PLANT BREEDING

AGR516

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION TO PLANT BREEDING

NUR FAEZAH OMAR

1. Introduction to Plant Breeding

1.1 Definition of plant breeding

1.2 History of plant breeding
1.2.1 Genetic principles
1.2.2 Types of reproduction in crops
1.2.2.1 Asexual reproduction
1.2.2.2 Sexual reproduction
1.2.3 Qualitative traits
1.2.4 Quantitative genetics
1.3 Plant breeding in Malaysia (current)
1.3.1 Important of plant breeding in Malaysia
 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Definition of plant breeding

• Plant breeding is a branch of agriculture that focuses

on manipulating plant heredity to develop new and
improved plant types for use by society.

• synonymously with “plant improvement”

• The professionals who conduct this task are called

plant breeders
 INTRODUCTION
Definition of plant breeding

Plant breeding is the process by which humans change certain

aspects of plants over time in order to introduce desired
characteristics

Increase crop productivity

 INTRODUCTION
Definition of plant breeding

• Plant breeding is the process by which humans change

certain aspects of plants over time in order to introduce
desired characteristics.

• These desired characteristics can vary according to the

specific needs of each farmer or region, but the ultimate goal
is to increase crop productivity and quality.

• This can be achieved by increasing improving yield traits,

improving adaptation to environmental conditions (drought,
cold, salinity…) and resistance to pests and pathogens.
 Domestication

 Plant Breeding activities began at least 10,000 years ago in the

Fertile Crescent with plant domestication.

Challenges: transition from

nomadic to a sedentary lifestyle

 Increase plant yield

 Increase number of
edible plants
(reduce toxicity)
 IMPORTANCE OF PLANT BREEDING

1. Addressing world food and feed quality needs.

2. Addressing food supply needs for a growing world
Why breed population.
plant? 3. Need to adapt plants to environmental stresses.
4. Need to adapt crops to specific production systems.
5. Developing new horticultural plant varieties.
6. Satisfying industrial and other end-use.
 History in Plant Breeding

Watson, Crick,
Wilkins &
Rosalind
Mendel
Franklin
Empirical evidence
model for DNA
on heredity
structure
169 186 192 195
4 6 3 3
Camerarius Wallace
crossing as a First commercial
method to obtain hybrid corn
new plant types
 1.2 HISTORY IN PLANT BREEDING

The Green Revolution” (1960)

2. Dr Norman Borlaug and his team used key

1. 1960 is the time of the biggest landmarks
in the green revolution. The green revolution
began in Mexico, at an international
research centre (CGIAR), with the challenge
of improving wheat and maize to meet the
production needed of the developing
countries.
technological strategies to develop high
yielding varieties of wheat, and developed an
appropriate agronomic package (fertilizer,
irrigation, tillage, pest control) to optimize the
yield potential of the varieties.

3. With this program it was possible to

produce high yielding semi-dwarf, lodging
resistant wheat varieties that were
introduced into other parts of the world.
“The Green Revolution” (1960)

Challenge: improve wheat and

maize to meet the production
needs of developing countries

High yielding semi-dwarf,

lodging resistant wheat
Norman Borlaug varieties
Conventional breeding

• Mutation or crossing to introduce variability Plant

Breeding
• Selection based on morphological
Methods
characteres
• Growth of selected seeds

Challenge: reduce the time needed to complete a breeding program

Modern Breeding Tools

Genomic
In vitro culture Genomic tools
engineering

Increase of breeding effectiveness and efficiency

 OBJECTIVES OF PLANT BREEDING

In selecting breeding objectives, breeders need to consider:

1. The producer (grower) from the point of view of growing the cultivar
profitably (e.g., need for high yield, disease resistance, early
maturity, lodging resistance).

2. The processor (industrial user) as it relates to efficiently and

economically using the cultivar as raw materials for producing new
product (e.g., canning qualities, fiber strength).

