Legume crops are grown around the world, providing a diverse range of food crops that are significant sources of plant-based proteins for humans. Grain legumes present outstanding nutritional and nutraceutical properties, while being an affordable food that contributes to achieving future food and feed security in the context of an increasing world population. Legumes also provide crucial services to agriculture through their ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen by rhizobial symbiosis. This supplies accessible nitrogen to agro-ecosystems, increases soil carbon content, stimulates the productivity of subsequent crops by increasing the effective capture, productive use and recycling of water and nutrients, and helping to control weeds. In this context, genetic improvements have played a pivotal role to increase crop production using from traditional breeding to the currently most advanced and novel biotechnological techniques, whose applications will undoubtedly contribute to sustainable agriculture and food security.

This Research Topic aims to bring together a collection of outstanding studies for a better understanding of current improvements in agricultural and seed traits from both the biological (physiological and nutritional/nutraceutical) and genetic viewpoints. These will include marker-assisted selection, genomic prediction and gene-editing, integrated with conventional methods in practical breeding; the exploration and use of novel genetic resources for breeding programs; newly identified single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) markers associated with agronomic and seed quality traits; use of genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) methods and multi-year and multi-location trials for genetic characterization of accessions; legume/pulse crops yield and quality; nutrition and market preference; health promotion; the control of seed product accumulation; elimination or diminution of anti-nutrients; resistance to pests/diseases and abiotic stress, and plant-soil interactions.

This Research Topic will provide a platform to present and discuss related topics of research, progress and trends in biological, genetic, genomics, and breeding research of legume/pulse crops.
From this perspective, we welcome submissions of all types of articles falling under, but not limited to, the following themes:
- Genetics and translational genomics providing new biological insights with the aim to understand complex traits in legumes.
- Studies aimed to understand mechanisms related to agronomic and seed quality traits of legumes.
- New breeding techniques/tools (NBTs) to advance legume productivity or ecological properties in sustainable agriculture.
- Development of Genome Wide Association Study (GWAS) based studies to understand the genetic basis of agronomic/quality traits, including phenological traits.
- The exploration and use of novel germplasm resources and the discovery and generation of novel allelic variation in candidate genes.
- Improvement of nutritional/nutraceutical seed properties and human health benefits.
- Genetic strategies aiming improved seed quality traits for elimination or diminution of anti-nutrients and/or allergens compounds.
- Examination of the genetic or biological basis of rotational value in legumes, such as their capacity for nitrogen fixation.
- Advances in crop and seed traits for improved tolerance of various abiotic and biotic stressors.

Please note that descriptive studies and those defining gene families or descriptive collection of transcripts, proteins, or metabolites, will not be considered for review unless they are expanded and provide mechanistic and/or physiological insights into the biological system or process being studied.

Submit your idea

Impact

Frontiers in Plant Science

Participating Journals

Impact