Forage grasses plays an important role in animal husbandry, improving degraded grassland and ecological restoration. Breeding of forage grasses is aim at improving economic and environmental sustainability of production from ruminant. Most agronomic traits such as plant height, flowering time, tiller number, biomass and seed yield are quantitative and are controlled polygenetically. Unlike major crops like rice, barley and wheat, the genetic and molecular mechanism of most forage grasses remains largely unexplored because of their perenniality and polyploidy and short-term domestication. Recent technologic development in whole genome sequencing, gene editing, transcriptome sequencing, proteome sequencing, metabolome sequencing, quantitative trait loci (QTLs), genome-wide association studies (GWAS), transgenic analysis have facilitated the identification and functional analysis of many agronomic important genes and proteins in forage. Thus, this Research Topic “Genetic and Molecular mechanisms of important agronomic traits in forage grasses” aims at exploring recent and novel insights in the genetic and molecular mechanism of important agronomic traits using a range of molecular biology technologies and approaches. Researchers are invited to contribute original articles, short reports, new methods or reviews that address current advances in this field.
Our focuses will be on (but not limited to):
1) QTL and GWAS analysis of forage quality, stress tolerance, biomass, seed yield-related traits;
2) Omics-related studies to elucidate omic changes under stress conditions in forage;
3) Key gene functional analysis; gene editing; and the development of genetic markers.
Forage grasses plays an important role in animal husbandry, improving degraded grassland and ecological restoration. Breeding of forage grasses is aim at improving economic and environmental sustainability of production from ruminant. Most agronomic traits such as plant height, flowering time, tiller number, biomass and seed yield are quantitative and are controlled polygenetically. Unlike major crops like rice, barley and wheat, the genetic and molecular mechanism of most forage grasses remains largely unexplored because of their perenniality and polyploidy and short-term domestication. Recent technologic development in whole genome sequencing, gene editing, transcriptome sequencing, proteome sequencing, metabolome sequencing, quantitative trait loci (QTLs), genome-wide association studies (GWAS), transgenic analysis have facilitated the identification and functional analysis of many agronomic important genes and proteins in forage. Thus, this Research Topic “Genetic and Molecular mechanisms of important agronomic traits in forage grasses” aims at exploring recent and novel insights in the genetic and molecular mechanism of important agronomic traits using a range of molecular biology technologies and approaches. Researchers are invited to contribute original articles, short reports, new methods or reviews that address current advances in this field.
Our focuses will be on (but not limited to):
1) QTL and GWAS analysis of forage quality, stress tolerance, biomass, seed yield-related traits;
2) Omics-related studies to elucidate omic changes under stress conditions in forage;
3) Key gene functional analysis; gene editing; and the development of genetic markers.