3. The consumer (household user) preference (e.g., taste, high

nutritional quality, shelf life).
 Future Challenges

Challenge: Increase of human

population by 60-80%, requiring to
nearly double the global food
production
 1.2 TYPES OF REPRODUCTION IN CROPS

What is plant reproduction?

Reproduction is the process by which plants multiply themselves.

How do plant reproduce?

Plant can be reproduce by sexual or asexual reproduction.

A knowledge of the mode of reproduction in crops plants is important

for making artificial hybrids.

Production of hybrids between diverse and desirable parents is the

basis for almost all the modern breeding programmes.
 TYPES OF REPRODUCTION IN CROPS

• Reproduction is the production of new individuals from their parents.

• Plant reproduction is the production of new individuals or offspring in plants,

either by sexual or asexual reproduction.

• It is not only important to plant producers but also to plant breeders.

• The mode of reproduction determines the method of breeding the species

and how the product of breeding is maintained for product identity
preservation.
 OVERVIEW OF PLANT REPRODUCTION

• In a flower, androecium and gynoecium are called

the essential floral parts as they are directly involved in
reproduction.

• All the other floral parts are known as the non-

essential whorls as they contribute indirectly to
reproduction, i.e. by protecting the developing bud or
attracting pollinators etc.

Whorl is an arrangement of sepals, petals that

radiate from a single point and surround.
 The flowers, in which one of the essential parts is missing, are called
unisexual flowers. Eg: maize, papaya and cucumber

 Unisexual flowers are subcategorized as pistillate/ female flowers, when

only gynoecium is present or staminate/ male flowers when only
androecium is present.

 Flowers which have both stamen and the pistil are called bisexual flowers.
Eg: rose mustard, petunia.
 Flower structure
Stigma
Anther
Style
Filament

Ovule
Petal
Pistil (female part)
Sepal
 Stigma
 Style
 Ovary Stamen (male part)
 Anther
Ovary Fruit Receptacle  Filament
Ovule Seed Ovary
OVERVIEW OF PLANT REPRODUCTION
 Hermaphrodity versus unisexuality

Monoecious Dioecious
Plants always have Each plant has
both male and flowers that are either
female flowers or all male or all female.
perfect flowers

Both sexes are found A singular sex is found

on the plant on each individual
plant

Eg: hazelnut, oak, Eg: asparagus, dates,

pine, spruce, corn, mulberry,
and squashes. persimmons, and
spinach.
 OVERVIEW OF PLANT REPRODUCTION

• Fig. 2: Different families have different types of flowers, legumes have bisexual
flowers with petals modified into banner petal, wing petals, and keel.
Fig. 3. shows a female watermelon flower
Flower biology of papaya
OVERVIEW OF PLANT REPRODUCTION

Flower of papaya
 OVERVIEW OF REPRODUCTIVE OPTIONS IN
PLANTS
1. Hermaphrodity versus unisexuality

• Hermaphrodites have both male and female sexual organs, and

hence may be capable of self fertilization.

• Each mode of reproduction has genetic consequences.

• Hermaphrodity promotes a reduction in genetic variability, whereas

unisexuality, through cross-fertilization, promotes genetic variability.
 OVERVIEW OF REPRODUCTIVE OPTIONS IN
PLANTS
2. Self-pollination versus cross-pollination.

• Hermaphrodites that are self-fertile may be self-pollinated or cross-

pollinated.

• In terms of pollen donation, a species may be autogamous (pollen

comes from the same flower – selfing) or allogamous (pollen comes
from a different flower of different plant).

• There are finer differences in these types

• For example, there may be differences between the time of pollen

shed and stigma receptivity.
OVERVIEW OF REPRODUCTIVE OPTIONS IN
PLANTS
2. Self-pollination versus cross-pollination.
OVERVIEW OF REPRODUCTIVE OPTIONS IN
PLANTS
3. Self-fertilization versus cross-fertilization.

