here - First Legume Society Conference (LSC1)

Book of Abstracts First Legume Society Conference 2013: A Legume Odyssey Novi Sad, Serbia, 9-11 May 2013
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KEYNOTE LECTURE
Achievements and challenges in improving temperate perennial forage legumes
Paolo Annicchiarico 1 , Brent Barrett 2 , E Charles Brummer 3 , Athole Marshall 4
1
Consiglio per la Ricerca e la Sperimentazione in Agricoltura, Fodder and Dairy Productions Research Centre,
Lodi, Italy
2
AgResearch Ltd., Palmerston North, New Zealand
3
The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, Ardmore, OK, USA
4
Aberyswyth University, Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences, Aberyswyth, UK
The expected move towards more sustainable crop-livestock production systems implies wider
cultivation of perennial forage legumes in temperate regions. Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L. subsp.
sativa) is the main perennial legume in most of these regions, but white clover (Trifolium repens) and
red clover (Trifolium pratense) are dominant in specific regions and farm systems. Although genetic
progress for disease and insect resistance has been achieved, all of these crops have shown lower
rates of yield improvement than major grain crops. This result can be accounted for by lower
breeding investment, longer selection cycles, impossibility to capitalize on harvest index,
outbreeding mating systems associated with severe inbreeding depression and lack of exploitable
male sterility systems, and high interaction of genotypes with cropping conditions and crop
utilizations. Increasing yield, persistence, adaptation to stressful conditions (drought; salinity;
grazing) and compatibility with companion grasses are major breeding targets. We expect genetic
gain for yield and other complex traits to accelerate due to progress in genetic resource
utilization, genomics resource development, integration of marker-assisted selection with
breeding strategies, and trait engineering. The richness in adaptive genes of landrace and natural
population genetic resources will be fully untapped through an ecological understanding of plant
adaptive responses and improved breeding strategies. Useful genetic variation from secondary
and tertiary gene pools of Medicago and Trifolium is being increasingly accessed. Genome
sequencing projects in alfalfa and white clover will enrich physical, linkage and trait maps.
Genome sequences will underpin fine mapping of useful loci and subsequent allele mining,
leveraging the synteny of these crops with the model species Medicago truncatula. Genetic markers
will be used for paternity analysis, to dissect quantitative traits, and to develop a toolbox of
functional markers for major disease and insect resistances and other traits. Recent developments
of genotype-by-sequencing to generate genome-wide markers at little cost make genomic
selection for adaptation and forage yield possible for these crops, complementing marker-based
selection for other traits. Under current regulatory policies, transgenic approaches may be limited
to a few breakthrough traits related to herbicide tolerance and forage quality. The key challenge in
the future of applying genomics technologies is the seamless integration with breeding system
logistics, and opportunities and pitfalls in the design of future breeding programs are discussed.
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