Abstract Detail

Crops and Wild Relatives

Herron, Sterling [1], Rubin, Matthew [2], Ciotir, Claudia [3], Van Tassel, David [4], Miller, Allison [5].

Life history and cultivation affect seed size, germination, and first year root:shoot allocation in Lupinus and Phaseolus.

Perennial herbaceous grains have recently received attention for their potential to provide ecosystem services in sustainable agriculture, primarily through their deep root systems’ capacity to retain and utilize soil, water, and nutrients unavailable to traditional annual cultivars. Legumes (Fabaceae Lindl.) are of special interest due to their ability to fix nitrogen in their roots and produce protein-rich seeds. However, perennial legumes have yet to enter widespread use as grains, and their response to artificial selection for increased seed yield remains unclear. Here we compare both wild and domesticated varieties of closely related annual and perennial herbaceous legume species to determine what, if any, differences exist for seed size, germination, and root/shoot biomass allocation. We chose two legume genera based on the presence of major annual cultivars with several herbaceous perennial wild relatives:  Lupinus (lupines) and Phaseolus (common bean). From the two genera, a total of 8 annual species (105 accessions) and 10 perennial species (90 accessions) were analyzed for seed and growth traits. We found a significant effect of life history (annual or perennial) and cultivation (wild or domesticated) on seed size, germination, vegetative node number, stem thickness, and root:shoot biomass. Annuals typically showed higher germination probability,  seed size, and shoot biomass. Interestingly, some tropical perennial species, such as Phaseolus coccineus and P. dumosus, exhibited seed weight and shoot biomass that surpassed that of annuals, challenging traditional life history predictions that annuals must allocate more to their reproductive structures. Such phenotypic variation in perennials may promise large potential for increase in seed size in new perennial grain cultivars. Our findings highlight the need for revitalization of research into diverse groups of annuals and perennials for underrepresented traits such as germination, root size and structure, and reproductive yield. Extensions of this study will include a multiyear analysis of perennial legumes undergoing artificial selection for a specific set of seed improvement traits, as well as the development of genetic markers to improve future breeding initiatives.

1 - Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, c/o Allison Miller Lab, 975 N Warson Road, Saint Louis, MO, 63132, USA
2 - Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, c/o Allison Miller Lab, 975 N Warson Road, Saint Louis, MO, 63132, United States
3 - Saint Louis University, Department of Biology, 5800 Highland Plaza Dr., Apt. 112, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
4 - The Land Institute, 2440 E Water Well Rd,, Salina, KS, 67401, United States
5 - Saint Louis Univ./Danforth Plant Science Center, Biology, 3507 Laclede Avenue, Macelwane Hall, St. Louis, MO, 63110, United States

Keywords:
life history
perennial agriculture
annual perennial
herbaceous perennial
perennial grain
legume
Fabaceae
Leguminosae
perennial plant
Perennial
sustainable agriculture.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: CWR1, Crops and Wild Relatives
Location: Tucson D/Starr Pass
Date: Wednesday, July 31st, 2019
Time: 8:45 AM
Number: CWR1004
Abstract ID:764
Candidate for Awards:None