Molecular and Breeding Mechanisms for Enhanced Performance in Underutilized Leguminous Crops in Africa

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Background

Various researchers have been working hard to contribute to the genetic improvement of some important African crops including legumes such as the Bambara groundnut [Vigna subterranea (L.) Verdc] and cowpea [Vigna unguiculata]. However, many of the research activities have not been published, making it difficult for upcoming researchers to access crucial information. The ICRISAT report (2020), on the major grain legumes found in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and South Asia (SA), indicated that chickpea (Cicer arietinum), common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris), cowpea (Vigna unguiculata), groundnut (Arachis hypogaea), pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan), and soybean (Glycine max) were some of the most crucial crops for the world’s growing population. Despite their importance for being nutritious and drought-tolerant, field performance and productivity of these African native crops remains very low. In addition, most of these crops have suffered neglect in research and are still in the infancy of varietal development. Therefore, there is a dire need for breeding efforts towards improving traits such as adaptation in order to improve productivity and enhance the genetic diversity to strengthen resiliency against climate change, as well as nutritional quality to improve food security in Africa and beyond. New technologies such as lower cost sequencing have been used since early 2000 following the first release of the Arabidopsis thaliana genome and as a result, over 500 plant genomes have been sequenced. Various institutions in Africa as well as across the world have been collecting accessions for these important crops which are reserved at national and regional Gene Banks. Despite conservation, information on their immediate utilization in pre-breeding programs has been limited due to various limiting factors such as unavailability or lack of crucial trait information. There is also a lack of literature on the information regarding the improvement of some of these crops. Therefore, there is a need for documenting research approaches and technologies carried out or in progress to bridge the gap between conservation and utilization of ex-situ germplasm. It is also crucial to document the genetic diversity as well as the breeding populations of these materials. Efforts such as the cultivation of some crop species from the SSA to other regions are making it possible to diversify crop production for food security, income generation, and soil improvement. It is crucial that the information emanated from studies are made available through publication so they can be used by upcoming and all interested researchers.

This Research Topic focuses on documenting the approaches deployed to identify useful traits such as adaptive features, high-yielding traits, breeding methods, and the role of emerging technologies such as mutation breeding using various technologies, sequencing, and high-throughput phenotyping to increase the utilization of important genetic resources in Africa’s pre-breeding programs. This Topic is seeking unique research, opinion, review, and general annotation articles addressing the following field and related:

• Genomic mapping of traits related to yield, biotic, and abiotic stress resistance in legumes crops
• Genomic enhancing tools to breed for yield improvement and protection against pests and diseases in legume crops.
• Cloning and deployment of important genes in legume crops
• Development and application of resources for enhancing leguminous crop production.

Important Note: Only contributions within the scope of this Research Topic and the journal to which they are submitted, will be considered. However, Frontiers reserves the right to guide any manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

Keywords: Modern breeding technology, improvement of traits yield, biotic and abiotic stresses, leguminous crops, association mapping, gene editing, QTL mapping

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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