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Soybean is a crop in high demand, in particular as a crucial source of plant protein. As a short-day plant, soybean is sensitive to the latitude of the growing site. Consequently, varieties that are well adapted to higher latitudes are required to expand the cultivation. In this study, we employed 50 soybean genotypes to perform a multi-location trial at seven locations across Germany in 2021. Two environmental target regions were determined following the latitude of the locations. Adaptation and trait stability of seed yield and protein content across all locations were evaluated using Genotype plus Genotype-by-Environment (GGE) biplots and Shukla's stability variance. We found a moderate level of crossing-over type genotype-by-location interaction across all locations. Within the environmental target regions, the genotype-by-location interaction could be minimised. Despite the positive correlation (R = 0.59) of seed yield between the environmental target regions and the same best-performing genotype, the genotype rankings differed in part substantially. In conclusion, we found that soybean can be grown at a wide range of latitudes across Germany. However, the performance of genotypes differed between the northern and southern locations, with an 18.8% higher mean yield in the south. This in combination with the observed rank changes of high-performing genotypes between both environmental target regions suggests that selection targeted towards environments in northern Germany could improve soybean breeding for those higher latitude regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phosphorus (P) deficiency is an important challenge the world faces while having to increase crop yields. It is therefore necessary to select maize (Zea may L.) genotypes with high phosphorus use efficiency (PUE). Here, we extensively analyzed the biomass, grain yield, and PUE-related traits of 359 maize inbred lines grown under both low-P and normal-P conditions. A significant decrease in grain yield per plant and biomass, an increase in PUE under low-P condition, as well as significant correlations between the two treatments were observed. In a genome-wide association study, 49, 53, and 48 candidate genes were identified for eleven traits under low-P, normal-P conditions, and in low-P tolerance index (phenotype under low-P divided by phenotype under normal-P condition) datasets, respectively. Several gene ontology pathways were enriched for the genes identified under low-P condition. In addition, seven key genes related to phosphate transporter or stress response were molecularly characterized. Further analyses uncovered the favorable haplotype for several core genes, which is less prevalent in modern lines but often enriched in a specific subpopulation. Collectively, our research provides progress in the genetic dissection and molecular characterization of PUE in maize. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wheat production can be severely damaged by endemic and invasive insect pests. Here, we investigated resistance to cereal leaf beetle in a panel of 876 winter wheat cultivars, and dissected the genetic architecture underlying this insect resistance by association mapping. We observed an effect of heading date on cereal leaf beetle infestation, with earlier heading cultivars being more heavily infested. Flag leaf glaucousness was also found to be correlated with resistance. In line with the strong effect of heading time, we identified Ppd-D1 as a major quantitative trait locus (QTL), explaining 35% of the genotypic variance of cereal leaf beetle resistance. The other identified putative QTL explained much less of the genotypic variance, suggesting a genetic architecture with many small-effect QTL, which was corroborated by a genomic prediction approach. Collectively, our results add to our understanding of the genetic control underlying insect resistances in small-grain cereals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sorghum, a major crop for income generation and food security in West and Central Africa, is predominantly grown in low-input farming systems with serious soil phosphorus (P) deficiencies. This study (a) estimates genetic parameters needed to design selection protocols that optimize genetic gains for yield under low-phosphorus conditions and (b) examines the utility of introgressed backcross nested association mapping (BCNAM) populations for diversifying Malian breeding materials. A total of 1083 BC1F5 progenies derived from an elite hybrid restorer "Lata-3" and 13 diverse donor accessions were evaluated for yield and agronomic traits under contrasting soil P conditions in Mali in 2013. A subset of 298 progenies were further tested under low-P (LP) and high-P (HP) conditions in 2014 and 2015. Significant genetic variation for grain yield was observed under LP and HP conditions. Selection for grain yield under LP conditions was feasible and more efficient than the indirect selection under HP in all three years of testing. Several of the BCNAM populations exhibited yields under LP conditions that were superior to the elite restorer line used as a recurrent parent. The BCNAM approach appears promising for diversifying the male parent pool with introgression of diverse materials using both adapted Malian breed and unadapted landrace material from distant geographic origins as donors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]