• Just because a flower is successfully pollinated does

not necessarily mean fertilization would occur.

• The mechanism of self-incompatibility causes some

species to reject pollen from their own flowers,
thereby promoting outcrossing.
OVERVIEW OF REPRODUCTIVE OPTIONS IN
PLANTS
4. Sexuality versus asexuality.

• Sexually reproducing species are capable of providing seed through

sexual means.
• Asexuality manifests in one of two ways – vegetative reproduction (in
which no seed is produced) or agamospermy (in which seed is
• produced).
SEXUAL REPRODUCTION
 SEXUAL REPRODUCTION

Duration of plant growth cycles

• The plant breeder should know the lifecycle of the plant to be manipulated.

• The strategies for breeding are influenced by the duration of the plant
growth cycle.

• Angiosperms (flowering plants) may be classified into four categories

based on the duration of their growth cycle.
 PLANT GROWTH CYCLES

1. Annual
• Annual plants (or annuals) complete their lifecycle in one
growing season.
• Examples: corn, wheat, and sorghum.
• Annuals may be further categorized into winter annuals or
summer annuals.
• Winter annuals (e.g. wheat) utilize parts of two seasons.
• They are planted in the fall (autumn) and undergo a critical
physiological inductive change called vernalization , which is
required for flowering and fruiting in spring.
• Vernalization = the artificial exposure of plants (or seeds) to low
temperatures in order to stimulate flowering or to enhance seed
production.
 PLANT GROWTH CYCLES

2. Biennial

• A biennial completes its lifecycle in two growing seasons.

• In the first season it produces basal roots and leaves; then it grows a
stem, produces flowers and fruits, and dies in the second season.
• The plant usually requires a special environmental condition or
treatment (e.g., vernalization) to be induced to enter the reproductive
phase.
• For example, sugar beet grows vegetatively in the first season. In winter,
it becomes vernalized and starts reproductive growth in spring.
 PLANT GROWTH CYCLES

3. Perennial.
• Perennials are plants that have the ability to repeat their
lifecycles indefinitely by circumventing the death stage.
• They may be herbaceous, as in species with underground
vegetative structures called rhizomes (e.g. indiangrass), or
aboveground structures called stolons (e.g. buffalograss).
• They may also be woody, as in shrubs, vines (grape), and trees
(orange).

Indiangrass Buffalograss
(Sorghastrum nutans) (Bouteloua dactyloides)
 PLANT GROWTH CYCLES
4. Monocarp

• Monocarps are annuals or biennials, but some persist in

vegetative development for very long periods (e.g., the so-called
“century plant”) before they flower and set seed (e.g., bamboo
and agave).
• Once flowering occurs, the plant dies. That is, monocarps are
plants that flower only once.
• Other examples are bromeliads. The top part dies, so that new
bromeliads plants arise from the root system of the old plant
 AUTOGAMY

Self-pollination or autogamy

• occurs in a wide variety of plant species – vegetables (lettuce, tomatoes, snap beans,
endive), legumes (soybean, peas, lima beans) and grasses (barley, wheat, oats).
• Certain natural mechanisms promote or ensure self-pollination, specifically cleistogamy
and chasmogamy,
• while other mechanisms prevent self-pollination
(e.g., self incompatibility, male sterility).
Self-pollination or autogamy
 AUTOGAMY
Self-pollination or autogamy; Cleistogamy
• Condition in which the flower fails to open.
• The term is sometimes extended to mean a condition in
which the flower opens only after it has been pollinated (as
occurs in wheat, barley, lettuce)
 AUTOGAMY
Self-pollination or autogamy; Chasmogamy

• Some floral structures, such as those found in

legumes, favor self pollination.
• Sometimes, the stigma of the flower is closely
surrounded by anthers,making it prone to selfing
 AUTOGAMY

Self-pollination or autogamy

• Very few species are completely self-pollinated.

