%O This study was supported by the Department of Biotechnology,
Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India (research
grant 102/IFD/SAN/2161/2013-14), and the Department of Biotechnology
and the University Grants Commission (research fellowship
awards to U.B., A.D., L.N., and V.T.).
The authors are thankful to Mr. Sube Singh, lead scientific officer, Grain
Legumes Research Program/Genebank, International Crops Research Institute
for the Semi-Arid Tropics, Hyderabad for assisting in collecting multienvironment
field phenotyping data of germplasm accessions and mapping population.
We are also thankful to the Central Instrumentation Facility, the Plant
Growth Facility, and the Department of Biotechnology-eLibrary Consortium of
the National Institute of Plant Genome Research, New Delhi for providing
timely support and access to e-resources for this research work.
%K crop improvement, chickpea, genetic resources, genetics, high-yielding cultivars, desi chickpea, kabuli chickpea, genetic enhancement, seed yield, seed quality
%A U Basu
%A H D Upadhyaya
%A R Srivastava
%A A Daware
%A N Malik
%A A Sharma
%A D Bajaj
%A L Narnoliya
%A V Thakro
%A A Kujur
%A S Tripathi
%A C Bharadwaj
%A V S Hegde
%A A K Pandey
%A A K Singh
%A A K Tyagi
%A S K Parida
%I American Society of Plant Biologists
%V 180
%L icrisat11268
%J Plant Physiology (TSI)
%N 1
%P 253-275
%R 10.1104/pp.18.00934
%D 2019
%X The identification of functionally relevant molecular tags is vital for genomics-assisted crop improvement and enhancement of seed yield, quality, and productivity in chickpea (Cicer arietinum). The simultaneous improvement of yield/productivity as well as quality traits often requires pyramiding of multiple genes, which remains a major hurdle given various associated epistatic and pleotropic effects. Unfortunately, no single gene that can improve yield/productivity along with quality and other desirable agromorphological traits is known, hampering the genetic enhancement of chickpea. Using a combinatorial genomics-assisted breeding and functional genomics strategy, this study identified natural alleles and haplotypes of an ABCC3-type transporter gene that regulates seed weight, an important domestication trait, by transcriptional regulation and modulation of the transport of glutathione conjugates in seeds of desi and kabuli chickpea. The superior allele/haplotype of this gene introgressed in desi and kabuli near-isogenic lines enhances the seed weight, yield, productivity, and multiple desirable plant architecture and seed-quality traits without compromising agronomic performance. These salient findings can expedite crop improvement endeavors and the development of nutritionally enriched high-yielding cultivars in chickpea.
%T ABC Transporter-Mediated Transport of Glutathione Conjugates Enhances Seed Yield and Quality in Chickpea