tool to identify and develop improved varieties of crop plants with efficient P-use efficiency (PUE). Identification of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for traits related to PUE has been considered as the first step in markerassisted selection (MAS) and improvement of crop yield programmes. In this review, we describe in detail on architectural changes of roots under P deficiency that are reported in various crops and discuss the efforts made to improve PUE using molecular marker tools. Details on QTLs identified for low P-stress tolerance in various crop plants are presented. These QTLs can be used to improve PUE in crop plants through MAS and breeding, which may be beneficial to improve the yields under P-deficient soil. Development of new and improved varieties using MAB will limit the use of nonrenewable fertilizers and improve PUE of key crop plants in low input agriculture.inorganic phosphate, marker-assisted breeding, phosphorus, phosphorus use efficiency, quantitative trait loci, root architecture

Genetic variation for root architectural traits in response to phosphorus deficiency in mungbean at the seedling stage

“…Phosphorus is key component of nucleic acids and plant hormones and determines the yield and quality of a crop [13,14]. Phosphorus deficiency in soil can be overcome by phosphorus fertilizer application, excess application leads to delayed formation of reproductive organs [15]. Uptake of phosphorus from soil is complex as the phosphorus is bound to calcium in alkaline soils and iron and aluminium in acid soils [16].…”

Land Suitability of the Nkrankwanta Lowland for Rice Cultivation in the Dormaa West District, Ghana

“…In most agricultural croplands, elemental phosphorus is considered to be the second most limiting plant nutrient after nitrogen [31]. The results indicated that topsoil P was greater than subsoil P which is often associated with added P sorption, greater biological activities, and accumulation of organic materials.…”

Genetic study and molecular breeding for high phosphorus use efficiency in maize

“…Phosphorus is a macro element required for biological growth and development, in particular it is essential for the synthesis of important biochemical substances such as DNA, RNA and ATP in all living organisms [1,2] . In its natural state in soil, P exists in the form of organic phosphorus (P o ) and inorganic phosphorus (P i ), with the former accounting for 50% to 80% of soil P [3,4] .…”

“…2can be directly used by plants, accounting for less than 0.01% of available P in the soil and even less than 0.001% in the low-P fields. As a result, P use efficiency (PUE) in the soil ranges from 20% to 30%, limiting crop yields by 30%-40% [1,[7][8][9][10][11][12] . Meanwhile, temperature, moisture, pH and other soil factors also affect the P concentration and form.…”