• The level of self-pollination is affected by factors
including the nature and amount of insect
pollination, air current, and temperature.
• In certain species, pollen may become sterilized
when the temperature dips below freezing.
• Any flower that opens prior to self-pollination is
susceptible to some crosspollination.
 AUTOGAMY

Mechanisms that prevent autogamy

• There are several mechanisms in nature that work

to prevent self-pollination in species that otherwise
would be self-pollinated.
• These include
 self incompatibility,
 male sterility and
 dichogamy.
 MECHANISMS THAT PREVENT AUTOGAMY

Self-Incompatibility

• Self-incompatibility is a widespread mechanism in flowering plants that prevents

inbreeding and promotes outcrossing.

• The self-incompatibility response is genetically controlled by one or more multi-

allelic loci, and relies on a series of complex cellular interactions between the self-
incompatible pollen and pistil.

• Self-incompatibility systems may be classified into two basic types

• Heteromorphic incompatibility
• Homomorphic incompatibility
a. gamethophytic
b. sporophytic
 MALE STERILITY

• Male sterility is a condition in plants whereby the anthers or

pollen are non-functional.
• The condition may because of
i. a absence of or extreme scarcity of pollen,
ii. severe malformation or
iii. absence of flowers or stamens,
iv. or failure of pollen to dehisce.
• Just like self-incompatibility, male sterility enforces cross-
pollination.
• Similarly, it can be exploited as a tool to eliminate the need for
emasculation for producing hybrid seed.
 Emasculation

The removal of the anthers of a flower in order to prevent

self-pollination or the undesirable pollination of neighbouring
plants
 MALE STERILITY

• There are three basic kinds of male sterility based on the

origin of the abnormality:

1. True male sterility – This is due to unisexual flowers that lack

male sex organs (dioecy and monoecy), or bisexual
flowers with abnormal or non-functional microspores
(leading to pollen abortion).
2. Functional male sterility – The anthers fail to release their
contents even though the pollen is fertile.
3. Induced male sterility – Plant breeders may use chemicals
to induce sterility.
 DICHOGAMY

• Dichogamy is the maturing of pistils and stamens of a flower at

different times.
• When this occurs in a self-pollinated species, opportunities for self
pollination are drastically reduced or eliminated altogether,
• Thus making the plant practically cross-pollinated.
• There are two forms of dichogamy –
i. protogyny (stigma is receptive before the anther is mature to
release the pollen) and `
ii. protandry (pollen is released from the anther before the female is
receptive).
DICHOGAMY
 QUALITATIVE vs QUANTITATIVE TRAITS

 A qualitative trait is usually encoded by one gene or sometime by a

few numbers of genes. These traits usually do not change in response
to the environment.
 An example for a qualitative trait is flower color, which
could be red, brown, green, or yellow.
 Another example would be blood group.
 Since qualitative traits are discrete values, they can be analyzed by
counts and ratios.
 QUALITATIVE vs QUANTITATIVE TRAITS

 A quantitative traits are usually determined by a larger number of

genes. These traits can change under the influence of the environment.

 For example, if a plant usually grows to be about 6 feet tall, it may

exhibit variations in its height depending on how much sunlight,
water or nutrients it receives.

 Since quantitative traits are spread over a range of values, they cannot
be analyzed by counts and ratios, but must be analyzed statistically.
 Qualitative vs Quantitative traits
Qualitative traits Quantitative traits

 Influenced by a single gene  Influenced by multiple gene, perhaps

interacting genes

 Typically follow simple patterns of  Do not follow simple patterns of

inheritance inheritance

 Phenotypes fall into distinct categories  Phenotype is measured on continuos

(nominal scale) scale (interval scale)

 Trait expression is typically unaffected  Trait expression may be affected by

by environment environment.
E.g.: Qualitative traits E.g.: Quantitative traits
 Tutorial class (Monday-11/3/19)

 Plant breeding in Malaysia (scenario and overview).

 What is the aim of plant breeding?
 Importance of plant breeding in agriculture.